The secrets of people who love their jobs | Shane Lopez | TEDxLawrence

Summary

The speaker shares personal anecdotes and research insights on the emotional benefits of loving one's job. With stories of individuals like Uncle Ray, who transformed his career in travel, the talk highlights the importance of job crafting and finding joy in work. The speaker emphasizes that loving jobs are not found but made, through strategies like testing future roles, trusting instincts, leveraging strengths, and seeking the right boss. The message is clear: happiness at work is achievable and contributes significantly to overall well-being.

Takeaways

• 👶 Early Work Exposure: The speaker began working at a young age, learning that jobs can take various forms and that work can be a social experience.
• 🎓 Career Shifts: Initially aiming to be a podiatrist, the speaker's career aspirations changed after a pivotal experience, leading to a pursuit in psychology.
• 🔬 Positive Psychology: After ten years of education, the speaker became a positive psychologist, focusing on what's right with people rather than what's wrong.
• 💖 Emotional Fruits of Labor: The speaker discusses the emotional benefits of loving one's job, and how this research has influenced their own life and work.
• 🚫 Pain of Disliking Jobs: Many people spend a significant portion of their lives unhappy at work, which can be draining and prevent them from reaching their full potential.
• 🌟 Inspiring Uncle Ray: The speaker's Uncle Ray, a travel agent, was passionate about his job, demonstrating the positive impact of job love and setting an example.
• 🔍 Research on Job Love: The speaker has conducted extensive research, finding that only 13% of people love their jobs, and these individuals come from various professions.
• 🛠️ Crafting Jobs: People who love their jobs didn't just find them; they actively shaped and crafted their roles to align with their interests and strengths.
• 🧐 Ernest Dichter's Cake Mix Story: Adding an egg to cake mix made consumers feel more involved in the baking process, illustrating the importance of personal involvement in what we create.
• 🔑 Designing Life: The speaker suggests five strategies for designing a life where one's job is fulfilling, including testing the future, trusting your gut, playing to strengths, job crafting, and finding the right boss.
• 🛍️ Boss Shopping: Finding a good boss can significantly enhance job satisfaction, and it's worth making changes to work under someone who understands and supports your growth.

Q & A

What did the speaker learn about jobs from watching their grandmother and her colleagues?

The speaker learned that jobs come in all shapes and sizes and that work can be a very social experience, with people engaging in various activities like folding, adding to the pot, and gambling, all while the speaker's grandmother, a professional card player, brought them for good luck.

Why did the speaker initially want to become a podiatrist?

The speaker initially wanted to become a podiatrist for reasons they describe as 'wacky,' which is a humorous way to say that young people often have unusual or arbitrary reasons for choosing their career paths.

What changed the speaker's mind about pursuing podiatry?

The speaker's interest in podiatry ended after seeing grown-ups' feet for the first time at a pool, which made them realize that the reality of the job did not align with their expectations or interests.

How did the speaker's interest in psychology develop?

The speaker's interest in psychology developed from a desire to make people happy, inspired by binge-watching old Bob Newhart episodes, which led them to believe that being a psychologist was a great career choice.

What is the main topic the speaker wants to discuss in the script?

The main topic the speaker wants to discuss is the emotional fruits of labor, specifically what life gives you when you love your job, and how this love for work can impact one's life positively.

What percentage of people does the speaker claim love their jobs according to their research?

According to the speaker's research, 13% of people are having a love affair with their jobs, meaning they are uniquely engaged and passionate about what they do.

What is the speaker's view on the common advice 'follow your passion'?

The speaker considers the advice 'follow your passion' to be misleading and potentially dangerous, as it suggests that there are pre-existing perfect jobs waiting to be found, rather than recognizing that people who love their jobs have crafted them from good ones.

What is the speaker's advice on finding a job you love?

The speaker advises that you will not land the perfect job but rather perfect the good job you have by designing your life and job in a way that brings it to life and improves the rest of your life.

