The more comfortable we get with new technologies, the more accustomed we get to looking for an easy solution to our problems. Not to say we're trending toward laziness or cutting corners to find an easier way out, I've just noticed that the ways of the olden days are in fact…old.
Over the holiday season, I had a few days off and used it to head back home to visit the family.
It was nice to see them again, as I work a lot and don't get many opportunities to head home (insert 'Cats in the Cradle' comment here). My dad works a lot too, he owns a small electrical contracting outfit. The night before Christmas Eve he got a service call. Now, instead of bothering his employees (who were with their families as well) to do the job the next morning, he got up at 6:30 the morning of Christmas Eve and did the job himself. He could have easily called up an employee to do the job for him, after all, he has the authority to do so.
Hmmm….
It got me thinking, the ambition that drives a man to wake up at the crack of dawn everyday for work for 35 years is becoming a rare commodity. These days, it's fairly common to call on someone else to do it for you
. The line between worker and reliable worker is ever expanding as I've heard someone say so many times, “I wish I didn't have to work.�
There is the possibility that my perception of today's work ethic versus the work ethic of yesteryear may be skewed because of what I was taught by people around me growing up. However, the lack of ambition, that I'm becoming increasingly aware of among younger people, is growing.
While catching up, my dad and I somehow stumbled on that topic. He shared the example of a kid he knows the parents of, missing school to play Xbox. That never would've happened when I was growing up……well, not without a swift kick in the pants.
Who knows? Maybe people aren't looking in the right places for motivation and direction. Time's have changed. What applied fifty years ago rarely applies now. Although, going back to your roots may not be a bad idea. As entrepreneurship evolves, so does the way we conduct our business. Keeping in touch with traditions and balancing business evolution could just help a few more people take pride in what they do.
When it comes down to it, there are many things that can set a fire inside someone, and ignite a passion to do something, and to do it well. Everyone will have a different way of going about it, it's just a matter of sifting through the dark to find that light switch.
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