One of the most difficult questions to answer in life, is why are we here.  In childhood we have lofty aspirations of becoming doctors, lawyers, astronauts, etc.  As we grow older many of us begin to aim lower as our situations change and our lives play themselves out.  Then one day we look back and wonder where all time went.  One day we’re looking forward to the last day of school, so we can start a long summer vacation. The next we find ourselves sitting at the dining room table, sorting through the bills and trying to figure out which ones we will pay.

I am 32 years old and have been fortunate enough to be able to do the one thing I’ve always wanted to do for most of my life, working with computers.  I can remember back to my early childhood and my first exposure to computers and the basic programs I would write.  Using books my grandmother purchased, I worked through all the examples and learned to think like a computer, processing information one line at a time.  To some extent this has carried over into other areas of my life where I find myself faced with multiple issues but yet processing them individually till conclusion.

Before I went to middle school I remember my dad getting a job shining shoes at an upscale car wash in Highland Park.  He worked there for over 10 years and it was always somewhat weird whenever other people would ask me what he did for a living.  While some of my friend’s parents were doctors and businessmen, my dad was the guy who fixed their shoes when they got scuffed up.

As I grew older he would let me work with him during the summer to make extra money.  It turned out to be a pretty good job for a 13 year old, as I made anywhere from $50-$100 per day.  The longer I worked there, the more I realized that there was nothing wrong with being the guy who shines shoes.  As long as people wear leather shoes, there will always be a demand for his service and he just happens to make pretty decent money.

While I’m sure this isn’t the dream my dad had during his youth, it is the career he finds himself in.  He has many other passions and interests in life some of which probably pay better.  I hope that before he dies, he is able to experience some of his other desires, but in the mean time he’s making the best of his current situation.  His customers know when they visit him they will get a quality shine every time, and many of them have been coming back for years.

Now what impact could this have on you?  What difference could you make at your job if you gave it your all everyday?  How far could you go in your career if you focused your energy on being the best at whatever it is that you do?  Could you be the garbage truck driver who learns the business and opens his own waste disposal service?  Could you be the athlete that goes on to buy his own team?

Each of us only gets one chance to live our life.  Personally I would much rather strive to be the best because it gives me a sense of personal accomplishment.  I enjoy going to bed with a smile on my face when I think about the things I was able to do that day and look forward to what the next day brings.  But then I guess I just enjoy the small things.