What is the 'Dreamtime' program mentioned in the script and how does it work?

The 'Dreamtime' program is an initiative where employees are given 30 minutes a week to work on their dreams, which are shared publicly with colleagues and supported by a dream manager. It aims to reignite the dreaming process post-graduation and has boosted engagement, productivity, and well-being at work.

What is the 'spin versus send' strategy mentioned by the speaker?

The 'spin versus send' strategy is a method to optimize emotional well-being at work by spending more face-to-face time with people who give you positive feelings ('spin') and sending emails or texts to those you don't care as much about ('send').

What are the five design life strategies the speaker shares for job satisfaction?

The five design life strategies are: 1) Test drive the future, 2) Trust your gut, 3) Play to your strengths, 4) Craft your job, and 5) Shop for the right boss.

What is the significance of the story about the cake mix and what lesson does it teach about job satisfaction?

The cake mix story illustrates the importance of making and owning one's work. By adding an egg to the mix, housewives felt more connected to the process, which parallels the idea that people who love their jobs have crafted them to feel more personal and rewarding.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of having a great boss for job satisfaction?

The speaker emphasizes the significance of having a great boss for job satisfaction, stating that only one in ten bosses are truly great. They suggest 'boss shopping' as a strategy to find a boss who can get the most out of you and care about your well-being.

Can you provide an example from the script of someone who successfully applied the principles discussed?

Mary is an example from the script who trusted her gut and did 'boss shopping.' She found a great boss in Patricia Kelly, which led to a long and fulfilling career as a teacher.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Early Work Experiences and Career Shifts

The speaker recounts their early introduction to work at the age of six, observing their grandmother and her card games, which were a mix of work and socializing. They learned that jobs can be diverse. At nine, they worked in their family's restaurant, learning the social aspect of work. Their initial career aspiration was to be a podiatrist, but after seeing adult feet at a pool, they changed their mind. They pursued psychology, influenced by Bob Newhart shows, and eventually became a positive psychologist, focusing on the positive aspects of people. The speaker aims to discuss the emotional benefits of loving one's job and how it can change one's life, contrasting with the pain of disliking one's job.

05:01

🛫 The Inspirational Journey of Uncle Ray

The narrative shifts to Uncle Ray, who loved his job as a travel agent despite starting in a mundane customer service role. His manager recognized his talent for calming people, which he leveraged to build a successful career in the travel industry. Uncle Ray's story inspired the speaker to view life as full of potential and to make a difference through one's work. The speaker's research indicates that only 13% of people love their jobs, and these individuals come from various professions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of job satisfaction for overall well-being and happiness.

10:03

🏭 The Science of Loving Your Job

The speaker delves into the findings from their research on job satisfaction, revealing that people who love their jobs have crafted these positions rather than stumbled upon them. They discuss the story of Ernest Dichter, who helped a company improve cake mix sales by adding an egg, thus giving housewives a sense of participation and ownership. This highlights the human desire to create and own what they do. The speaker advises against common career advice like 'follow your passion,' instead suggesting that people should perfect the jobs they have by designing their lives around their work.

15:05

🛠️ Strategies for Designing a Fulfilling Career

The speaker outlines five strategies for designing a life where one's job is fulfilling: test drive the future, trust your gut, play to your strengths, craft your job, and find the right boss. They provide examples, such as instituting 'dream time' at work, using a 'spend versus send' strategy to build relationships with caring co-workers, and job crafting techniques to make work more engaging. The emphasis is on taking an active role in shaping one's job to enhance satisfaction and happiness.

20:07

🏫 The Power of a Supportive Boss

The final paragraph tells the story of Mary, who trusted her instincts and sought a job with caring colleagues and a great boss. Despite facing job loss due to enrollment issues, a senior colleague's support allowed her to keep her position under a principal who understood and valued her. This story illustrates the importance of having a supportive boss and the dividends it can pay in job satisfaction and longevity. The speaker concludes by emphasizing that happiness is tied to the quality of one's job, and that good jobs are created rather than discovered.

