When I tell people my profession, coach and teacher, a common reply is something along the lines of, “Man that must be fun… and to have your summers off, too”.
And it must be fairly easy, right?… as aptly stated by Coach Greg Schiano, “There are two things every man in America thinks he can do: work a grill and coach football.”
Well, in the 30+ years of doing this job, I have never had a summer “off”… in fact summertime is one of the busiest of the year.
And our job is not for everyone.
Our job is not easy.
Our job is fun, but most people have the misconception that it is all thrilling “Friday Night Lights”, and Gatorade showers.
As we all know, our job is much more than that… it is wearing ten different hats during the course of a day… it is grueling… it is a grind… but a grind that we love and a job that is very rewarding.
Games are thrilling… but the job is more than games… it is work… hard work… difficult work… important work… work that matters.
Business and marketing expert, Seth Godin, discussed this in a post last week…
The thrill is gone
Of course it is.
The definition of a thrill is temporary excitement, usually experienced for the first time.
The definition of the thrill is that it’s going to be gone soon.
You might have been thrilled to go to your first job the first day. Or thrilled to see the first comment on your blog or thrilled the first time one of your books was translated into another language.
But after that? How can repeating it be thrilling?
The work of a professional isn’t to recreate thrills. It’s to show up and do the work. To continue the journey you set out on a while ago. To make the change you seek to make in the universe.
Thrilling is fine. Mattering is more important.
Ours is an awesome job, with awesome responsibilities.
Our job matters.
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Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!
Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com
