Welcome to the Fulfillment@Work Newsletter
Published by Joel Garfinkle, Dream Job Coaching
ISSN: 1533-3906

Contents

1. Feature Article: Count Your Pebbles
2. Quotes of the Week
3. Love Work Tip: Motivation Without Money
4. Dream Job Tip: Leave the Joneses' Behind
5. We Recommend: OpportunityNOCs.org 5.

Message from Joel

Welcome new subscribers! One reader said this about the newsletter last week: "...I loved the newsletter today - short, sweet - and knock out quotes."

Thank you! We value your opinions! To this end, we would like to ask your opinion on this subject: Would you prefer shorter newsletters for 3 weeks, and the longer, Fulfillment@Work the other week?

Send your comments to kathy@dreamjobcoaching.com, and remember, this is YOUR newsletter, tell us what you want!

Joel

Feature Article
Count Your Pebbles

Think it's not practical to begin following your passions due to the "cost of living?" Then let me start off by encouraging you to honestly "count up the costs" of not trying.

Recently, the field of teaching has come under fire as an underpaid income bracket not worth the trouble of pursuing. By studying the latest compensation data it becomes clear that this unfounded stereotype is simply not the case for almost anyone earning a paycheck.

The Cato Institute's, a Washington D.C.-based public policy think tank, recently released best seller It's Getting Better All The Time reports that the average hourly compensation for a full-time worker is about 20% higher today than it was in the so-called "good old days" of the 1950s. Furthermore when you take into account the value of fringe benefits to workers--including employer- provided or mandated medical insurance, pensions, increased vacation time and holidays as well as unemployment insurance--average worker compensation has risen by more than 50% since 1950. Non-cash income has also increased from 5% to 19% of worker compensation between 1950 and 1995.

These numbers apply to virtually every occupation across the board. Teachers, service workers, steel workers, secretaries and factory workers, to name just a few, all fare substantially better than their counterparts did just a few short decades ago. But beyond mere economic arguments, with any particular passion or career choice there is no need to get pigeonholed into one specific vocation.

For example, regarding the specialty of teaching, there are numerous roles of employment that utilize the skills and talents of standard K-12 teachers that equate to even higher incomes. The key component here is conducting the necessary research to acquire an understanding of what higher paying employment opportunities exist for those with an educational background or finding another the specialty that involves teaching such as a corporate trainer or the "Executive Learning Director" for a non-profit organization. Thus those who want to teach and make a Fortune 500 executive salary can find a way to earn a living that fits their lifestyle and still get the fulfillment of doing the work they truly enjoy!

But even more costly than a less desirable paycheck is letting the potential lack thereof block the pursuit of your passions in the first place.

Three men were riding on horseback in the Colorado Rockies one moonlit night. As they made their way along the base of the mountain a voice thundered down from the heavens, commanding them to stop and dismount. After they immediately followed the instruction, the voice continued, "Go to the riverbed and pick up some pebbles. Put them in your backpacks, but do not look at them until morning."

Upon completing their strange task, the men began to mount up only to hear the voice again, "This will be both the happiest and saddest day of your lives." With that final thought engrained clearly into their minds, the men went on their way. As the dawn of the new day began to brighten up the eastern sky, the riders reached into their saddlebags. To their amazement, the pebbles had turned to gold. As they celebrated their new wealth, one of the men stopped and exclaimed, "Wait! Now I know what the voice meant, when he said this would be both the happiest and saddest day of our lives. Yes we have gold, but think how rich we would be had we picked up more pebbles."

So often people go through life and at some point realize, "there could have been more." All because they failed to take advantage of the opportunities around them, thereby stripping themselves of unfound treasure. As you pursue your dream job or endeavor to find even more ways to love the job you already have, are you filling your saddlebag with every possibility and every opportunity that comes your way? Or are your unfounded fears of a limited income actually limiting your chances to fulfill your destiny?

Don't wake up one morning to lament, "This is both the happiest and saddest day of my life." Instead of pigeonholing your dreams, do whatever it takes to explore the realm of endless opportunities today.

If you want to learn how to Find Your Dream Job, click here:
http://www.dreamjobcoaching.com/coaching-overview.html

If you want to learn about Executive Coaching, visit:
http://www.GarfinkleExecutiveCoaching.com

~ Joel Garfinkle
Dream Job Coaching:
Live Your Dream Life!

Quotes of the week

"When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous."
~ Wayne Dyer

"Prosperity is living easily and happily in the real world, whether you have money or not."
~ Jerry Gellis

"Money is good, love is wealth."
~ Doug Horton

Love Work Tip
Motivation Without Money

Money is a material representation of your worth to a company. It may motivate you to produce good work, get along with your superiors and handle the many the frustrations and downsides of your work life. But it's not the only motivating factor from which you can derive a powerful source of fulfillment and satisfaction.

For example you may be motivated to make more of a contribution through your work. Your action step could be to see if there are any projects to work on that involve social causes you support. Review the list below and select three areas in which you can choose to cultivate more fulfillment at your current job.

* Advancing my career
* Mentoring relationships that include connecting, sharing and learning
* Freedom to create more passionate and engaging work
* Working with intelligent, creative and passionate colleagues
* Learning, developing and growing on the job
* Being appreciated and recognized for your talents and skills
* Participating in the organization's direction and overall vision

Next, focus on your answers and schedule time on your calendar this week to develop action steps to create more fulfillment in each of these important areas.

Dream Job Tip
Leave the Joneses' Behind

Money is certainly important for survival but as this week's article vividly illustrates satisfaction is equally important for long-term happiness. Many of us fall into a particular line of work by accident. Maybe we learned of a job opening through a friend or, even worse, we accepted a job merely because of higher pay.

Realize that this "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality is robbing you of your chance to appreciate all the other aspects that are important in your life and that life is simply to short to worry only about making money. When we find ourselves in this mindset we need to step back and evaluate how we use our time and energy on and look candidly at the tradeoffs.

I have a four-step process from my workbook Land Your Dream Job that can help you become more aware:

1. Realize that you're doing it. This may take some time and effort because you've been traveling this path for so many years and unconsciously reacting.

2. Step back and question it.

3. Notice all you're missing out on.

4. Think about how much energy you expend to make money. When you spend it, ask yourself if it's worth the life energy you're putting towards making it.

We Recommend
OpportunityNOCs.org 5

This is the Internet's leading source of nonprofit jobs and career opportunities.

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