Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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May 31, 2007

Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:39 am

Get Closer to You

This is a series of questions, I don’t know how many. They are the ones I ask when I help folks get closer to their personal identity.

Imagine it’s an ideal world three years from now. You don’t need money, only job satisfaction. What are you doing for a living?

I’ll answer first to get things started.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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50 Comments to “Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2”

  1. May 31st, 2007 at 8:44 am
    ME Strauss said

    In ideal world, where job satisfaction were the only thing to consider, I’d be working with people on what they really care about. I’d be showing them how to connect their head and their heart to follow their passion to make a fabulous living.

    I’m on my way there now. :)

  2. May 31st, 2007 at 10:33 am
    Karin H. said

    I’m on my way there now

    Think you have arrived ;-)

    I hope I will be doing what I am doing now. The last year has shown me what job-satisfaction is all about and I want to keep it that way!

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  3. May 31st, 2007 at 10:36 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin,
    For the number of hours of our lives we spend doing our “work,” job satisfaction is the same as quality of life. It takes a while to figure that part out. For me, it took even longer. :)

  4. May 31st, 2007 at 10:42 am
    Karin H. said

    It took me ages to find the right ‘job’. I just created my own in the end ;-)

    Karin H.

  5. May 31st, 2007 at 10:46 am
    ME Strauss said

    It’s my belief that more and more companies and people will realize that the jobs have to fit the people, not the people fit the jobs. It can be done :)

  6. May 31st, 2007 at 11:59 am
    Billy said

    Teach, learn, and mentor. No matter how perfect the world would, there will always be more to learn and share. I think thats why I love blogging.

  7. May 31st, 2007 at 12:04 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Billy,
    I think bloggers are addicted to learning. I know I am. Sssshhhhh, don’t tell anyone. :)

  8. May 31st, 2007 at 12:32 pm
    Mike said

    I’ll be engendering dramatic, lasting, positive transformations in groups and individuals.

  9. May 31st, 2007 at 12:44 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Mike,
    You are a change maker, if there ever was one! The funny part is someone has to pay attention to notice — because you make it so natural. :)

  10. May 31st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
    The First Submissions: Your Blogging Metaphors - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

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  11. May 31st, 2007 at 12:50 pm
    John Benage said

    I’ll be writing stories for people to enjoy; and,
    Speaking to groups–telling stories for them to enjoy…

    All with the purpose of getting people to help each other whenever and where ever they can.

  12. May 31st, 2007 at 12:50 pm
    Billy said

    Dont worry your secret is safe with me. :) Ohh ya I have to say I would travel a lot! I would become a professional traveler and people meeter.

  13. May 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
    Mike said

    Liz,

    Thank you. I’ll have to work on that latter part. ;-)

    Mike

  14. May 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi John! Stories are a great way to enlist people to invest their heads and hearts in each other. I can see you doing that. :)

    Billy, so now you travel via your blog and do that via your computer. :)

    Mike, don’t be silly. That’s how it’s supposed to be. :)

  15. May 31st, 2007 at 3:24 pm
    Jesse Petersen said

    I will be designing whatever floats my boat at the time. I love Illustrator and Photoshop and would just send files around the globe to help people with projects.

    One thing that I’ve wanted to do for some time is free prayer cards for missionaries, because they generally go far too long between updates.

  16. May 31st, 2007 at 4:18 pm
    Tammy said

    Liz, you have SO arrived there already! Lucky for us, that’s for sure.

    In ideal world, where job satisfaction were the only thing to consider, I’d be doing exactly what I’d be doing. But I think I’d probably be bolder.

  17. May 31st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Jesse, Every day that I know you, your vision sounds more focused and more fun!

    Aw Tammy, thanks. I’m routing for you to get bolder anyway. :)

  18. May 31st, 2007 at 5:20 pm
    Tammy said

    So…can’t resist asking…where/how do you think I should be bolder?

  19. May 31st, 2007 at 7:15 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Tammy, You know those places where you really are sweet? Those are the places where you are not as direct as I am . . . and you tell me that I’m not direct at all. You give away the limelight when it’s you’re turn in it. I know that. You do too. :)

  20. May 31st, 2007 at 10:26 pm
    Dawud Miracle said

    What would I be doing…

    Sharing with people how to find their authentic self – their own expression – and live it more fully. In the process help people discover what spirituality really means to them – outside the boxes most of us have been placed in.

    When I step back, I want to start conversations that motivate people to become more fully who they are.

    I actually do that a bit now with helping my clients understand how to use the web to build their dreams – often in business.

  21. May 31st, 2007 at 10:31 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Dawud,
    That last paragraph makes me wonder . . . what’s the part that you’re not doing yet?

  22. May 31st, 2007 at 10:46 pm
    zakman said

    Hi Liz!!! (and others too!)

