Hello friends!
So, as I said yesterday, I'm back with part 3 of the 12 Principles series. I know, 3 parts seems like a lot, but I feel this last one deserves an entry all on its own. This philosophy was assigned to my coworker Jorge. He really ran with it and did an excellent job. Most of the credit for this entry should go to him. Let's dive right into it...
12. Work with Love and Spirit...
In order to really understand what this principles means, let us first break it down. There are three words that truly give this philosophy its meaning; work, love, and spirit.
Work: There is a mathematical equation tied to this concept. Work is the amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance. In essence, work is energy. This means that we must put in real effort in order to consider each day a good day of work. When I think of energy, I think of excitement, enthusiasm, and zeal. Be enthusiastic about what you do. Make the most of every task and duty assigned to you. Put your heart into it, which leads me to...
Love: The Greeks broke love down into four different terms (the 4 loves). The first is Eros, which is a passionate and romantic love. This is shared between couples. The second love is Agape, which is called the "ideal love. This love is often a choice made out of principle. It is sacrificial, and unconditional; a love one is willing to die for. A successful marriage relationship consists of both Eros, and agape. The third love is Storge, which is natural affection. We see this with our parents. It cannot be explained, other than to say that our parents love us because we are a part of them. The final love is Philia, which is a virtuous, brotherly love. It is loyalty and affection for friends.
As we all know, to love is to place a great importance on an object or person. It connects you with that object of your affection deeper than anything else possibly could. When you love what you do, the passion and affection is obvious. As is the effort and energy you put into it.
Spirit: In Latin, the word means soul, courage, vigor or breath. When you put your soul into something, it becomes more than a task. It becomes embedded into who you are. It becomes part of your identity. To put your "breath" into something is to put your life into it. Our breaths keep us alive. Essentially, we are breathing life into our work.
If I may, let me give you some personal examples. I sing, create, and produce music. As you may know, this is no easy task. I would spend weeks locked into my little studio creating full songs from scratch. I was also in a rock band, and would spend weeks writing songs with my band. There is no greater example of working with love and spirit than a group of guys getting together through a shared love and passion for music, tirelessly expending energy and pouring their soul into chords, beats, lyrics, melodies, and harmonies. The end result may not appeal to everyone (different people have different musical preferences), but it made me happy because I knew my blood, sweat, tears, heart and soul had been poured into the music.
Another great example would be my wedding day. Over a year of insane planning, sleepless nights, budgeting, tasting, dieting, designing, shopping, premarital counseling, and countless other things...to put together one 5 hour event. No other day in my life has merited this principle more than June 7, 2010. That day redefined who I am as a person, in that it united me with another person until death parts us. My heart, soul, mind, and strength were poured into that year of preparation. I have never worked so hard in my life. Was it worth the effort? Absolutely!!
We must expend energy with great force and effort over distance in a passionate, ideal, and affectionate manner with all our breath, soul, and vigor! If you want to succeed at any task you are endeavoring to accomplish, you must work with love and spirit. True greatness in our work (whether in a piece of art, a business venture, a home cooked meal, or a late inning home run) comes only when we apply this ultimate principle into our work. If you can't see yourself doing this at your current place of employment, then maybe you should be thinking about getting into a new profession....
-Danny
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