Do you Value the Path you have Taken?

This week is a brief look at what you could value beyond money in your career.

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Transcript

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Hello there friends, both old and new. Welcome to the strife seek fame podcast. I'm your host, Chad Whitmore, home to bite size, lifestyle advice from a fellow traveler on the road to a better life. Brought to you by someone who is a longtime educator, writer, parent, and an outdoor enthusiast, who may just may like a good draft because our future is set not just through our choices, but by our willingness to explore and find a better way. Good evening, welcome to episode 125. Strive, seek fine. And let me say, I'm grateful you joined us. I'm feeling a little nostalgic tonight. A few months ago, I was asked about my career by my boss. It ended up being an expensive conversation, covering proud unknown moments, things I've learned and decisions I wished I hadn't made. It also wandered from personal to professional and, and back again. It was definitely an unfocused meandering mess. But it also was a pleasant walk down memory lane. But it was a good reminder of some of the prime movers of my life. What motivates me? What feeds my soul? So my question today, in its most simplified form, simply is what do you really value? Now let's get started. A little addendum. To keep this within my short episode structure, I'm not going to dig into the family end of things, I would hope the importance of family will deserve another march into the subject matter at a much later date. Like most people, my career has not exactly been the straight line I was expecting when I first left college, fresh faced and eager with a diploma in hand. And honestly, that's a good thing means I've continued to learn. After all, among my goals, at that time included, having written to at least two best sellers by 25. In case you're wondering, I haven't done that yet. I haven't written one, I haven't finished one. And having found a single place for myself during my career, and I am currently at six, I believe there were many more. And some of them are quite embarrassing looking back. But they were built more on enthusiasm than introspection. And as I told a friend recently, I feel myself on the precipice of change yet again. So as always, these could be shifting down the road. Let's start with what I value most from my years of work. It's definitely not the money. If you know what I do, the phrase is you do it more for the outcome than the income. Which is not to say I don't want to make money. Like all of us, I could use a few more zeros in the bank balance. What I have come to value comes from a very different space. Relationships. I'm proud of the young people, kids really, though some of them are now in their 40s. And you know who you are. Who am I still hear from letting me know about their kids their successes, and every once in a while listening to them with what they're struggling with, or thinking about. And even if this is only once in 10 years, it makes me proud for them. Seeing the people they have become is incredible. Seeing the pride they have in their own kids and accomplishments. Even more. So these relational callbacks feed me with a sense of continuity, especially in those times where I end up having their kids which obviously is a more recent development. And a shocking one the first time it happened when I was standing in an elementary school and saw one of my senior English kids walk in the door. Those moments give a lot of meaning to my career. Reminds you of what you're doing is important. And it means you did something right along the way, which gives you the energy to move forward and continue doing it. There's more But I'm not going to share any of these kids stories right now. I might have to grab one or two of them and bring them on at some point. And now, a word from our sponsor. I asked my dad, if I could help him with the CO masa. And he said, Yes. Yes, hope fine people, for my dad's Park, share this podcast with your friends. Leave with you to leave people for my dad, you can donate to buy me an idea and ideas to keep making podcasts. Thank you for listening me to strive think five. Thank you Miss A for supporting the show. Let's get back to it. I said second example comes from the same vein, if a different direction. As I've grown, shall we say more experienced, you can read that how you will, in my career. If you're doing things, right, in my opinion, you're helping people get started in their own careers and reaching their own goals. Whether it's student teachers moving into the profession, coaches getting their own starts, or teachers who want to be admin working alongside you. It's gratifying to see each of them move onward and upward with their own careers. Watching someone who worked alongside you go from intern to running their own show over the course of a few years. And seeing them take off and lead their own way with their own vision and thinking is huge. Seeing someone go from a rookie teacher to someone that is a leader within a whatever building they choose to work in, and feeling that in some sort of small way, you help them learn a lesson that helped place them on that route. Makes me feel that after I leave the field, and hopefully years afterwards, I will have helped kids and families long after I have left the field, helping those that I will probably never meet. Again, that sense of continuity. That feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself that something that continues after you're gone is huge. Like I said, I'm feeling a little nostalgic again. But as I've lost some people I've worked with over the last few years. And some of the mentors I learned from it makes me hope the lessons I've learned from them will live on in the next few generations of educators as well. And one final thing that strikes me it is probably not that uncommon. Because you always hear about a person search for meaning. And as I go through my career and my life, that's something I try to do. I'm not great at relaxing because I'm seeking meaning in the things I'm doing in the service I'm providing. Even in something like this podcast, I'm looking to provide meaning for myself, and hopefully meaning for people who are listening to it. And now friends, I'm curious, what do you value professionally? What do you take away from your career besides the very necessary paycheck? Let me know. Contact information is in the show notes. Well, friends, that's it for this week's edition of strife seek find. Thank you again for listening. If you'd like to join the discussion, or have ideas for future episodes, hop on over to the strife seek find podcast group on Facebook. Alternatively, if Facebook's not your thing, you can find me on Instagram at strife seek find podcast on Twitter, as at chance with more five or even on email. The links for all those are in the show notes below. Until next time, my friends keep seeking your own brilliant future