The Value of Work

Do we work for money, or peace of mind?

Sometimes it's money.

Sometimes, it's peace of mind.

I will explain...

The Comfort of Work

Not every job is joy or fun

But comfort helps us get things done

If we are comfortable, stress is less

And comfort helps us deal with all the day's tests.

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Some have work that fires the soul,

A gift aligned with a perfect role.

Most of us just labor, hour by hour,

This or that reason holding its power.

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Necessity is one, bills must be paid

We work to eat, to finance our days

Agency calls—we want to feel we matter,

Even though work sometimes leaves our spirits in tatters.

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Some do our part out of sheer duty,

To kin, to land, or civic beauty.

Some climb the rungs with a measured aim,

For prestige, a higher title, to make a name.

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Some of us work to keep our minds bright,

To stretch our limbs, to sleep at night.

Or build reserves for storms to come,

When age or fate will make our labors numb.

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Some of us toil, though riches could suffice,

Seeing in work, a fair device.

Some of us find in labor, a necessary retreat,

From grieving hearts, and other trials we meet.

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These are some of the reasons we work.

Even though, we may have enough reasons to shirk.

For work brings gifts beyond the pay,

It lights our hearts, and lifts the day.

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Yes, the comfort of work is not just gold,

It brightens our lives, and keeps hope bold.

Beyond the wage, work grants us cheer,

A daily strength to persevere.

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To Hold Less, To Be More

I started to sit, just breathe, just be,

A book showed how God could rewire me.

No longer gripped by anxious thread,

I whispered, hamarey bas ki baat nahi, and looked ahead.

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A tale of beans and kings took root,

A parable both strange and astute.

With each new step, I stayed on track—

Letting go of things, holding little back.
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I weighed my needs and drew the line,

Between what's enough, and what wastes time.

I read of lives both slow and wise,

Of those who found calm in quiet lives.
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My joy’s not tied to what I own,

But to the love, and the ways I’ve grown.

I have found repose in an inner glow,

Caring less and less for outward show.
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For wealth of soul, not wealth of shelf,

Gives lasting peace—our greatest gift to self.

One finds oneself on a rough-hewn floor,

More content than behind ornate doors.
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No bitterness—I’ve seen it near,

The freedom I have beats luxury clear.

I found Asteya and took it to heart:

To live with less, to play a smaller part.
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So now I stand, serene and sure,

Of what I need, of what’s secure.

And when they ask, I smile and say—

"I’m good."—and I mean it, all the way.

What are some ways to get people to accept and share your ideas? What strategies have worked for you in the past?

I spend some time thinking about, and formulating my idea or ideas, and what I want to communicate.

I also spend some time thinking about whether this communication is best done in person, over the phone, on social media, through a blog article, through a training template.

I have used all of the above, in different scenarios.

Timing is also important.

You need someone’s full attention and receptiveness to communicate your ideas effectively.

You shouldn’t do this when they are tired, or rushed, or in a bad mood.

Also, if the idea is opposed to an idea they hold, you want to slip it into a future conversation, rather than oppose their idea head on. Ideally, at the right moment.

I will give you an example.

I met up with an acquaintance, after I returned from a trip to India.

In talking about my trip to India, I mentioned to my acquaintance about one of the houses I had stayed in, and I said “It was so beautiful, it was like walking into an interior decoration showroom.”

The acquaintance, who like me, is a minimalist said, “Oh it seems you have a desire for a home like that!”

It was said enquiringly, but with a hint of disapproval.

I was taken aback, and I can’t remember how I responded.

But after the conversation, those words stayed with me.

While it was it was true that the house I had stayed in was beautiful, it was not true that I desired to own a place like that. How could I reconcile this contradiction?

A few weeks later, I was able to formulate my thoughts, and I realized…

“You can admire something without desiring it”.

I thought of all the things I admired, but did not desire.

It was months and months and months later, when the same acquaintance and and I were back in touch, and started having our famously long phone chats, that I decided to bring it up in one phone chat, slipping it in, when the right moment presented itself.

