48 Days to the Work You Love Revised Edition

One day, the mother of future Microsoft mogul Bill Gates walked in on her young son to find him sitting there doing nothing. She asked Bill what he was doing. “I’m thinking, Mom, I’m thinking.”

Often times of change can help us see new opportunities. Joanne and I recently moved to a new place in the country. We love the quiet, the solitude, and the natural surroundings. However, we discovered that part of those natural surroundings includes nightly visits from a couple of skunks who took up residence under our house. Their chosen gift for us was a stench that came close to prompting us to visit the local Hampton Inn. Upon researching options to see who was going to remain occupants of the house, we were referred to “All Paws,” a business run by a young man named John who removes any pawed animal. John came to our house and set the traps up to transport our little friends to a new home. And then by creating some wire mesh obstacles, he can discourage the little rascals from hanging around anymore. (Incidentally, John is a musician with a well-known country singer. This is just his means of making consistent income.)

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” — Harold Wilson

What a novel business idea! John sets the traps up for $55 and then collects another $50 for every animal trapped and removed. He told me he normally has 15 to 20 traps set, collects 4 to 5 animals and he’s finished by 9:00 a.m. You can probably do the math on that. If he had a job paying $15 an hour he would have to put in approximately 65 hours a week to duplicate this income. Obviously, that wouldn’t leave much time for guitar playing. As with most great business ideas, this is not new and revolutionary. It’s a simple idea but done by someone who just did something!

In 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote the popular book Future Shock, the landmark work about the effects of change on society. Toffler predicted that “millions of ordinary, psychologically normal people will face an abrupt collision with the future . . . many of them will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time.”

Toffler’s predictions have been strikingly accurate. Peter Drucker predicted that the 40-year period (from 1970 to 2010) would bring more change than the world had ever seen. In looking back, I think we could agree with that prediction. And as we are beyond the 40-year period of change we are seeing that speed of change increase. We are rapidly approaching the time when 50 percent of all jobs will be contract or contingency labor. These are not the characteristics of the workplace we were led to expect by our parents and grandparents.

Instead, millions of Americans have found this new future shocking and unexpected.

The victims of the wave of change are not hard to find. They are the 179,000 bank tellers who have been replaced by ATMs, the 47,000 postal workers replaced by sight-recognition machines, the 6,000 phone operators replaced by voice-recognition technology, and the grocery check-out clerks who have seen self-scanning systems replace them. They include the 334,000 steel and autoworkers and the 380,000 apparel workers who have seen their jobs go to other countries. Change of all types—economic, social, cultural, technological, and political—is occurring at an increasing rate.

“Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. I believe that restlessness is discontent, and discontent is merely the first necessity of progress.” —Thomas Edison

And yet, the world has always known change. At one point in American history, approximately 79 percent of our country’s workers were directly involved in the production of agriculture. Today that number is less than 3 percent. Where have the other 76 percent gone? When an Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, where do the farm workers who have been replaced go? When a robot replaces 16 men on an assembly line, where do these workers go? Are they really displaced to unemployment or unfulfilling lives, or can that displacement stimulate a transition to a higher, more fulfilling level of success?

We have seen these changes and transformations as we have moved from the agricultural age to the industrial age to the technological age and now the age of service and information. With each change, there are the seeds of new opportunities. That is one of the basic tenets of Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich—“With every change, there are the equal seeds of opportunity.”

“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for change.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Like always before in our history, we need creative people to see the needs, to see the opportunities instead of the obstacles, and to create the future. It’s bad enough for the secular world to be confused, but surely those of us with godly insight and principles at our disposal should have more clarity of direction. And yet we know that today, like at every stage of our country’s development, the best opportunities may not look like those of yesterday. Today’s best opportunities may not include punching a clock, having a company car, or being provided health insurance and a retirement plan. They may not involve an 8-to-5 schedule or even the need to go to an office.

Many times in exploring new directions we are limited by our past experience. We tend to see boundaries that may not actually exist.

Here are a few mind teasers to help you think in unexpected ways (see answers at end of chapter).

• A bus with 15 passengers crashed and all but 9 people were killed. How many survivors were there?