    It’s a lovely Friday morning and fresh coffee and Liz’s Question 2 are competing against each other to stimulate my brain!

    I’ve been questioning whether job satisfaction by itself – as an individual entity – does it exist? Isn’t it all relative?

    As in Thomas Gray’s “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.” Does the flower derive any job satisfaction while withering away unnoticed?

    Should I dare to go ahead and instance the surgeon’s successful operation, but the patient died.

    Steve Young scores three touchdowns but the 49ers lost in the play-off.

    Is there job satisfaction in cases like this? I mean, even with a job done to perfection, how can I go to bed with a sense of fulfilment?

    Is job satisfaction a means to an end or the end itself? From your phrasing of the question Liz, it would appear as an end in itself.

    Maybe I’m off-track somewhere, but I still can’t get the concept of living an existence with only job satisfaction as the motivationg factor, which somehow has a selfish edge to it. So what more do I need? I have no clue.

    Hmmm… I’m confusing myself. Let me shut up.

  23. June 1st, 2007 at 4:18 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Zakman!
    It’s finally Friday morning here! Sorry I was too wiped out to answer last night, but a return at 4a.m. has to be worth somehting . . . eh? :)

    Can job satisfaction exist on its own? I think it can. I think the old saying about computer programming might fit here — “Garbage in, garbage out.” What I mean is so much depends on what we invest and how willing we are to have a flexible paradigm.

    I used to travel internationally. It only “sounds” glamorous. The reality was jetlag, baggage that’s too heavy, more stressful airport situations, and interacting in places where I didn’t necessarily know the nuances of culture.

    Yet, I got to enjoy every bit of it, because I went looking inside each part for the adventure that suited me. I framed the negatives in ways that didn’t intrude — that 63-year-old rich lady who was so unhappy and complaining for 13 hours from London to LA, became someone I cared about. So her worries didn’t grate on me.

    If I were Steve Young scored those fabulous touchdowns, I might be bummed that we lost the game, but that wouldn’t take those touchdowns from me. . . . nor do I think it would steal my love of the game.

    Job satisfaction isn’t always winning. What you allude to and I agree with is that it’s in the ability to have some power over the situation — that I can personally control my own performance. That I’m able to affect and change those things that I’m held accountable for.

    Yes, I do think job satisfaction is an end as a piece of what is often called quality of life.

    Now, about that selfish edge you’re sensing . . . job satisfaction doesn’t have to be all about me. In my case, no job would make me fully satified if it did not include “doing well by doing good,” i.e. getting to the top of my game by helping others get to the top of theirs. :)

  24. June 1st, 2007 at 9:48 am
    Dar said

    Great question, Liz! In an ideal world, I’ll be taking others along in a journey that never ends. We’ll be focusing on finding our unique gifts and strengths. And we’ll be discovering how to share them with the world.

    Imagine how different the world will be when we each find and honor our calling. Happy, content people doing what they’re called to do…

    Liz, you’re leading the way, because you’re already sharing your gifts with us. And thank you for that. :-)

  25. June 1st, 2007 at 10:29 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Dar!
    How great to see you. It sounds so fun! Can I go along with you? Imagine, indeed. When we all realize our potential we won’t need to look at how others see us, because we’ll feel find inside our own skin. :)

    Thank you, Dar. :)

  26. June 1st, 2007 at 1:02 pm
    zakman said

    Thank you for your response Liz.

    Your last comment #25 might have touched a chord in the deep recesses of my mind where all my attitudes, values and priorities have built a niche for themselves.

    With respect to your question #2, I remove the money factor from my abovementioned attributes, what am I left with?

    I don’t know what I’d do if the money is not there. I only get some idea that to feel comfortable inside our skin is just about it, money or no money.

    PS: Do you smoke when you write/have to think? I do. Howard Roark did. :)

  27. June 1st, 2007 at 1:41 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Zackman,
    If I remove money I’m left with so much, my thoughts, my creativity, my frienships, and my memories all that has gone by and all who have been part of my history — the sum of my experience of having been a part of living on the plaanet and the potential of what I might be.

    The beauty of having the experience of being broke is that I found the value of money and the value of other things. I learned that people could still love me and I them. I understand now that as long as I can say “no one is going to die and we’ll still eat tomorrow,” I’m a very lucky person.

    When I write sometimes I need to walk or dance to give the words room to find their way. sometimes I need to still myself and listen to the silence. Always I need to see inside my mind.

  28. June 1st, 2007 at 2:04 pm
    Dar said

    Liz, I’d love to have you along. What a fun journey! :-)

    ‘Comfortable in our own skin.’ I like the sound of that. (I’ve only just begun, lol.) Wasn’t there a song about that? :-)

  29. June 2nd, 2007 at 6:00 am
    zakman said

    Quote Liz #27: The beauty of having the experience of being broke is that I found the value of money and the value of other things.