Keywords

💡Work Ethic

Work ethic refers to the values and attitudes that individuals have towards their work. In the video, the speaker's early exposure to the work environment through their grandmother's card games and the family restaurant instilled a strong work ethic, highlighting the importance of early experiences in shaping one's approach to work.

💡Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. The speaker mentions becoming a positive psychologist, which focuses on the emotional fruits of labor and the benefits of loving one's job. This concept is central to the video's theme of the importance of finding fulfillment in one's work.

💡Engagement

Engagement in the context of work refers to the level of enthusiasm and commitment an individual has towards their job. The video discusses how 13% of people are uniquely engaged and passionate about their work, which is indicative of the emotional connection and investment they have in their jobs.

💡Uncle Ray

Uncle Ray is a character in the video who exemplifies the joy of loving one's job. He was a travel agent who turned his role into something uniquely his by leveraging his talent for putting people at ease. His story serves as an inspiration for the idea that individuals can shape their jobs to align with their passions.

💡Job Crafting

Job crafting is the process of making changes to one's job in order to make it more personally fulfilling and meaningful. The speaker mentions job crafting as a strategy for turning a good job into one that one can love, suggesting that individuals have the power to shape their work to better suit their interests and strengths.

💡Boss Shopping

Boss shopping is the idea of seeking out and working for a boss who is supportive, understanding, and helps one to thrive in their job. The story of Mary in the video illustrates the impact of having a great boss, as she actively sought a position where she could work under a boss who 'got her'.

💡Career Advice

Career advice in the video is presented as guidance that can help individuals find and shape their ideal jobs. The speaker challenges common advice like 'follow your passion' and instead suggests that individuals should perfect the good job they have, emphasizing the importance of actively developing one's career rather than passively following a preconceived passion.

💡Emotional Fruits of Labor

The emotional fruits of labor refer to the positive emotional outcomes that come from loving one's job. The speaker wants to talk about these fruits, which include happiness, well-being, and a sense of fulfillment, and how they are a result of the work one does and the attitude one has towards it.

💡Designing Life

Designing life is the concept of actively shaping one's life and work to create a more fulfilling and meaningful existence. The speaker shares strategies for designing life, such as testing the future, trusting one's gut, and playing to one's strengths, to help individuals create jobs and lives they love.

💡Well-being

Well-being in the video is discussed in relation to job satisfaction and the positive impact of loving one's work. The speaker notes that people who love their jobs have high levels of well-being, suggesting a strong correlation between job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction.

💡Passion

Passion in the context of the video is the intense interest or enthusiasm for one's work. The speaker argues against the common advice of following one's passion for career success, instead suggesting that passion is something that can be developed and cultivated through the work one does and the effort one puts into it.

Highlights

The speaker's early exposure to diverse jobs, including gambling and restaurant work, shaped their understanding of the variety of work experiences.

The speaker's grandmother was a professional card player who used her grandson as a good-luck charm, illustrating the influence of family on career paths.

The importance of social interaction in work was emphasized through the speaker's experience working in a family restaurant.

The speaker's initial career aspiration to be a podiatrist was abandoned after a disillusioning experience, showing how early interests can change.

The journey to becoming a positive psychologist was inspired by the desire to make people happy and the influence of Bob Newhart's TV show.

The emotional fruits of labor are discussed, emphasizing the benefits of loving one's job and how it can lead to a more fulfilling life.

The speaker's research reveals that only 13% of people in America love their jobs, suggesting a widespread issue with job dissatisfaction.

People who love their jobs are not defined by their job titles or educational backgrounds, but by their passion and engagement.

The story of Uncle Ray, a travel agent, demonstrates how a single talent can be developed into a successful career.

The idea that love for one's job is not about finding the perfect job, but about perfecting the job one has.

