Work ethic.

In our success-oriented society a good work ethic is a most highly lauded virtue. It is a universally accepted fact (except by hippies) that everyone (again, hippies don't count) would like to be seen as possessing it. It alone is extolled as a career maker or a dial for the level of success to be had. Though it's seemingly black and white, I've been struggling with this concept (am I a hippie?).

Some people would have us believe that it's independent of activity, a measure of one's character, but I would argue the opposite to be true. I've seen plenty of people with seemingly good work ethic quickly move on to better things and quickly. Would they still possess it had they hung around another 10 years? Would they be equally passionate years into a career as a Wal-mart's assistant manager? These ever-positive people would like you to believe so, but I would argue that motivation and work ethic are very dependent on the level of enjoyment one finds at a particular activity. It is my contention that unless they've been very lucky these people have spent a considerable amount of time planning, studying, and moving around before they've found their niche. Ironically, it is usually them who are compelled to preach proper work ethic to the newly hired or the burnt out. What they should be preaching is personal ambition.

Someone has previously commented that I'm crazy about training (Mark I believe). I must admit that for a while I've been very motivated to train. I had my goals, I knew what I had to do to achieve them, and I followed through occasionally tweaking my training as needed. I was on top of things. Though I'm understandably a bit less motivated right now, it is not my eagerness to train that I worry about, because I know I'll come back. What's got me questioning is that no one has ever accused me of having a good work ethic in my place of employment. At least not in recent memory. Not that I haven't been praised at all. On the contrary, I don't believe I would have survived my 16 years there were it not for the measurable value I bring to my employer. But I can't say that I'm very motivated or eager to shine. If it wasn't for cycling I wouldn't have seen myself as even capable of a good work ethic.

It's a known fact that successful business owners spend most of their waking hours at their business. I will wager that it's not with reluctance and/or out of sheer necessity, but because of their passion for the business. Likewise, I often see executives or managers leaving the building in the afternoon only to spend another 30 min in the parking lot talking about work. It always bothered me because I couldn't grasp it. Don't they have something better to do? Then I thought of it in terms of my attitude toward cycling. These people are passionate about their work! Wow, it must be great to go to work everyday with the same attitude that I feel when I saddle up. What's my plan today? How will I execute it? How much closer is it going to take me to my goal? Can you even imagine asking yourself these questions as you sit down in your cube Monday morning? Those are the folks that have careers, not just jobs. They're the ones trying to postpone their retirement, not rush into it. They show up early and leave late, and they don't see it as a waste of time. They talk to their loved ones about their day at the dinner table (hopefully) in hopes of sharing something positive rather than only voicing their complaints.

I definitely need to change my approach. I already know I'm capable of it. There's an ethic within me that won't germinate without proper ambition though. Perhaps I need re-enliven that youthful ambition of decades past and the work ethic will take care of itself. I want to be a rock star (maybe not), an astrophysicist (that's better), a businessman (sweet!), an inventor(hell yeah!)... Then again, maybe I just need more flair.

Yeah, more flair is always good.