We were talking about finding the right words for the two of us being not frugal, not stingy, but value-conscious, and this word exercise gave me my opening.

I said “yes, we will have to figure out the right words”.

And then I told her, how what she had said about me wanting to own a beautiful place had stuck in my mind, because I didn’t have the words for explaining that it was not the case.

And then I said that I had found the words.

And I told her how, one can admire something without desiring it, and I gave her examples such as a luxury car, a book collection, a piece of art, even climbing the Himalayas.

She listened attentively, and didn’t argue, and I could tell she could see my point.

“You can admire something without desiring it.”

That’s one of the ideas I communicated successfully.

And now you know how I did it.

I have been unemployed for one year. What should I do to help me find work?

Recently, someone asked me this question on the online platform called Quora.

Sharing my answer with you...

Read “What Color Is Your Parachute?”.

Do the flower exercise suggested by the book.

Internalize the advice about interviews suggested by “What Color Is Your Parachute?”

Change your resume. If it’s chronological, make it skills-based.

Edit your resume, based on advice from resume writers, and authors of books about resumes.

Minoo Jha

 · 2y

Is it okay to put hobbies on my resume when applying for a job?

Not okay - according to Brenda Greene, who has interviewed recruiters at Fortune 500 companies…

Try to think of creative ways to stand out in a sea of candidates.

See if you can create a one-pager leave-behind to take to interviews.

You can try to modify this, or create something similar, that might work:

Minoo Jha

 · 3y

What are the best/innovative ways to introduce yourself to anybody?

Triple Hatter After reading Richard Nelson Bolles’ What Color is Your Parachute?, I found myself doing some soul searching. I thought about my past, my present and my future - all the colors and threads which were the patchwork of my life. And then I wrote a one page “dare to share” piece about myself, I titled Triple Hatter. I created it as something I would leave behind at an interview. I would hand it over to the interviewer at the end of the interview and say “This will tell you things about me that may not have been caught or covered in the interview”. If I was interviewed by 3 people in turn, I would hand out a copy to each of the interviewers as they left the room. I am sharing Triple Hatter with you. I hope it will motivate you to read What Color is Your Parachute? (when you get a chance) but more importantly, to learn to accept who you are in your entirety (past, present and future)... ... and then to “dare to share” everything you are with the world. Read Triple Hatter. Then go write your own Triple Hatter. And start sharing it with the world…. Triple Hatter One Gal. 3 Hats. I am a Commissions Analyst who writes advertising copy and a blog. I am a Copywriter who does Commissions Administrations and Implementations. I am a Commissions Admin who does Xactly Implementations You could call me a Triple Hatter. One Gal. 3 Hats. Solution Partners Inc, Los Gatos This is where I picked up my Implementations Hat. I said goodbye to fear and a regular paycheck when I signed up to be a contract Business Architect with Solution Partners and do Xactly Incent Implementations for different companies. 2 years and 4 projects later (including two 3-month stints at Salesforce Inc) – I am still entranced with the nuts and bolts of the Xactly Incent Commissions Machine. And now I can’t wait to see what it’s like to work both sides of the equation – the administration side and the implementation side. Which company will provide me with the opportunity to put both these skills to work? It’s exciting to speculate and wonder. Extreme Networks, Santa Clara This is where the Commissions Admin Experience I had gained at Palm was put to the test. And my ideas about my skills and traits. Excel whiz. Good at picking up new software. Accurate. Deadline Oriented. Dependable. I was there 5 years and had a fantastic relationship with my boss. Need I say more? Palm Inc This is where I got my training wheels as a Commissions Admin. No sooner did my boss sign me on to assist with commissions, when she went out on Maternity Leave. And never returned. So I was Palm’s one-woman commissions team from that point on. Of course, this meant I needed to take off my training wheels ASAP. Staying up nights with multiple Excel books, I did. It paid off. Minoo Jha Life Strategies My writing hat. It’s my oldest hat. Writing comes naturally. As flying to a bird. For a while, it looked like I had a broken wing. But when in December of 2010, I started blogging, I knew I was back in the groove. I write the Minoo Jha Life Strategies blog. Posting regularly to it, inviting guest posts and promoting it via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Triple Hatter. That’s me.

