The Career Clinic Blog

"Smile!"

If someone reminds me to do that when I'm getting my picture taken, no problem. If someone breaks my concentration to suggest it, I just want to say, "You smile."

Curt Rosengren isn't surprised. The man who calls himself the Passion Catalyst says some of the happiest people he knows don't look that way on the outside. To the contrary: "You almost have to poke them to make sure they're still breathing. That's how absorbed they are in their work."

It reminds me of the guy who took issue with me as I perused the handouts on this table or that after a workshop session several years ago. "You have to relax, Maureen," he scolded. "Nine hours of day of this stuff is enough." How can he be so confident he knows better than I do, I wondered, what's fun for me? "I am relaxing!" I said brightly, not exactly rushing out of the room to snag a seat at his table for dinner.

I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've felt badly for people, doing work I’d hate, only to find out they love it at least as much as I love mine. Happy people don’t necessarily whistle while they work, Curt points out. Sometimes they’re very, very quiet.

Unless you ask them to talk about it! I've yet to meet a person, in love with a job, who doesn't also love telling you the story. How that relates to your career, in the next post.