A Year of Blogging: August 5, 2011

August 5 is 'Work Like A Dog' Day. It's a day to honor those who work hard, and carry more than their share. Not to be confused with 'work-a-holics', who are always working. I feel like I work like a dog every day. When I started this job four years ago, I was hired to help the current members and get new members for the organization. We had someone else doing the accounting and processing all the payments, another person handling the marketing and shipping, and we sent the monthly mailings of collection letters and invoices to an outside firm. In the course of two years, the accounting person left, the marketing person left, and we stopped using the outside firm. All of these duties were absorbed into my position. Well, my coworker, K., and I absorbed all the extra duties into our positions. But now K. has gone part time, and I honestly feel like I'm single handedly running the organization, and the wants and needs of the approximately 3500 domestic members. It's no wonder I'm so worn out when I come home. I like my job. I like talking to people, either current members, or those who are looking at joining. When I am at work, I give 200%. My health has caused me to miss a bit of time, but I give my all. I try to be pleasant and helpful. There are times I know I'm not, but thankfully, I have the option to let calls go to voicemail if I'm feeling less than courteous. I know what I'm talking about, and that is evident when I talk to members and prospects. In fact, many of them mistake me for an actual financial planner, and then they start talking about securities and annuities and things way over my head. There is no doubt in my mind that I do a good job, every day. But there are some days when I have one of those 'I rock!' moments that leaves me feeling triumphant. Today was one such day. I spoke to a prospect yesterday from Cincinnati. He was going to be in the area today, and wanted to meet me in person to speak about the membership. This rarely happens. We have members all over the world, so most of the time I am able to communicate with them by email or phone. Usually the only time I meet with them in person is if I'm at a conference or if we have training at the office. So I was a little nervous. I always get nervous, even though I know what I'm doing. The good thing is, the people I'm meeting never know that I'm nervous. I guess all the public speaking as part of my Communication major paid off! When the prospect arrived, I stood tall (which in itself is an accomplishment!), offered my best handshake (many thanks to my father who taught me women can still have a firm handshake), and smiled. We talked for maybe half an hour. I explained the benefits of membership, listened to him talk about his practice, and then illustrated how his vision fits with that of the organization. The one advantage of talking to a prospect face to face is I have the chance to read their body language (yet another part of my Communication degree). I knew long before he left that I had been successful. It was a wonderful feeling. I wanted to jump up and down and shout. I was jubilant. I told my boss that the prospect was 'very impressed' and my boss told me 'I would be impressed when I met you, too. You're a good spokesperson for the organization'. Praise! A raise would be better, but I'll take the praise because it comes so infrequently. But, as a dog Momma, I wonder why it is called 'Work Like a Dog' day. I've got to say- these guys don't do a lot of work. When I get up in the morning, they are sleeping. Sometimes I get one eye opened to watch me as I walk past. When I come home for lunch, they are sitting in the window watching traffic. They follow me to the kitchen, hoping I'll share my lunch with them. Then they follow me to the living room and sit next to me staring at me, begging. When I stretch out to take my cat nap, Cobalt curls up on my feet. When I get up to go back to work, he stretches out on the end of the couch. Onyx probably works harder than Cobalt, because she is the guard dog and barks at anything that trespasses on our sidewalk. Sure, they work hard grabbing special treats out of their bowls or making their beds, but overall, they've got it pretty easy. In fact, I'm a little envious of them! Perhaps instead, it should be 'Work Like an Ox' day.