• I have 2 coins that total $.35 in value. One is not a quarter. What are the 2 coins?

• Mr. Jones was driving along the thruway with his son in the front seat. The road was icy. When Mr. Jones rounded a curve, his car skidded and rammed into a telephone pole. Mr. Jones was unhurt, but the boy broke several ribs. An ambulance took the boy to the nearest hospital. He was wheeled into the emergency operating room. The surgeon took one look at the patient and said, “I can’t operate on this boy. He’s my son!” How could this be?

→Sitting for Ideas

Henry Ford once said he didn’t want executives who had to work all the time. He insisted that those who were always in a flurry of activity at their desks were not being the most productive. He wanted people who would clear their desks, prop their feet up, and dream some fresh dreams. His philosophy was that only he who has the luxury of time can originate a creative thought.

Wow! When’s the last time your boss told you to quit working and do more dreaming? Unfortunately, our culture glamorizes being under pressure. Having too much to do with too little time is a badge of success. Or is it?

The apostle Paul took long walks between cities, using the time to think and talk. Andrew Carnegie would go into an empty room for hours at a time as he was “sitting for ideas.”

Thoreau wandered through the woods around Walden Pond, recognizing that the free time created fertile ground for original thinking. I grew up on a farm in Ohio where we got up at dawn and went to bed sometime after sunset. A change in the weather could create an unexpected time of leisure or dreaming. Neighbors had time to sit and talk and get to any appointments “directly,” which could be in 10 minutes or a couple of hours.

If you are feeling stuck, your solution may not be in doing more, but in taking a break from the busyness of life. Try a little “sitting for ideas.”

“A mind once stretched, can never return to its original condition.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

You really can love your work, but that may mean taking an active part in creating the work you love, rather than just looking around to see what jobs are available. Seizing new opportunities and responding to unwelcome change does not require settling for less. You can have a life full of adventure and satisfaction. Russian writer Maxim Gorky said, “When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.” Our work satisfaction impacts our life satisfaction. Happiness is loving what you do and knowing it is making a difference. If your life is not a joy, maybe it’s time to look at some new options.

“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” — Charles F. Kettering

Joyce was frustrated in her work in medical sales. Five years earlier, she had invested all her money in opening a specialty bakery shop. Her unusual creations found immediate acceptance, and the customers flocked in as media coverage reached national business magazines. Eight months later she was bankrupt. Although people loved her tasty and appealing products, the details of running the business, complete with leases, sign permits, employees, and equipment purchases, proved to be too overwhelming. But that sense of “having something of my own” would not go away. Today Joyce has a small hot dog cart that she and her son operate. The entire purchase price was $3,800. She has exclusive rights to set up in front of the local Home Depot store on Fridays through Sundays. Joyce and her son enjoy the interaction with the many repeat retail and employee customers and take home a clear profit of approximately $1500 each weekend. She still has her job in medical sales. The solution was not an either/or but rather one of combining the benefits of both.

→“Hold Fast to Dreams”

Langston Hughes was an African-American poet, novelist, and playwright, who became one of the foremost interpreters of racial relationships in the United States. Influenced by the Bible, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Walt Whitman, Hughes wrote poems in rhythmical language. His poems were meant “to be read aloud, crooned, shouted and sung.” Why don’t you try shouting this one? Go ahead! It’ll do you good.

Hold onto dreams

For if dreams die

Life is like a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

In The End of Work, Jeremy Rifkin says the information age has arrived. In the years ahead, new, more sophisticated software technologies are going to bring civilization ever closer to a near-workerless world. The wholesale substitution of machines for people is going to force every nation to rethink the role of human beings in the social economy.

Theologian John M. Drescher tells the story about a corn farmer who won blue ribbons for his corn year after year. Yet each year he shared his best seed corn with all his neighbors. “How do you expect to continue to win blue ribbons,” someone questioned him, “if you give your best seed corn to others?”

“Learn to pause . . . or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.” — Doug King, poet

“You don’t understand,” said the farmer. “The wind carries the pollen from field to field. If I am to have the best corn, I must see to it that all my neighbors also have the best corn. If they produce poor corn, it will pollinate mine and pull my quality down.”