    I have been broke many times, but I have never been poor.

  30. June 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Zakman,
    Good to see you. That’s a good distinction to make. I know many folks who think “poor” always. It’s not related to their money.

  31. June 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
    zakman said

    Quote Liz #11: It’s my belief that more and more companies and people will realize that the jobs have to fit the people, not the people fit the jobs. It can be done

    Jobs have to fit the people? So if I’m a driller, I find a drilling job, not a carpentry job.

    So if I’m a carpenter, I can only be a carpenter?

    Liz, I beg to disagree. Today is versatality. You know I’m not talking about the carprentry and the drilling job.

    I believe people have to fit a number of jobs in a modern workplace/office. I’m a web designer, staff writer, copywriter, proof reader, interviewer, market research writer and tea-boy.

    I think companies will always look for people who are ‘replacebale,’ so that there’s always
    someone else to carry on.

    I don’t understand “people fit the jobs.” :)

    PS: Shorthand used to be an essntial, and now it’s Excel, and tomorrow it will be virtual rality Excel.

  32. June 2nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Zackman,
    No, I don’t mean “you are a driller; you are a carpenter.” I mean you are a complicated human with a varied skill set and with potential and passion in certain directions. A wise employer looks closely at that and fits the job to make the most of your strengths and give you the most opportunity to grow in those directions. That’s how to fit the job to the person.

    Too often employers write a rigid job description of tightly drawn skills and a single career path. Then they try to find a person to fit into the “slot” they have manufactured.

  33. June 5th, 2007 at 9:30 am
    Dawud Miracle said

    Sorry it’s taken a bit of time to answer…

    The part…really it’s more about the shifting in how I use my time with my clients. I’m not just a web designer. I also am a business coach, consultant, troubleshooter, problem solver and idea guy, marketing strategist, product developer, etc. The web design part of my business just takes up a lot of my workday. I’m a good designer, and a pretty good coder. But my real talents are in helping people learn how to utilize the web and other technologies to reach their dreams.

    So it’s not so much what I’m not doing as it is how much time I spend doing one part of my business when the other parts have much greater value for my clients.

    And yes, I’ve begun the transition…

  34. June 5th, 2007 at 11:10 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Dawud!
    You ARE so much more than a web designer. But then, aren’t we all than one-dimensional titles. It’s our challenge to find a way to be fully expresed wintin the confines of a roles that is constantly being pinned down by people who need to define what we do in order to understand whether our skills fit their needs.

    We are not what we do. It is only a part of us. :)

  35. June 22nd, 2007 at 10:51 am
    Dawud Miracle said

    I think we’re more than we even think we are.

    There’s a Sufi expression – “you think you are a small star when in fact you contain the entire cosmos.”

    And what is that container??? The heart!

    So if we contain such vastness, how could we ever be limited into something less – unless by our own beliefs.

  36. June 22nd, 2007 at 10:57 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Dawud,
    Our beliefs can expand our being or make it smaller. That is the amazing power we often refuse to acknowledge. :)

  37. June 26th, 2007 at 6:39 am
    Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

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  38. June 29th, 2007 at 7:34 am
    Dawud Miracle said

    That’s true. We are what we think we are. Or maybe better said, what we focus on expands.

  39. June 29th, 2007 at 9:05 am
    ME Strauss said

    Well said, Dawud, both here and over there. :)

  40. July 11th, 2007 at 8:34 am
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  41. December 28th, 2007 at 10:55 am
    Todd Jordan said

    I’m helping other people be successful through whatever means. Ideally for me through some sort of technology related thing, but would love any job in which I could coach, assist or teach another person what they need to get on in life.

    It’s not about being rich, it’s about the thrill of it.

  42. December 28th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Todd!
    Gosh that last sentence sounds like a fabulous life philosophy!! I’m enjoying this chance to get to know you! :)

  43. December 30th, 2007 at 4:37 am
    Sarah said

    Looks like I may be the odd one out with my response to this question.

    Job satisfaction to me is all about doing what you love, being fulfilled by what you achieve and for me that would actually be wildlife conservation and research into how we can protect the creatures of this world. Man destroys so many things that I would like to be able to give something back to mother nature by protecting her wildlife….now this is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum seeing as I am a fitness instructor (but hey, I have to earn a living right now!)

  44. December 30th, 2007 at 10:29 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Sarah!
    I’m not sure that’s the opposite of the spectrum. Sometimes we have to invest in a vehicle before we can get going. :)

  45. December 30th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
    Sarah said

    You’re probably right. Doing what I’ve always dreamed of would involve me moving and having my whole life changed…there’s nothing to say I couldn’t do it though. Aim for moon eh?!

  46. December 30th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    When you’re ready to follow your dream, Sarah, I bet nothing will stop you. :)

  47. December 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
    Sarah said

    I think you hit the nail on the head there…when I’m ready!

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