WORK. With a Purpose.

“If you are working 29 hours, it’s 29 hours, it shouldn’t matter what you are doing during that time.”

This was a statement from my boss at a church where I used to work. I was a bit annoyed and exhausted with my position there because I signed up to do ministry and I felt like I was doing manual labor, babysitting and web design. Eventually I quit because I never felt like that role was a good fit for me. It was a good decision for both me and the church.

“They both pay the same, so what’s the difference?” Amy said this to me when I told her that I no longer do computer support. I was working with a client doing a design project and she was like, “My husband needs help setting up his office, some basic computer networking, etc. She was right, the hourly rate was the same. Most guys would love to make $65 an hour to simple tasks as setup a few computers and do a little networking, but I didn’t really have the time or the interest in doing that work, even if it paid more than what I was currently making.

If time is time and money is money, why should it matter what I’m doing?

At the very core of who I am, I am a designer. I don’t care about sports, or construction projects, or programming, or car engines. I care about how uniforms look during sporting events. I care about what a construction project looks like when it is finished and I care about how cars look, but as far as the inner workings, I’m not all that concerned. The reason is that for me the only thing that really matters is how it looks. So what’s my point?

My point is this… even if shoveling dirt paid $100 an hour it is not fulfilling, nor does it make me better at what I love. I love design and every single project I work on is an opportunity to hone my craft. I don’t want to just be good at design, I want to be the best. I spent 33 years of my life not knowing what I wanted to do for a career. I had no real passion. I was a ship without a destination or a captain. But now, I have a course plotted for my life and I am the captain of this ship. I do not have time to stop along the way and learn how to shovel better, or repair a car engine, or re-tile a floor. No. I leave those jobs to people who are passionate about them. That doesn’t mean I’m not self-sufficient taking care of some projects, but if I have the ability to make hourly money doing something I love, then I will gladly work 2 hours and make $130 and then pay someone else to mow my lawn, fix my car or tile my floor. The satisfaction I get from a job well done is not received when I try to do a good job with home projects or something else that I’m not good at and I just don’t have time to learn how to be awesome at everything. No one does.

At the end of the time I’m like Sweet Brown, “I ain’t got no time for bronchitis…” and I ain’t got time to do work that doesn’t make me better at what I love.