Why Work?

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.  ~Thomas Edison

I grew up with a really strong work ethic.  My dad, a physcologist, was the type of man who worked a 60-hour work week, then came home and worked in the orchard or the garden.  He tinkered in the garage on the occasional car problem and volunteered at my church.  There was never a shortage of work and by watching him I learned at young age that he liked it.  Work made him happy.  He worked hard and when the time came, he played hard too.

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.  ~Thomas Jefferson

Like my dad, I really like work.  I like the feeling of accomplishing something good.  I like yard work; trimming trees, mowing, edging, etc. My wedding reception was in my parent’s yard.  Their property is gorgeous, with large pines tracing the walkway to the house and citrus outlining the borders.  For Arizona, it’s lusch and green.  Several days before my wedding, I started working on the yard. I mowed, trimmed and beautified.  On one of my rounds cleaning up the property, an orange tree branch gashed against my arm.  It wasn’t a big deal, I thought, but during my wedding photos the photographer pointed out the large scrap on my arm.  It's funny to think how I stood with that part of my arm leaned into my handsome groom so the gash wouldn’t show up in all my wedding photos.  Hard working and ambitious,  I had also volunteered to paint the trim of my parent’s home before the wedding.  The trim went from a dark brown to forest green.  Let’s just it’s really difficult to get paint out from under your fingernails when you really want too. 

Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.  ~Ann Landers

Physical labor reminds me I’m alive and healthy.  I breathe hard and feel the muscles in my body moving.  Hard work helps me stay happy and young.  It also helps me keep my life in perspective.  I do a lot of thinking when I’m hard at work.  I run numbers, evaluate relationships and talk with God.  Work is cheap therapy.  

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.  ~Abraham Lincoln

I’ve written many opening pages to various novels while I’ve been hard at work doing dishes or laundry.  I hope to teach my children the joy of hard work.  I really think its one of the secrets to true happiness.  I’ve heard one of the keys to re-building our economy is the small business owner.  Because of eBay, I’m a small business owner and may start looking to contract out some of my work.   I’m happy to know I’m doing my part.

If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it. ~James A. Garland

When the kids quiet down and go to sleep, I don’t turn the T.V. on.  I don’t pick up the paper. Sometimes I do yoga while other times I mop the kitchen floor.  Once that’s done, I turn on the computer and get to work.  I work on my novel and/or I sell on eBay.  I guess I’m pretty predictable that way.  The counselor comes in and says “You still working?”

Sometimes he says I work too hard, but when work is so much fun how can I feel cheated? 

The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph! ~ Marvin Phillips