Perceptions of Good Works

…whatever you do, do it from the heart,

with good will…

(Colossians 3:23 )

Today is the day we celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers! Notice the use of the word workers in the definition, because today is really about the good people who get the job done. So today, I dedicate this blog post to the millions of hardworking men and women who show up every day and give 100% for the cause. Happy Labor Day!

I ran into a college friend and former colleague from Cargill in the airport last week. We shared a few stories about our struggles and successes in getting to where we are in our lives and our careers. He said something that struck me: we may be raising a generation of children who may not be prepared to do better financially than the parents. When we went to college, leaving our small Arkansas hometowns, in many cases, the move was a step up for us. Many of our first apartments were better than the houses in which we grew up. Fast forward twenty-five years, and our kids may not have the same drive and motivation that we had. What happened in one generation?

During the flight, we talked about our similar backgrounds. We had real jobs in high school: he worked on his family’s farm while I worked as a hamburger hostess (fancy title for cashier at Mr. B’s). These were not perceived as good jobs by our teenage peers, but we showed up every day, learned some life skills, and began to develop a real good work ethic. In college, we HAD to work, period. We took various routes and jobs--many in our shared social circle have stories about working at either the Mexican Original or Campbell Soup plants in Fayetteville. These were not perceived as good jobs by some of our “educated” friends, but real bills require real hours and teach real humility and perseverance. We began our careers at Cargill after both graduating with degrees. These were not perceived as good jobs by some of our engineering comrades, but the starting salary was really great for the opportunities and experiences presented. We left Cargill in the mid-90s, taking different paths in our pursuit of careers in production. We have achieved executive level status and success, yet still encounter the perception that manufacturing is not perceived as good works. Manufacturing is not for everyone, but when you can look around and can see the fruits of your hard work and labor in the products, you feel the passion in your purposed work.

 

As parents, we have to instill in our children that you don’t just wake up one day and achieve success. George Takei gets credit for this illustration of success:

We have to demonstrate by our example that purposed work requires some key personal characteristics: drive, motivation, work ethic, humility, perseverance, dedication, commitment, and passion.  

We have to exemplify by our actions to the next generation of workers that social and economic achievement begins early, begins from the heart, and begins with a desire to do good works, and not what is perceived to please man. What are you doing to prepare your children to do better in life socially and economically? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.