The motivational psychologist Ernest Dichter's research on cake mixes highlights the importance of the 'maker's instinct' in consumer satisfaction.

The speaker challenges common career advice like 'follow your passion', arguing that it can be misleading and not always applicable.

The concept of 'job crafting' is introduced as a way to shape and improve one's job to increase satisfaction and engagement.

The importance of finding a good boss who can enhance one's work performance and well-being is emphasized through the story of Mary.

Five design strategies for a better life and job are presented: test drive the future, trust your gut, play to your strengths, craft your job, and shop for the right boss.

The speaker's personal story of leaving a tenured professorship to make a bigger impact reflects the courage to change one's career path for greater fulfillment.

The central message that happiness is closely tied to the quality of one's job and that good jobs are created rather than found concludes the talk.

Transcripts

when I was six I started going to work

with my grandmother on Friday nights I'd

sit there quietly on a stool watching

her and her colleagues they sat there

shoulder-to-shoulder some would fold

things others would add to the pot most

were smoking all were gambling my

grandmother was a professional card

player and she brought me to her card

game because I was her good-luck charm

what I learned at an early age is that

jobs came in all shapes and sizes at

9:00 I started working in our family

restaurant Joe's driving which was

neither owned by Joe nor a drive-in but

I worked three shifts a week they're

prepping cleaning frying baking all

alongside three generations of my family

there I learned that work was a very

social experience now you may be

wondering about the legality of gambling

and child labor well this was Louisiana

in the 1970s so I think it was okay at

12 I went legit I thought I was going to

be a podiatrist don't ask me why we all

have wacky reasons as to why we choose

the career as we choose but I thought I

was going to be a podiatrist until that

summer I went to the pool and I saw

grown-ups feet for the first time and

real bold big life after that podiatry

thoughts of podiatry were parts of my

past I went to school for ten years to

become a psychologist how did I end up

there well I always wanted to make

people happy and there was this summer

where I binge-watched

old Bob Newhart episodes and I thought

that was a great career that's a great

career for me and I became a

psychologist after ten quick years of

college I got out and I was studying

what was right with people

so I became a positive psychologist

studying what was right with people and

today I want to talk about the emotional

fruits of labor the emotional fruits of

labor

I want to talk about what life gives you

when you love your job and since I've

been researching this I have lived

differently I work differently and I

hope the same happens for you now

even though I look for people who love

their jobs all the time I meet people

who don't like their jobs quite often in

fact they are they have this uncanny

ability to find me and sit next to me on

long flights and I learned a lot about

the jobs they hate now the reason I

think these people talk so much about

the jobs they hate is because they're in

pain they're in pain I know I've been a

job hater I've been in that pain you

spend a third of your life a third of

your life going to a job that makes you

miserable going to a job that makes you

miserable and you don't get to do what

you do best you don't get to shine you

don't get praised in recognition and you

work for this boss that you secretly

call a soul-sucking happiness vampire I

hope she's not here and it just drains

you but I also meet a whole lot of

people that love their jobs the first

person I ever knew who loved this job

was my Uncle Ray Uncle Ray was just this

fascinating enigma to me he would swoop

into our low town of New Iberia

Louisiana and just change my life my

life would go from black and white to

color when Uncle Ray was in town and he

just had this way about him while other

people were talking about jobs they

hated and clearing my grandmother's

living room uncle Jay Uncle Ray would

captivate us with talk of the travel

agent job he loved so let me tell you a

little bit about his job he started in

the travel industry in a job that wasn't

all that exotic it wasn't all that

adventurous he was a customer service

agent at a regional airline a customer

service agent at a reach

airline and he didn't get to travel as

much as he had hoped but what he did get

was just a ton of experience and a ton

of opportunity and he had one manager

that changed his life the manager said

to him ray

your people soother you calm people down

my Uncle Ray built a career and a life

out of that one talent being a people

suitor when the airline national

airlines shut down he moved to

California double down on his commitment

to the travel industry double down on

his commitment to what he did best and

while working at an orchard sought out

his next job in travel he was recruited

by the owner of a travel agency mr.

