The Story of Big Jim

The power went out. Again!

I looked out my second story office window and knew exactly why.I could hear the sounds throughout the morning. This crew of 4 menand 3 bucket trucks stringing power lines along the new poles theyhad been planting in the front and back yards of my neighborhoodthe past few weeks.

Often during this time, I would be working on my laptop on the frontporch and watched this professional teamwork in totalsynchronicity, moving from pole to pole in planned sequence. Firstit was connecting the phone lines. Then, cable. Today, and finally,from the back alley, the electricity.

What was of extreme interest to me was the foreman of this well-oiled machine. A big, burly middle-aged fellow whose sheer statureand hard look would intimidate most. But, he always uttered hiscommands, some very loudly as his underlings were often thirty-fivefeet in the air, with warm authority.

You could tell his crew really liked and had great respect for him.Although this was far from your typical 'lean on your shovel' squad,they still joked while working at a well-managed pace. Bossman,whose job description no doubt mandated a no hands-on, nophysical labor approach, was always doing something to speedthings along, be it picking up refuse or spooling wire. In fact, whilethey were in the process of connecting my power, guess who waspruning the overgrown pine tree branches in my backyard to makeit easier for his boys?

It was at this point that I brought my high-wire friends a sampling ofmy special blend Coffee (I prepared this, just prior to 'lights out'),reserved usually for special company. Setting a tray down on thepatio table, I engaged 'Jim' in conversation and remarked how muchI enjoyed watching them work and how much it reminded me of mygreat production team when I owned a drycleaning Business.Another well-oiled, and fun to run machine.

His sun-hardened face beamed with pride as he began telling meabout what a great group of guys he had and how they were themost productive crew in this large company.

No wonder!

Our conversation was not a long one. Jim had to get his boys backto the matter at hand, and that was to get my power back. But itserved to make me think that here was a man who loved what hedoes, made a positive impact on those around him and earned thesincere respect of those under, and, above him. I could onlysurmise that Jim also had a great family life.

Why do I tell this story? Simple. It's a simple story of real success!No, Jim is not famous. Probably never will be. Nor is he rich as Icould tell, or any of those things that people usually associate withthe term 'success.' If this man won the lottery today I'd bet the farmhe'd be planting poles and stringing wire and having fun with hiscrew the very next week. He is, judging by my brief encounter withhim, a simple man who possesses one of the true keys ofsuccess: He loves what he does!

Let me ask you this? Are you doing what you love? Are you havingfun with your 'job'? Do you feel a real sense of purpose and genuinepassion for what you are offering people, be it your labor, yourcustomers or your employees? Do you bring those people aroundyou the great value that they deserve and that you are capable ofgiving? Are you respected by those around you for what you do?Are you, well, happy?

Let me assure you, if you answered "no" to any of the abovequestions, it's far from too late to change everything in your life!

In my top-selling ebook, Success: A Spiritual Matter, I had theextreme honor of interviewing 14 very successful entrepreneurs.One of those, Paul Lemberg, offered this: "Make sure your work ispersonally meaningful. If it's not - change what you're doing!" Hecontinues, "Figure out what your purpose is. Not a purpose for youto shellac to a piece of wood and put on the wall. Not a purposelike a check box for your Business plan. But a purpose like "whatare you here on earth for?" That kind of purpose."

One of the famous quotes of legendary Jim Rohn goes like this:"Turn your vocation into your vacation."

One of the highlights of putting Success: