I’m 22 and sitting in one of many orientation sessions for my first full-time job out of college. The training instructor, a really nice guy who I’ll refer to as Marty, was having us watch a video about coming to work with a positive, can-do attitude.
The video was about people who tossed fish for a living. And weirdly, it wasn’t the first time I’d seen it. I remember watching it in my high school English class when I was a freshman, too. In short, it’s about the hardworking people employed at the famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle.
Their job is cold, wet, long, and not to mention, smelly. It’s also a job done in front of an audience, given the hundreds of tourists who pass through every day.
There’s every reason that you’d have a less-than-stellar attitude about a fish-hauling job, but that’s the point of this video — they don’t. They’re all happy and cheerful, and they’ve created a fun spectacle of tossing fish from place to place as they work. The way they do their job has become part of the attraction of the market.
Anyway, this training video is produced by some company that clearly wanted to create an experience for students, new hires, and anyone else who might need an inspiring lesson about their attitude.
So at the end, everyone gets a plush stuffed fish to remind them of the moral of the story. As Marty handed us our fish (this would be my second stuffed fish, though who knows where the high school fish ended up), he said:
“I keep my fish on my desk at all times, to remind me that you can always choose to be positive and happy at work!” Bless Marty’s heart. He was (and I’m sure continues to be) such a sweet guy. But let’s be honest … that damned fish wasn’t going to convince me to be happy in this new job.
What I’d started to fear during my orientation, and what became clear very quickly once I started my new job, was that I wasn’t like everyone else. I didn’t like my job, and I never did. From day one I was unengaged and faking all of my energy and enthusiasm. And the thought I kept thinking was this:
“Is there something wrong with ME? Or is there something wrong with this job?”
It took me YEARS to figure out why I wasn’t happy at that job (or any job that came after). And now, I want to share with you what I wish Marty would have known during my orientation all those years ago.
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FREE WORKSHOP ON 6/22/18
Are you kind of tired of yourself?
There’s a certain kind of annoyed you can only get when you’re fed up with yourself—for being stuck, for not having figured out what to do to move forward, and for being afraid of taking risks.
But at the same time, how are you supposed to get unstuck when you don’t know HOW? You’re caught between a rock and a hard place.
We feel you, and we’re doing a FREE online workshop on Friday, June 22nd 1pm EST especially for you:
3 ways to get unstuck (in your career & life) in record time.
Think of us expert mechanics—we’ve seen almost every problem there is to see, and we’ve learned a lot about fixing them ALL over the years. We’ve also got our hands on the kind of tools and fuel you haven’t had access to yet.
If you can’t make it to this workshop live, that’s OK! Anyone who registers will be sent a replay afterwards.
See you there!
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