“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Pure effort overcomes natural talent every time. Absolute drive towards one goal will always outweigh those that are just doing what they do for the money, fame, or anything else for that matter. The only ones who are great are those who devote themselves to a goal with absolute, unwavering passion. – “The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy.” – Malcolm S. Forbes
This is the reason I make my living in the staffing and employment industry. Not only because I want money, which I of course do, but singularly because I absolutely love it more than anything else. My hope for whoever is reading this is that you find your passion too.
What led me to writing this article is a conversation I had with my son. We were talking about what he’d be remembered for. I told him “They say success leaves clues; this means, if we look at people who are great, we’d find a common denominator, a golden thread tying them all together.” The most successful and happy people aren’t those that created some exciting new thing or way to do something, but devoted themselves to discovering their talent and then showcased that talent to the world in a ”new” and creative way. They would be doing something that’s been done before, in a “new” way. I had this thought in mind as I pondered leaving my mark in the recruitment space. Back in 2000, when I decided to leave “corporate” life, I evaluated whether I should start my own agency which many of my contemporaries did, or whether I should do something else that would make a difference. The Recruitment Training Company was born from that evaluation. Of course the rest is history and I have had the pleasure of inspiring and working with literally thousands of recruiters since then. Over the last 12 months or so I have pondered many times where else I could make a difference, HomeCare Australia came from that journey. Having an ageing parent, you might think that I thought of Home Care because my mother needed care. Quite the opposite! She is fiercely independent, and for many years (up until turning 71 in fact!) worked as a Carer for people in their homes. This was, and always has been, her passion. She lived as a nurse before my time, and I saw her impact so many people through her help – whether it be through helping them shop or helping them shower, she was there. So why can’t everyone in a dependent situation have someone like that? I know that I would want someone like my mother if I were ever in that situation. That’s why I started this – because I believe it’s everyone’s right to have a passionate, caring, committed and highly talented individual doing their job to the best of their ability. What I think I would want – is a friend. These highly talented individuals are out there – I have had the privilege of meeting some of them. But the key is getting those people into the homes where they are needed. So I believe this is my new passion, as I see our population aging, and I see my generation’s parents getting older, with the fierce desire to remain independent. I think we can help, that is why I have started HomeCare Australia – because I love my mother, and I think every child would want the same thing for their parents.
So, if you want to be remembered – there is only be one key. We must focus our attention on developing our uniqueness, our dominant gifts. Work hard and devote yourself to your passion! – It will pay off, I promise you.
