Blogs - Chief of Pray Blog

Up in the Air

I feel like such a bitch. I have been honest and direct with someone, and it wasn’t pretty. Apparently The Golden Rule doesn’t always work out when you “do unto others” and they’re more sensitive than you.

I’m in a faith-based business, with very low pay and long hours. You have to be completely devoted to the cause to put up with a frantic pace that is simply not normal. A willing heart is not enough. Talent is not enough. You have to be able to fit into our team where one person’s strengths, complement another’s weakness.

You have to stifle your quirks and develop a very thick skin. I’m demanding and I’m impatient. We all have to work hard, smart and fast, before the investor money runs out. Prayables.com  has to turn a profit soon to keep going— we-are-this-close.

How do you make good choices between fulfilling your mission for the greater good and  hurting the feelings of an individual who’s holding you back? My dad was telling me about a buddy of his who is over eighty and unemployed. Not retired— Jack needs the income. He was fired from his job as a salesman last year and he’s struggling to make ends meet.

My dad thinks it was wrong for his employer to let him go. I was surprised he felt that way. He was a very successful businessman in his day, and I’m sure he would have done the same with an under-performing employee. Did his perspective change because he feels Jack’s pain; or does he now see the wisdom in adding compassion to the expense side of a corporate balance sheet?

I often talk about the necessity of doing work you’re good at. I’m a big believer in taking chances with new endeavors. In fact, if you heard someone cheering in the movie theater when George Clooney fired people in Up in the Air, it was me. I agreed with George/Ryan Bingham’s speech to the guys getting whacked: “This is your chance to pursue your dreams.”

I’ve been on the receiving end of being fired— a few times in fact. Each time, I was a little pissed off, a little sad, but mostly relieved. And each time I did move on to a better opportunity. I pray that all those who are displaced will find happiness in new and worthier employment.

Thank You for giving me a job
I love and one I can do well in.
Thank You for the committed people
who work beside me.
Bless us with a spirit of harmony
and unshakeable work ethic.
May all that we put our hands
and minds to earn us respect.
May the way we conduct
ourselves represent You well.

-Ruth Williams