Remember to be ready for this question for the interviewer: "What questions do you have for us?"

You will need to have a few questions ready, such as "Will I be working alone or as part of a team?", "Will I have to lead any meetings?", "Are the hours standard?", "What do I need to bring on my first day?", and so on and so forth.

Meanwhile, here’s my advice for staying positive, hopeful, and engaged:

Minoo Jha

 · 6y

What advice would you give an unemployed person?

Hi, You asked, What advice do you have for someone who's about to be jobless? This is to be read in in advance of and immediately after you become jobless. 1. Think of your blessings. Even a simple thing like the presence of loving pets, loving friends and family, or having a comfortable living situation, is a blessing. Improve your outlook by thinking of all your current blessings. 2. Express positive thoughts out aloud. Tell people what you have learned about your situation. Tell them what’s good about the fact this happened to you. The more positive things you think and say about what happened to you, the more positive will be your future thoughts, feelings, and communication. The more positive things you think and say about your situation, the more improved will be your outlook, and optimism about the future. 3. Take positive action. Instead of isolating, connect. Connect on the phone. Connect for coffee and conversation. Connect with individuals or groups who will revive your spirits. Connect for a cause you believe in. There are so many ways to connect. 4. Express gratitude. If your situation is a result of other people having done something to you, try to think of the good things they did, before the negative event happened. Maybe you can even write a thank you letter or note of appreciation to them, acknowledging those good things. You can write the letter and keep it, or write the letter and mail it. Either way, its impact will be immediate. You will feel better both about yourself, and about them. 5. Keep yourself fit. Get a gym membership and sign up for a pumped up gym class. Try a new style of haircut. Pay attention to your grooming. Keep your appearance smart and sharp. 6. Make ‘not working’ work for you. Turn it into an advantage. If you are not working, think about the fact most people become their healthiest and most resourceful when they are not working. This is because they have the time to work out, and eat right, and think of ideas. You can become part of this wonderful statistic. 7. Do something positive every day. Do something positive in at least one area in your life every day – something good for your career, or good for your health, or good for your relationships, or good for your personal development, or good for your emotional balance. It may be something as simple as taking your dog for a walk, working on a creative project, cooking something, reading an uplifting book, or working in your garden. 8. Talk to the right people. Talk to friends or family who believe in you. They will remind you of your strength and your abilities, and it will help you stay positive and keep negative thoughts at bay. 9. Pick up a pen and list all your achievements. Write down all the amazing things you have accomplished in your life. Write down the disadvantages you overcame to achieve each of those accomplishments. Put dates against each milestone, and record the wonderful results and events associated with each milestone. 10. Read and watch positive & inspiring material. Find material which encourages you and energizes you. Find material which teaches you to become smarter and wiser and less afraid. Listen to and watch this material again and again and again. Make the messages part of your DNA. 11. Bring back your sense of perspective. You may be able to say, “If this had not happened to me, I wouldn’t have learned to value the things that matter most.” 12. Do things which give you a sense of control. Do things which will give you an “I’ve got this” feeling. Clean up your house, clear your backyard, get up to date with your medical appointments and financial obligations. 13. Find the silver lining in your situation. Can your tough times made you simpler, freer, bolder, wiser, more creative, and more appreciative? What’s not to like about that? 14. Create joy for others. Cook a meal for someone, ask someone to join you for a walk, or for happy hour. Spreading joy is a great way to feel good when times are tough. 15. Grab a pen and think of some ideas. Put down some ideas of what you can do in your current situation. How can you use your time, your energy, your resources? Some really creative ideas and insights can come out of putting on your thinking cap. 16. Surrender your problem to a higher power. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it is proven. It has worked for many others. It could work for you. 17. Finally, be hopeful. Remind yourself of the wisdom of ‘This Too Shall Pass’. No matter, what you are going through, it will pass.