So it is with all of life. We are all gardening the same plot of ground. The quality of our life has a direct bearing on the quality of our neighbor’s life.

Innovation has always been a powerful force in our American culture. Automobiles, jet airplanes, air conditioning, telephones, and fax machines have eliminated distance and made the world a global village. We have seen these modern conveniences become seeming necessities. Who hasn’t been reminded of the insidious penetration of modernity with the sound of a cell phone in Sunday school?

The modern worker, in an attempt to stay competitive, frequently makes available office, home, and cell phone numbers, as well as e-mail and Twitter contact information for instant availability.

It is estimated that 1 week-day edition of today’s New York Times contains more information than the average person in 17th-century England was likely to come across in an entire lifetime. Data has become more plentiful, faster (computer processing speed has doubled every 2 years for the last 30 years), and more frequent in presentation. In 1971 the average American was targeted by at least 560 daily advertising messages. Today, that number is more than 3,000 messages per day.

While we have always historically sought more information, we are now recognizing that too much information can make us anxious, less effective, and sometimes even sick. A new term, “data smog,” has been invented for the noxious muck of the information age. Data smog gets in the way; it crowds out quiet moments and obstructs much-needed contemplation. It can spoil conversation, enjoyment of classic literature, and even simple entertainment, like family games and puzzles.

“Playing it safe is like body surfing in two feet of water. You may not drown, but you’re also not in deep enough to catch any but the most meager of waves. The most dangerous strategy is to play it safe. In its place, Break-It Thinkers take risks and break rules and challenge convention, making change an ally.” — Robert Kriegel, If It Ain’t Broke . . . Break It!

Nonetheless, the availability of information and the speed of change is not going to slow down; rather, it is going to increase. Are we being helped or victimized by this new information and these new inventions? Are they providing opportunities or problems? Is the Christian response to lead, follow, or get out of the way? Certainly, we have in each the proverbial glass of water, being either half full or half empty. I suggest that we be creators and yet not be controlled by the creations.

I operate a “virtual bookstore” for the 48 Days products. We have no physical location, no building lease, no sign permits, no employees, and no hours of operation. Customers visit our “store” 168 hours a week and are free to browse while I am sleeping, traveling with my wife, or playing with my grandchildren. As a matter of fact, I tell people frequently that I’m quite fond of SWISS dollars—that’s Sales While I Sleep Soundly.

“The world will never be happy until all men have the souls of an artist—I mean when they take pleasure in their jobs.” — Auguste Rodin

Every morning I take a quick look at the deposits that have been made into my bank account since I went to bed the night before. I don’t have to be concerned about opening the store or whether there is 1 person, 50, or none in the store. I have no electric bill and don’t need to make repairs to the shelves or walkways. I have no landlord and don’t need to worry about bad weather conditions or street construction slowing sales. And while a traditional bookstore has about a 5-mile radius of customers, I have weekly customers in every state in the country as well as frequent ones around the world.

I only need a tiny fraction of the purchases of the potential market to do very well, while traditional bookstores are struggling more and more. Over 50 percent of the products I deliver are received electronically. I have no printing costs, no packaging, and no shipping charges. This is not a matter of right or wrong, good or bad; it’s just a different way of doing business. Feel free to browse any time. Go ahead; you won’t disturb me at all at www.48days.com/products.php.

Incidentally, we do ship lots of real books and CDs every day. Those are handled by a very competent gentleman who arrives on his own schedule. He is not an “employee”—rather I am 1 customer for his service business. He shows up at the converted barn (Sanctuary) on our property and handles the day’s orders. He pulls the orders from the Internet, packages the products, prints the UPS or FedEx labels, and sets them aside for the daily pickup. If he needs to take a break, there is no time clock to check out, no boss to ask, and no interference with attending to his song writing or other business interests. He frequently works in blue jeans, attending to our customers with care and consideration, but without the added expense or necessity of a fancy wardrobe. He spends little time commuting and has the liberty of working at 10:00 p.m. or 7:00 a.m. My business has grown dramatically through this kind of “strategic alliance” with professional service providers, who are located here in my community and around the country. It’s a new way of doing business for all of us.

