Work is boring. Harness your passion.
Jane, the forensic dentist
I met a fascinating woman at an event the other day, whom I will call Jane. Friendly, approachable. So, tell me about yourself. “I’m a dental hygienist.” Wow, what a coincidence, we have worked with the dental hygienist association, you guys are facing a lot of changes, how long have you been doing that?…
Eventually, she mentioned that she did part-time work in dental forensics. Being a bit of a ghoul, I kept probing. She has worked on the Picton case, where the remains of over 50 women were unearthed at a pig farm in Port Coquitlam, BC. She worked on a case where a couple had been murdered in their camper, and the camper had been set alight. She has worked on cases where bodies are brought in from the wilderness after years of decomposition.
So, what’s it like when you successfully complete a match? “It is fantastic, the team at the morgue becomes so alive, pardon me, that’s in poor taste, but we get so emotional when we have a match. There is a sense of accomplishment, excitement, success, yahoos, high fives, and congratulations all around. It really is rewarding. We provide closure to loved ones. I love it.”
So, what you are telling me is that ‘You See Dead People’. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. They are no longer just bone fragments and teeth; they are now people. People who were loved and are missed. Yeah, that is pretty cool.”
I introduced her to another group of people: “This is Jane, she sees dead people.” The initial conversation lasted at least 15 minutes. Can you label the passion you have for your work? Not the work, work is boring, your passion. Harness your passion; that is your brand. You will feel the excitement, the rewarding success.
The Morticians
A few years back, I was at a high school reunion, 40th or 45th, anyway, I spotted a woman whom I had known in elementary school; her mother was a teacher at the school, so shortly we began to speak about that. I acknowledged that it must have been tough. She admitted that yes, it was, but not as tough as her current job, working at a funeral home. The emotions are very high, and she has to be compassionate. “It can be so draining.”
I wanted to change the subject, so we spoke briefly about some of the other kids from school. “So-and-so is amazing. We work together.” Where, at the funeral home? ” Yes, she runs the place when I am out at conferences, but there’s, I think, 4 or 5 of us from school that are all ‘in the business’. ” I can understand Ross, as his whole family was in ‘the business’. “No, he left after a few years; he didn’t have the passion for it.”
At another event, a few months later, I met a woman who was/is the executive director of the funeral directors’ association. “We are really growing; everyone is dying to get in.” I had heard that “Ours is a very competitive business.” “Where did you hear that? We all get along very well. Everyone has a few stories to tell, and the social events are, shall I say, very social. I suppose that is due to the emotional drain the business puts upon them. They couldn’t survive without a passion for it. They would burn out.”
So today’s lesson is: we all work for our living, but it’s passion that keeps us going day in and day out. Find yours; you may not even need to change jobs.