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Jeremy had created an extraordinary dish for me. A few moments later, he came by the table to see how I liked it. I told him it was terrific, probably because it was made with love. Jeremy got serious for a moment and said,“ If you can’ t do it with love, why do it at all?
Chef Jeremy gets it. He understands that when we allow love to define who we are as we work, we become irresistible leaders with a contagious passion for what we do.
I know that it is possible to love the work we perform, love the people we work with, and love the people we ultimately serve.
Defining the Irresistible Ingredient
To begin, we must reorient our conventional understanding of the term love, defining it as finding a deep-seated passion for what we do, the people we do it with, and the people we do it for. Regardless of the type of work we do, we can find fulfillment and meaning in at least one of these areas.
Take Sam, for instance.
One hot South African afternoon, a stranger photographed him carrying a frail 75-year-old man down the side of a busy road. The rescued man had missed his bus home and collapsed outside the Pick n’ Pay where Sam Tsukudu has worked for twenty-plus years.
Sam’ s heroic act of kindness is just part of who he is. He walks a blind man home from the store every week and helps him unpack his bags. Over a decade of friendship, Tsukudu decodes what groceries Chandler needs, using bits and pieces of empty cartons and labels.
According to one of Sam’ s customers,“ We can’ t imagine Pick n’ Pay without him. He always comes to our rescue and says,“ Don’ t Fear; Sam is near.”
I don’ t know Sam, obviously, but I’ d be willing to wager he loves his work and his customers. When I first read the story, I was reminded of Duke Ellington. He used to end his performances with“ Love you madly!”
Can you say— or at least think— something like that at the end of your“ performance” each day? Do you find satisfaction for fulfillment in your daily responsibilities? Do you enjoy working with your colleagues on specific projects or for a common cause? Do you desire to see your business or company have an impact on your town, city, or country? And if no, why not?
Our lives and work are marked by love when we seek to give instead of receive, focus on how we do something rather than just doing it, see a task as a privilege rather than an obligation, make relationship a priority, and more beyond simple action to the accompanying emotions.
“ Love is paying attention. We don’ t ignore that which we love, whether a person or an activity. Focus equals fondness.”
To begin, we must reorient our conventional understanding on the term love, defining it as finding a deep-seated passion for what we do, the people we do it with, and the people we do it for.
Adding the Irresistible Ingredient
Kahil Gibran famously said,“ Work is love made visible.” That probably sounded exotic back in seventh grade when we didn’ t have a job … but after a few years of employment, I wonder how many of us could quote him with a straight face?
But there are those who love— whether it be what they do, who they do it with, who they do it for, or all three— and they“ make love visible” in a variety of ways.
For love to make any difference it needs to be demonstrated and not simply felt; it needs to be both attitude and action. To remember what can be done to infuse the irresistible ingredient into any type of work, I use the acronym“ P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E-S.” If you can understand the powerful upside of adding love to your work, here’ s a way to do it regardless of your job or title or lack thereof.
Patience: I don’ t think Mother Theresa woke up in the morning and mourned,“ Oh Lord, not more lepers!” She did some of the hardest work on the planet, and seemed to be far more fulfilled and content than we who sit comfortably in our air-conditioned office. How could that be?
Continued on page 30 Spring 2018 29 The Credit Professional