A creative, responsive Christian increases in understanding and appreciation of new ideas, of other people, and of the world in general. A creative approach unlocks the mind and makes the spirit soar. God gives us creativity and ingenuity to make us feel alive. We should be leaders not victims, as the world becomes more complex and our societal problems become increasingly difficult to solve.

Our schools, families, churches, and communities are presenting us with critical new concerns that require new solutions. Many of these issues are suffering from a dearth of originality, and they need the creativity and spiritual insight of every maturing Christian. The solutions are not likely to be more information and more technology, but solutions that can only come from human touch and spiritual sensitivity.

Even in the career arena, you don’t have to be a technological genius to survive and prosper. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 50 million new jobs opening up in the next 5 years with an explosion of opportunities for people who are peacemakers, storytellers, and healers. Fourteen of the 30 fastest-growing jobs in the next decade are for healers—and these are not only physicians and registered nurses. The number of certified massage therapists has quadrupled since 1990 as the 77 million baby boomers suffer an increasing burden of minor aches and tensions. The need for counseling therapists will grow dramatically as depression and major life changes confront these people entering the second half of their lives.

Universally, people are expressing more interest in spiritual matters, giving rise for directors of religious activities and education. More than 100,000 new jobs for clergy and religious directors are expected in the next 10 years.

The demand for simpler, more humane ways of resolving disputes will expand the opportunities for dispute mediation and arbitration. Ten years ago, there were about 150 dispute mediation centers nationwide; today, there are at least 500.

If God has gifted you to tell a good story, write a good book, or direct a good play, there will be opportunities for you.

Myron began attending a weekly career seminar I was offering in Nashville, Tennessee. After several weeks he approached me with his frustration of feeling trapped and limited. He did not have a college degree and was stuck doing the only thing he had ever done—construction work. He was bored and tired of just working for someone else. He asked about going back to school to get computer training as that is where the opportunities were perceived. I questioned him about special areas of competence or enjoyment even in construction. He mentioned one thing that he did find enjoyable—a new process for stamping concrete to make it look like carefully laid stones. I asked him to come out to my house the next week.

When Myron arrived, I showed him an area where I wanted a curving sidewalk that came to our front door. I wanted a 5-foot-wide walk to curve around our planned waterfall. He got excited about solving every situation I presented and about how the finished product would look. Based on his excitement, I committed on the spot to have him do the job. As he had no start-up capital, I gave him half the money in advance for his initial materials. He worked hard in the creation of a beautiful curving walkway that immediately generated comments from clients and friends at our house.

From that simple start we were able to refer him several additional jobs and they did the same. He decided on the name, Lasting Impressions, and went on to generate well over $100,000 in sales in his first year of business. It’s his business, he’s doing what he loves, and it draws from all those years of working when he thought he was only making a living.

In the last few years I have seen a lady who personalizes candy bar wrappers, a young man who picks up dry cleaning from businesses, a couple who cut up flawed fabric into commercial rags, a fireman who services cologne vending machines on his off days, and a lady who makes great cheesecakes for local restaurants.

Most great business ideas are not new and revolutionary. They are simple but done by someone who just did something! A good idea will not put money in anybody’s pocket, but combined with a plan of action that good idea can give you time control and unlimited income. For a business planning guide, just e-mail business@48Days.com.

1. Do you know someone who launched a successful business after being fired at a previous job?

2. What unique skills do you have that may be the basis for a creative business (writing, drawing, building, analyzing, singing, driving, thinking, etc.)?

3. Do you have any ideas that would fall into the “peacemakers, storytellers, and healers” category?

6. “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires” (Ps. 37:4). How does this apply to being content in a job you hate?

7. How does your culture, environment, and experience perhaps limit your being able to see new opportunities?

• How many of each species did Moses take on the ark? Check your Bible. It wasn’t Moses; it was Noah!

• The 2 coins are a dime and a quarter. Yes, I said 1 is not a quarter, and that’s true: 1 is a dime not a quarter.

• The surgeon was the little boy’s mother. Our assumption is that a surgeon is a man.