Two very different phone calls recently got me fired up. Both were from workaholic friends – one close to retirement, one moving up the career ladder. The questions varied, but amazingly, the answers I volunteered turned out to be the same.
First call: “Harvey, I’m going to hang this all up in a couple years. I’ve built a great little company. I’ve made more money than I can spend. I’ve overcome a zillion obstacles and dodged more than a few bullets, and mentored a number of amazing young people,” Marvin said. “I know I’m replaceable, and I accept that. I’ve always wished I had more time to do what I want to do. Trouble is, I’m not sure what it is I want to do.”
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Second call: “Harvey, you’ve always given me sound advice. I need to figure out what’s missing here,” Laura said. “I’ve gotten regular promotions, and I’m making a good salary. My supervisors trust me to handle all kinds of situations. I get along with everyone very well, and I really like working here. But when the end of the day comes, I just feel like there’s got to be more. Help me, Harvey … Got any suggestions?”
So I posed a simple question to each of them. Sounds like you’re doing everything right that will make your life better. But, are you doing anything for anyone else? Both said they made donations to causes, and spent time on work-related volunteer events. But have you found something you care about away from your work life that really rings your chimes?
Silence.
I pointed out that people who do volunteer work and help other people on a regular basis have a healthier outlook on life. They are more inclined to be go-getters and consistently report being happier. Young, old, professional, student, teacher – it doesn’t matter. There’s a great, unpaid job waiting for you. Did I say unpaid? Well, don’t confuse that with unrewarding.
Find a cause that means something to you – education, politics, arts, environment, community service, religion – it doesn’t matter. Organizations need help at every level.
Consider the experience Jan had when she arrived at a neighborhood community center, where a new after-school program was soon to begin. Jan is an accountant, one of the best tax pros in her town. But she wasn’t so sure she was qualified to be a mentor. She hadn’t been around children in many years, and feared she would look like a dinosaur to the younger generation. But the center’s director assured her she could contribute her talents in many ways. In fact, he told Jan that maybe she could be more helpful not being a mentor, but making the place appealing to the kids who they hoped would use it.
“I have a group of middle school girls who need something fun to do instead of sitting around looking bored. Got any ideas?” he asked.
“Well, first, you need to make the place look ‘cool,’” Jan told him. “I can help them paint the walls, and scrounge some comfy furniture. And I’m an expert knitter, if I do say so myself. Do you think they’d like to learn to knit? I have a trunk full of yarn that I’d be willing to share. What do you think?”
“You’re hired! When can you start?”
Jan’s office now closes at 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays. If Jan doesn’t show up at the center by 4 p.m., her young friends worry. By the way, Thursday has become Jan’s favorite day. And she has recruited several co-workers and clients to either volunteer or provide pro bono professional services to the community center.
This same scenario can be repeated in almost any setting. Organizations need help days, nights and weekends, all yearlong. They need queen bees and worker bees. They need people with contacts and people with tools. They love people with ideas and people willing to execute those ideas. And I’ve never volunteered anywhere that doesn’t welcome people who are good at fund raising.
Marvin called me again a few weeks back. He is helping to launch a local history center. He’s lived in the city all his life, and decided that he could really give back to his community by preserving its heritage. He’s having the time of his life.
Laura started helping at the gift shop in an art museum, and with her management experience, has set up a computerized inventory system. She still loves her job, and she found what was missing.
Mackay’s Moral: When you volunteer, you always earn back more than pay in.
Harvey Mackay is author of The New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope” (Ballantine Books). He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
