{"id":4091,"date":"2024-10-14T07:53:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T11:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2024-10-14T07:54:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T11:54:26","slug":"seeing-the-chips-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/14\/seeing-the-chips-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing the Chips Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

Years ago a workplace research group from California approached some loggers in the Pacific Northwest.

They made what seemed like an offer too good to be true: \u201cWe\u2019ll double your pay for the next month. All you have to do is swing your axe so the handle hits the tree instead of the blade.\u201d

\u201cYou\u2019re on!\u201d said one of the loggers. He promptly began to earn good money by making no progress at all.

By the end of the second day he told the researchers he wanted his old job and his old pay scale back.

\u201cWhy?\u201d they asked. \u201cI have to see the chips fly,\u201d he memorably answered. 

Money is overrated. 

People sometimes leave jobs they love because they can make a few more bucks down the street. It\u2019s a matter of respect, they may say. Or, \u201cI\u2019m worth it.\u201d 

Either of those may be true. 

But all too often we end up discovering that the greatest pleasure we derive from our work \u2013 the source of the drive <\/em>that compels us to labor with energy, joy and excellence \u2013 has more to do with seeing positive results than what our paycheck says.

I vividly remember a conversation years ago with a freshman college student during Thanksgiving break. \u201cWhat are you majoring in?\u201d I asked. 

\u201cChemical engineering,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s awesome,\u201d I replied. \u201cWhat do you love about chemistry?\u201d \u201cNot much,\u201d came the surprising response. \u201cSo the real draw is engineering?\u201d I suggested. \u201cNo,\u201d said the student. \u201cI\u2019m not that excited about it, either.\u201d

\u201cSo why are you majoring in chemical engineering?\u201d I asked, genuinely puzzled. The student then rattled off the average salary of a first-year chemical engineer, which at the time was indeed impressive. 

\u201cIf you could do anything you wanted, what do you really <\/em>want to do?\u201d 

\u201cOh,\u201d said the student, visibly brightening, \u201cI\u2019d love to write children\u2019s books.\u201d Then a cloud seemed to pass over his face. \u201cBut no one will pay me to do that.\u201d

We can\u2019t always fulfill our deepest call \u2013 that labor of love or deep dream that seems to be hard-wired by God into our souls \u2013 in exchange for a dynamite salary.

But there are other ways forward. Perhaps the solution is to work with diligence and integrity at our current, less-than-ideal jobs as a way of funding our real call<\/em> \u2013 that avocation that we can now pursue 10-15 hours a week for free.

Our job pays the light bill. And it can also free us to serve at an inner city food pantry; or assist senior citizens with their taxes; or help a small group of teenage girls navigate the icebergs of seventh grade; or write books that will delight children.

Don\u2019t surrender your call just because it doesn\u2019t pay your bills.

Saying yes to the burden that God has placed on your heart \u201cpays off\u201d in ways impossible to overstate. 

Just make sure, at the end of your life, you can truly say you saw the chips fly.
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Years ago a workplace research group from California approached some loggers in the Pacific Northwest. They made what seemed like an offer too good to be true: \u201cWe\u2019ll double your pay for the next month. All you have to do is swing your axe so the handle hits the tree instead of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[184,687,49],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-money","tag-motivation","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4094,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions\/4094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}