7 Things @ 7 #021
Discover more from The Art of Paying Attention
Hello — I’m Ryan J. Pelton, a writer, teacher, podcaster, and believe the whole thing runs on grace. Here’s a little explanation (About page) of why my newsletter/blog is called The Art of Paying Attention.
Hello friends,
It’s 7 PM and Labor Day (in the States). Let’s do a Labor Day edition of the 7 @ 7.
Did you know Labor Day in America was founded by labor unions to promote eight hour work days, eight hours of recreation, and eight hours of sleep?
I think we have this breakdown out of whack. These are arbitrary numbers, for sure. But what would happen if we made more time for recreation, leisure, family, creativity, hobbies, and sleep. I bet we’d see a healthier global humanity on multiple levels.
Work is good and God-given, and necessary for the flourishing of humanity and communities and culture. But when work becomes work-ism, and idolatry, it pushes other essential God-given parts out of our lives. Parts necessary for the flourishing of humans. The things of relationships, recreation, God, contemplation, sleep, and leisure become subservient to our work.
So let’s do great work, yes and amen. Let’s make and create beautiful things, for sure, and let’s find a million ways to serve others and help them flourish through our work. But not to the neglect of our souls, bodies, minds, and the most important people in our lives.
Perhaps we need to revisit the vision of Labor Day for the good of our country and humanity.
So, in celebration of Labor Day, here are seven things I’m paying attention to related to work:
1. Seth Godin is the author of multiple bestsellers in the marketing, leadership, and work space. He’s written a new book, The Song of Significance, focused on doing meaningful work. I find his books often apply to multiple disciplines and vocations. Godin might have a rose-colored glasses view of work not considering the “thorns and thistles” of a broken humanity and world. But I think he’s onto something in the modern world of work. Seth argues we don’t have to settle for dehumanizing work. We don’t have to settle for doing only what’s required. We can do the courageous thing, and lead when most want to cash checks and live for the weekend. We can choose to care.
“Each of us can show up in our own way, but the choice is the same: to lead, to create work that matters, and to find the magic that happens when we are lucky enough to cocreate with people who care.”
― Seth Godin, The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams
2. I’ve become obsessed with Robert Caro, the author of multiple Lyndon Johnson and political biographies. Why the obsession? Caro writes his books by hand, then typewriter, yes one of those. Then someone else transcribes into a computer. Caro proves the latest technology is unnecessary for doing good work. Second, Caro takes years to write these 1000 page tomes which read like action thrillers. He spent years living in the hometown of Lyndon Johnson to get the tone of his books right. There is something about the attention to detail and craft and getting things right I admire in Caro. Something we should aspire to in our own work. Caro wrote a fantastic book about his writing process. If you want to get a taste for the genius of Caro, check out his first book, The Power Broker. The story of Robert Moses, who essentially built modern New York. This interview is great about political power, too.
3. In my pastor work, I think a lot about how to connect our faith on Sunday with our work on Monday. The Washington Institute offers some exceptional gifts for the world. Connecting faith and work and culture and honoring the daily sacredness of life. I’d also recommend these two books for more reflection on the subject: here and here.
4. I learned years ago that one key to fighting global poverty and economic flourishing is creating jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. The American Enterprise Institute has done a good work for sharing these ideas. This book changed my life in thinking more broadly about the complexity of global poverty, and how for-profit business is necessary for the fight of economic relief efforts. Bono from U2 agrees.
5. President Obama produced an interesting documentary series on Netflix about work. It shows the underbelly of those who grind out livings doing menial tasks and all that comes with these realities. He asks some good questions about what is good work, what is a fair wage, how can technology and non-technological sectors speak to one another? Worth a watch.
6. One of the better films in the last twenty years on work: The Pursuit of Happiness. In this clip Will Smith gives a masterclass in how to do a job interview. Honest, bold, and humble. The film is an inspiring meditation on the dark side, and good of work. What happens when you refuse to accept no? I know Will Smith has bad press of late, but the man can act.
7. A film having nothing to do with work directly, but what happens when you work for a common goal? McFarland is a fantastic story about a cross-country team in central California. The backdrop is a poor predominately Hispanic town with little hope of a future. When a coach comes to town and inspires the young men to reach for their dreams… let’s say just see it. I think Disney does these true and inspiring sports films well. Perhaps they should stay in this lane for a while.
Grace, peace, and more grace…
Ryan