Passion, What Do You Do With It?
What are you passionate about? How does that passion manifest itself in your everyday life? Or perhaps it is hidden from the world.
There are many things that I am super enthusiastic about. Hanging with my kids, hiking, biking (motor or pedal), playing with improv comedy, hitting the gym, and having coffee are a few extracurricular activities that I value and work to make happen every week if not every day. However there are five things that I cannot… nay, will not… live without. Coffee is high on the list, but I could live without it if I absolutely had to. My imperatives are honesty, integrity, ethics, gratitude, and laughter.
Somehow, without ever uttering the words “ethics, honesty, integrity,” the value of these words were emblazoned into my brain by watching my folks live them every day in their lives as reps. I, too, live by those words and work to exemplify them every day in my job.
Loving my job is part of that living ethos. Truly enjoying what I do helps the passion shine through. At least I am told the passion is obvious. I love my job because I understand what reps, manufacturers and distributors need to improve their business relationships. Explaining it to others, is a whole ’nother story. Explaining what I do if the audience is unfamiliar with manufacturers reps is difficult… my kids at 20 and 17 are still not quite sure what I do. Luckily my work audience understands and they quickly see that MRERF has good information and programs to make their jobs easier regardless of industry.
MRERF constituents are a joy to work with because they tend to love their job! They are passionate about their job, their industry and their products… and why would it be any other way? Reps live where they want to live. They have expertise with the products they sell. They have rewarding, flexible jobs and are largely in control of their future. However, admit it, sometimes you reps are so busy, you forget to look up from your work to see what is going on around you.
When was the last time you consciously shared the love of your job? Sharing your passion for your vocation, or even your avocation, benefits those around you. When you share of yourself, you grow relationships, increase self-confidence, and enrich the world around you. Who would want to know about your job? Your kids… maybe, maybe not. Nearby college students would be well served to be introduced to your industry and your job function. Have you ever talked to someone in your industry that got into it on purpose? Sharing your enthusiasm might induce someone to intentionally go into your line of work. Imagine that!
While my mom and dad get credit for instilling ethics, honesty and integrity in my early decades, I added gratitude and laughter in recent decades. Because I am a fortunate person… and I want the universe to know that I appreciate both what I have… and what I do NOT have. My son has a serious heart condition… and I am thankful for that. Why? Because there are lots of worse things he could have. I am thankful that we know about his heart condition, since it is the leading cause of death when kids just keel over dead. It is something that affects 1 in 500 people, yet 70% of them do not know they have it. Knowing is something to be grateful for indeed.
Rounding out my five top values, laughter is something to be grateful for, too. It breaks ice, builds friendships, reduces tensions, and provides much needed endorphins. I am even grateful for the laugh lines around my eyes… I much prefer them to the scowl marks that could be options. The gray hair I could do without, but alas it is here and ever-expanding. Yet, I am grateful for those gray hairs, too. They show experience and hopefully wisdom. Laughter has served me well in nearly every circumstance. In sickness and in health, weddings and divorces, birthdays and funerals, in crowds and among friends, laughter is always appreciated. Making difficult situations easier and easy situations hilarious is always a good thing. I embrace the motto “Laugh out loud and laugh often.” Laughter, gratitude, integrity, ethics, and honesty spur me on to sharing my passions daily.
Do not let fear hold you back from trying that new venture or adventure. Dream it! Do it! You might find that you like it. And if you don’t, well, then at least you can say that you gave it your best shot.
Dream! Live! Expand your joy and spread the joy into the lives of others.
Karen L. Jefferson CPMR CSP is the Executive Director of MRERF (Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation). CEMRA brings its members a unique opportunity in the form of professional development opportunities from MRERF, a charitable education foundation . MRERF brings together reps, manufacturers and distributors in 17 different industries to share best practices. Learn more at www.MRERF.org
