This Applies to Every JOB in the Entire World!

                  While recently watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” again, one of my favorite parts really hit home. It’s when the Father in the movie exclaims “Give me any word and I’ll show you how the root of that word is Greek.” I love when he begins with the word “arachnophobia” and explains how this word came from Greek roots, and I laugh out loud when his daughter’s friends challenge him to explain the Greek roots of the word “Kimono.” You can find the 1-minute clip on YouTube. Later, I was enjoying thinking about this man’s passionate desire to tie every word back to a Greek Root and how it appeared to make him feel each time he felt he had successfully done so. That’s when a deeper message related to this movie hit me!

                  You see, I wrote a book entitled “The Answer Discovery – How to Change the World by Helping Others…and Ourselves” and am on a mission to spread the messages and life lessons contained within its pages. This includes speaking to a wide variety of groups utilizing my own life experiences, many of which are featured in my book. Recently with a group, I was sharing how a simple shift in perspective can be life changing. I used “salespeople” as my example knowing that data would suggest that most people shy away from any kind of sales career and aren’t particularly fond of people that make a living selling. This emanates from a loosely formed perspective that all salespeople only care about themselves, how much money they’ll make off a sale, and not much else. It’s the farthest thing from the truth and a perspective that’s not only flawed, but destructive. Keep reading…

                  Early in my career I had the privilege to obtain some formal sales training. It was then that I learned that if a person believed in the product or service they were selling and how their product or service could improve other people’s lives, they were no longer selling, they were helping others. I also witnessed that when any salesperson transitioned to this new perspective, their self-esteem, motivation, and SALES soared. They also had a huge positive mental attitude increase that went on to impact every other area of their life. All because they shifted their perspective that their career had nothing to do with selling, their career was being built on a foundation of helping others. Ultimate success would then be achieved when other people came to believe they weren’t being sold, they were actually being helped by the salesperson. A true win/win.

                  Soon after I had spoken about the change in perspective regarding salespeople, I began some deep thought about how the stories in my book all had an underlying theme of the powerful role helping others can have in our lives. Considering my salesperson example, I began to consider other professions and how they all could be viewed from a helping others perspective. It was then that “all words have Greek roots” perspective from the movie came to my mind and I challenged myself. I set out to prove that every single job in this world has its “root value” tied to helping others. Yes, every single job. And so far, I’ve been unable to come up with a job that I can’t prove helps other people in some way. I had never taken the time to consider every job from that perspective before. Do you realize how powerful a perspective like that could be to this world? Can you even imagine how that perspective could have a huge positive impact on every human being on this earth? Not just now, but forever?

                  Am I willing to admit there are some “bad actors” with the wrong motives in many jobs? Absolutely! What I’m trying to convey is that every job offers an opportunity for someone to embrace the ability to help others. This is where management can help by making sure people clearly understand the value each job provides to the greater good of our world. That’s where the ability to quickly assess a person’s sincere desire to help others becomes valuable for the overall experience you have.

                  Are you up for a throwdown challenge? Here it is. Go ahead, try to name a job that doesn’t in some way result in helping others and challenge me with your logic. I’ll be able to show how that job does help others, thus anchoring the “every job in some way helps others” perspective forever in your mind and the mind of others. That’s a win/win that leads to a better world. While I’m not sure that every word came from Greek roots, I AM sure that every job, regardless of its social status and wage level, DOES in some way help others. Thus, we can all go to sleep tonight feeling better about the role our job plays for the greater good of society and how we all can benefit from every other person’s job. Always remember, Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUP!