Are You a Professional?
The theme of my blogs since I started writing them has been to share experiences and concepts that I have observed as being helpful for my readers to get ahead in all aspects of life. Today’s topic is about being the person who is serious about getting ahead in their work.
What does it mean to get ahead? For the purposes of my blogs, it means to be respected in whatever station of life you are in, while growing your net worth. King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” In the New International Study Bible commentary, it expands on what is written by describing that the craftsmen during these ancient days were considered wise. King David was skilled in many areas of life including being a musician. Joseph (of coat of many colors fame) was an outstanding politician and administrator and Huram (1 Kings7:14) was a sculptor in bronze.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin comments, in his book, ‘Business Secrets From the Bible’, on this same verse, citing it from the Hebrew language, “If you see a man who is quick to do his work, prompt to do his work, not when he feels like but when it needs to be done, you are looking at a man who is going to stand with kings.”(pg. 107)
Promptness to do your work, to do what you must do, not what you want to do, is the mark of the true professional.
The Latin root of amateur is from the word amor, which means “to love”. Rabbi Lapin goes on to state that an amateur is someone who does only what he loves doing. (pg.108)
When I was active in the Employee Benefits business, a common complaint that I heard from employers was that even though there were issues around absenteeism, a growing problem was a new issue called presenteeism. Presenteeism, defined, is the act of being physically at work, but having one’s mind or concentration elsewhere. A small group of employees in any business will spend a lot of time on their PC’s or on their cell phones, playing games, texting, or working on things they want to do; in short, they were pretending to work or to give the benefit of the doubt, doing the work that they wanted to do.
In conclusion, if you want to get ahead in your chosen career or in your business, find a way to love your work. If you can love your work, you will become one of the 20% that rise to the top of your profession instead of being part of the 80% that just gets by.
Al’s Nuggets
- Learn the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
- Learn to know how things really work.
- Mastering a skill takes effort and time. That is why most leaders tend to be older people.
- Learning from mistakes is called Experience!