Earning money and spending time

Today has been a meeting kind of day. You know one of those days when you’re in so many meetings you feel like you don’t have time to actually get anything done? Of course you’re getting things done because work is done in meetings with groups of people, but your individual work feels neglected. This has made me wonder how the president gets things done. It sure seems like he is in one meeting after another, in fact that seems to be all presidents ever do. So who’s doing the work?

When you get to thinking about it you realize that there’s a reason for all those people sitting in the background. The President is the one making the deal, getting the concessions, but then he has to rely on those background people to actually get the stuff worked out, in place and running right. I guess this is true of all leaders, whether they are the leaders of countries, companies or organizations. Boy, you better be sure you have good background people, because your reputation and career is really depending on them.

I guess in a way I’m a background person, just not at that level, and I’m not sure I ever want to be at that level. I like having time off and going home on time most nights. As I’ve gotten older I’ve grown to value that even more. In the last few years there have been a couple of positions in my bureau that I could have applied for that would have moved me up the ladder, and many people assumed I would apply. I thought about it, and came really close, but in the end I decided that those positions would require too much of the personal time I wasn’t willing to sacrifice. I like working on volunteer projects in the evening, watching a little TV, reading, or hanging with friends and family. I don’t get paid for any of it, at least not in money, but I find these activities very rewarding.

Don’t get me wrong I’m willing to give advice, share ideas and do the grunt work, but at this point I have to really fell invest in the project. Last year I spent over a 100 hours working on our neighborhood action plan, another 60 hours volunteering on projects with the PTO, and hundreds of hours supporting my solders. So while spending my time earning money is important to my way of life, I’ve decided that spending time to support my personal interests and growth is just as important to me, if not more.

So, get out there and find something you can spend you soul on that makes you happy. That has to be one of the keys to life.