Wordswell Communiqué 1/12/10 – “Dignity”
January 12th, 2010Lawyers cheat.
Marketers lie.
Used car salesmen do both.
Teachers are the ones that can’t “do”.
Government workers have it easy.
Housewives have it easy.
Celebrities have it easy.
Doctors charge too much.
Financial guys are greedy.
Consultants b.s.
Politicians only care about getting reelected.
Pastors don’t do real work.
Mechanics rip you off.
Trash men are… trash men.
IT guys are dorks.
Realtors just unlock doors for you.
Construction workers are dirty.
Nurses aren’t doctors.
Do you ever feel like a victim to your own stereotypes about what you do? Smash them.
This year at the TEDx Mid-Atlantic conference, Joel Salatin said, “If we devote ourselves to sacredness in our vocations, the world will rise to meet us.” Do you see the sacredness and the dignity in what you do? What about in other people?
The humility that lets you see the value in everyone around you is the humility that will let you see the value in yourself.
Take the phrase “I’m just a…” out of your vocabulary,
Brody
P.S. If you watch the “Wordswell < :90 Update” video today, you’ll see we’re asking you “Why are most car dealership ads so bad?” and “What would it take for you to care about where you bought a car?” To access that survey, click on wordswell.com/cars.
Tags: communique, dignity, humility, professions, sacred, stereotypes, value, Wordswell
January 12th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I love the admonition to “see the sacredness and the dignity in what you do,” and I posit that those who DO just that, especially in professions that have a tendency to be the target of stereotypes, will set themselves apart from their peers and competition.
The trick, however, is that we can’t “put on” sanctity and dignity for the primary purpose of getting the competetive edge in business; it must be done for its inherent benefits, and if so, excellence and the desired business results tend to follow.
January 12th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Years ago when I was feeling called from being an engineer to become a pastor, I did not want to make the change. The reason was not the lower pay, but the poor image of pastors due to the Swaggarts and Bakkers of the day. Not untl an older, wiser man told me “you don’t share in their shame. Go define what kind of pastor you are going to be” did I make the move. He was saying the same thing – smash the images and perceptions with my own personal choices. Good words Brody.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
And I’m a chiropractor….and we’re quacks, not “real” doctors, and in order to get well, you need to come in for 43 visits, right? WRONG. I smash that perception with my difference. Vive la difference!
January 12th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Tim-
I couldn’t agree more. You can’t just put it on. It’s devotion to your trade for the sake of doing great work that really makes a different. I found that to be consistently true in every industry that we touch.
Greg
January 12th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I like to think I regard people and their professions with equal value. I like to think I am the great affirmer. But then I started a new job, and I came to realize I think this job, which is a noble profession, is beneath me. Which also means I have to admit that I do, in fact, assign value to people according to their respective employment. I do, in fact, rank myself and others. Oy vey. I wish I did not do this.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
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