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Achieving life-work balance

September 1, 2010 By Sandy 3 Comments

Last week at my local AFP chapter meeting, I had the privilege of hearing Eric Benson speak.  Eric is one of the most positive and energetic people I know and he spoke about achieving life-work balance.  Here’s some of what I took away from the presentation.

We think of work as something negative and play as something positive.  Why can’t work be fun, too? (It is for me!).  ANYTHING can be fun or drudgery.  It’s all in how we think about it.

Everything you do should have a purpose.  Everything. You should have a purpose for reading this blog and I should have one for writing it. Your purpose should be simple, clear, and 7 words or less.  For example, my purpose for writing this blog is “To share information, inspiration, and resources.”

Our purpose is the “what.” How we do things is different.  My purpose for writing is to share.  How I do it determines if it’s fun or work.

Be in the here and now.  If your mind is somewhere else, you should probably start moving your feet toward it.

Stop saying “I have to” and replace it with “I want to.”  Subtle but important difference.

Love the people you’re with. That’s what really matters.

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You make a difference!

August 18, 2010 By Sandy Leave a Comment

Since it’s back-to-school time, I thought I’d share this great inspirational video.  Even though it specifically talks to teachers, its message is applicable to all of us.

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Are you a Johnny?

August 2, 2010 By Sandy 16 Comments

This is short and inspirational.

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What legacy will you leave?

July 13, 2010 By Sandy 7 Comments

I had a few minutes between appointments yesterday and got to stop in one of my favorite thrift stores. It’s one of the stores operated by Knox Area Rescue Ministries and it’s a really nice store.  Every time I go in there, I have to smile.  That store is there in part because of me.

More than 10 years ago, I took my first job in Development at the Rescue Ministries.  My job consisted of managing special events (don’t we ALL do that at first?), coordinating volunteers, and overseeing the thrift store.  At that time, there was one location for the store and it wasn’t doing well.  It had been operating in the red for sometime and the President of the organization was ready to close it.  But I wanted a shot at turning it around.

I didn’t have any experience in thrift stores, but I had worked in retail before. So I took a look around and started making changes. I fired the store manager and hired someone with a lot of passion for the organization’s mission.  I made a few common sense changes in the store like applying a fresh coat of paint, expanding the hours, and increasing the prices of a few items (like charging $2 for a shirt instead of $1).  And within 2 months, we were turning a nice profit.  In month 3, we netted $10,000.  It was awesome!  The Board Chair sent me a nice cookie bouquet!  Later that year, I wrote a business plan to further expand the store, opening multiple locations in the community.

Today, there are several locations throughout the city.  And I smile when I pass one. I know I helped create something wonderful that has lasted long after I left my job there.  Of course, the store has gone through some ups and downs since then, but had I not been there and gotten things going, the store would have been closed in 1998.  Today, the thrift stores provide jobs to people in the community and a source of revenue for the Rescue Ministries.

So, what legacy will you leave behind?  No matter what job you do, you have the ability to leave something wonderful when you leave.  I invite you to think carefully about what that will be and see what you can do to make it happen.

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