galley and mr. galley recognized uncle

Ray's potential to put people at ease

ray quickly learned the business he had

no experience playing interest when he

quickly learned the business and he

carved the job into something that was

uniquely his he shaped it little by

little and it became his job and he

would turn hassles of travel into plans

for a dream trip and he customers

flocked to him and just a little bit of

time he became one of the top grossing

agents at the firm and then after ten

years he was one of the top grossing

agents in the country and he was also

named vice president of the galley

travel I tell you this story about Uncle

Ray because he inspired me he inspired

me to look at life as if there was

potential to look at life as if I can

make a difference I could work on my job

I could change my job into something

that really meant something to me that's

something that really mattered to me now

I believe the best career advice comes

from the Rays of the world and these

people really do exist these people who

love their jobs they really do exist

they pop out of bed in the morning

energized ready to go they come home at

night still full of energy ready to

share with their families these people

do exist they're not mythical creatures

like unicorns are Jay Hawks

are Democrats in western Kansas they're

real they really do exist and I want to

tell you about the work I've been doing

to find these people and discover their

secrets in the last three years I've

been working with a huge dataset of

8,500 working Americans and trying to

figure out exactly how many people in

America love their jobs how many people

are having a love affair with their jobs

what do you think what percentage you're

all wrong

13% 13% of people are having a love

affair with their jobs they are they are

uniquely engaged they are uniquely

passionate about what they do

87% of people are not 87% of people or

not who are these people who are these

people these are real people these are

artists

these are accountants teachers preachers

soldiers mechanics these are real people

and they don't have special degrees from

special universities they don't have

beautiful perfect resumes they're people

like you and me so even I can love my

job even you can love your job now in

researching these people I started

conducting interviews because the data

was strong but I needed data with a soul

so I started asking people about their

jobs and getting the stories from them

and learning more and more and more each

and every day I've interviewed hundreds

of these folks and I've learned two

things two things have emerged from

their stories of loving their jobs

number one number one people who love

their jobs have great lives they have

great lives they're off the charts and

well-being they're at the height of

happiness and loving your job is almost

an antidote to human suffering

someone's an antidote to human suffering

when I found out it just blew me away

that people who love their jobs are

thriving not struggling not suffering so

the first secret of people who love

their jobs is that happiness depends on

the goodness of your jobs happiness

depends on the goodness of your job

second

what I found was that these people did

not land those jobs they loved they

slowly created those jobs they design

and built those jobs out of ordinary

positions they just did editing nudging

in with a lot of effort turned a

reasonably good job into one they could

love

so the second secret of people who love

their jobs is that love worthy jobs are

made not found love worthy jobs are made

not found now there's a whole science

about loving things have an affinity for

things you make versus things you find

I'm not going to bore you with that I

want to tell you one story though that

backs up this research it's a story an

old story about a motivational

psychologist named Ernest Dichter Ernest

Dichter was hired by a company because

his new time-saving product wasn't

selling as well as they thought it would

sell brand new time-saving product

called

the cake mix the cake mix came into

vogue in the 1940s and 50s and it was

selling well and then the sales

flattened get it

cake sales flattened I do enjoy myself

and then cake sales flattened and then

after a while the companies asked

artists Dichter what's up with these

cake sales

why aren't they continuing to grow as we

thought well what Ernest did was he

interviewed housewives who the primary

purchasers of cake mixes at the time and

he asked these housewives

why don't you buy more cake mix and the

answer was very interesting the answer

was that it was too easy these are not

my cakes when I make a cake mix cake

it's not homemade it's not made by me

it's not made with love so Ernest went

back to the drawing board he said okay

all you have to do is pour the contents

in the bowl you'd have to add water you

mix you pour the contents into the pan

you pop it in the oven and bake it

what could we change about that process

that would invite more mothers to feel

like they made something rather than

found something and what was his

conclusion

add an egg add an egg so now for the

last 50 years we've been adding eggs to

our cake mix every time we make a cake

out of a box we have to add one or two

eggs not because they couldn't add egg

powder which they had in the mix prior

but because we need to make things we

have a drive to make things we also have

a drive to have ownership and autonomy

so I ask you a quick question by

clapping tummy

if you've ever rented a car clap thank

you okay now tell me by clapping if

you've ever washed a rental car alright

so we have these lovely people who have

rented cars and no one not a single

person in this room has ever washed a

rental car why don't you wash a rental

car you don't own it

it's not yours somebody else will take

care of it I already paid for that

someone else will do it

in my stead that's a renters approach

and if we have a renters approach to our

jobs

we'll never love our jobs if we don't

make our jobs our own will never take

care of them in a way that we can love

them now now is the part of the talk

where I'm supposed to inspire you okay

I'm supposed to tell you this story

about how I left my job as a tenured

professor to make a bigger difference in

people's lives wait I still lose my

breath when I say that okay I left my

job as a tenured professor to make a

bigger difference in people's lives and

it's a great story but we just don't

have time all right I should tell you

about Joseph Campbell and and quote him

this wonderful quote follow your bliss

and the universe will open doors where

there are only walls that's a great

quote I should cite Steve Jobs in his

Stanford commencement speech find what

you love find what you love but I'm not

going to quote either those guys okay

because what people who love their jobs

tell us

is that that advice while popular is

misleading it's misleading

so take the confucian saying choose a

job you love and you will never work a

day in your life sounds like something

that an unemployed philosopher would say

okay choose a job you love choose a job

you love it makes it sound like they're

just show rooms full of jobs that you

would love and all you have to do is

walk in and pick that job and your life

will be much better but what we know

from people who love their jobs is that

they take this job that's pretty good

and they turn it into something amazing

there's also this wildly popular saying

follow your passion follow your passion

that is the most dangerous career advice

we could ever give anybody follow your

passion there was a study done on

people's passions and they asked people

to name the things that make their heart

pound and only 5% of people could name

things related to work 5% could name

their passions but you're supposed to

follow your passion to the promised land

but that's just not happening what

people who love their job say is that

they are full of zest and zeal and

passion but they created it they created

it on the job all right so what does

that leave us with what is it what kind

of career advice does that give us well

people who love your job love their jobs

say you will not land the perfect job

you will perfect the good job you have

you would perfect the good job you have

and that's the advice I want you to hear

and you do that by designing your life

you do that by designing everything

about your life so that your job comes

to life and the rest of your life is

made better now there are 5 design life

design strategies I want to share with

you the first one is test drive the

future test drive the future second one

trust your gut third one play to your

strengths fourth craft your job and

fifth

for the right boss which is my favorite

one we'll come back to that test-drive

your future you have to get to know your

future self so that you can make choices

and changes at your job today you have

to do that and my friend CEO of he's CEO

of a fundraising consulting firm his

name is Patrick alter dice he legislates

Dreamtime at his office 30 minutes a

week of dream time is mandatory for all

of his employees so he came up with this

dream program because he said after

people graduate from college they

stopped dreaming so he D instituted a

dream program whereby you have to commit

to your dreams in public share them with

all of your colleagues then you consult

with a dream manager at work that's a

real job ok and then you spend 30

minutes every Friday morning working on

your dreams and they don't have to be

related to work all right and guess what

it's working people are pursuing their

passions Patrick just came back from

Nepal which was part of his dreaming

that he engaged in and other people are

pursuing their passions they're becoming

debt free they're going back to school

they're starting families they're doing

amazing things all because of dream time

they've changed their jobs and they've

changed their lives and it's boosted

engagement productivity and well-being

at work now the second one is trust your

gut now trust your gut can be used when

you're first interviewing for a job and

hopefully when you go into a setting

you're certainly just sensitive to the

reactions of the other people in the

workplace but I want you to think about

what love your people who love your jobs

love their job said to me they said that

they are surrounded by caring co-workers

almost every one of these people said

they were surrounded by caring

co-workers when I inquired it really it

came to my realization that that didn't

happen by accident

what they did was they slowly stopped

hanging out

the people they didn't care about and

started hanging out more with the people

that cared about them

it's a spend versus send strategy that

they used and you can use it at work

tomorrow spend more face-to-face time

with the people that give you the warm

fuzzies at work and send more emails and

texts that the people you don't give a

damn about all right this spin versus

send strategy allows you to be civil but

yet get your emotional needs met at work

now there's playing To Your Strengths

play to your strengths doing what you do

best

makes you feel better and makes you work

better both feeling better and working

better I have a great quote by Sir Ken

Robinson I don't know if you've heard of

the guy here we go I could read it in a

British accent are you ready I won't do

that we create our lives symbiotically

as we explore our talents in relation to

the circumstances they helped create for

us identify your strengths and play to

those strengths and I promise you your

work will become more rewarding for you

next is job crafting craft your job my

friend Amy Rose new ski has developed

this whole suite of techniques that you

can use to job craft at work one simple

one is to cue up your day in a different

way so while you used to maybe go into

work with this willy nilly approach to

your tasks what if you did all of the

most engaging and inspiring tasks first

so that the rest of your day when you

were met with drudgery you could plow

through that or what if you reverse that

and you went to work and you dealt with

all the hassles of the day first and

then into the day on a high note either

one of those is job crafting so we can

slowly slowly shape our jobs over time

to turn them into more rewarding jobs

and the final one is boss shopping okay

this is something that we can all do but

it's hard it's really hard we have to

sacrifice some things because there are

only 1 in 10 bosses

our great bosses hear that again only

one in ten people who are bosses are

really great bosses so we have to shoot

for good bosses who get the most out of

us and also care about our well being

and what you need to do is think about

shifting and switching maybe the office

you work in the schedule you work the

the branch you work out so that you can

get a boss that can get more out of you

I want to tell you a story about Mary

who both trusted her gut and did some

boss shopping Mary applied to every

teaching job available to her in driving

distance when she graduated from college

and she walked into the buildings with

two criteria she wanted warm colleagues

and a great boss and she searched and

searched and searched and interviewed at

a whole bunch of places but then she

landed at Langley Park McCormick

Elementary and at that school she found

caring colleagues and a boss that just

got her in fact she told me she called

her mom from the car after the interview

and said mom this woman just gets me I'm

going work for Patricia Kelly so Mary

got the job she was thrilled she got the

job at Langley Park McCormick Elementary

and things were going wonderful up until

the day when she was setting up her

classroom her first-grade classroom she

got called to the principal's office

which is never a good thing even when

you're grown up and Patricia Kelly had

some bad news for Mary the enrollment

projections were off there are fewer

students going to that school than

planned

they had one too many teachers Mary was

out of a job news of this situation

spread Mary's in hers classroom packing

her boxes back up when a senior

colleague comes to her one of those

people who had treated her warmly upon

her initial visit and said Mary I heard

about the enrollments the enrollment

numbers and I want to tell you that the

enrollment was higher at another school

than projected so I'm going to take that

job because you need to be with dr.

Kelly

you need a great principal and you can

keep your job

mary has been working for dr. Patricia

Kelly for 25 years she's a fifth grade

teacher now at Westover elementary and

last two years ago she was named the

most hopeful teacher in America shopping

for the right boss page pays huge

dividends now the central message and

Mary story and Ray's story and the story

of other vibrant people happy people who

love their jobs is pretty simple but it

should change everything we do to

prepare ourselves and others for careers

happiness depends on the goodness of our

jobs and those good jobs are made not

found thank