TIP 56
WORK ON A SPECIAL PROJECT
We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
One way to discover your special gift or talent is to work on a special project that really lights you up. Design a project at work, at home, or in your community that would be fun and exciting. In fact, why not really liven up your life and have a special project at work and at home? At work, you could create a special task team to resolve an issue that bothers you. Sign up for a course in something that you’ve always wanted to learn. Create a system to automate as much drudgery as possible. Learn a different side of your business. Whatever you choose to do, make sure it really interests you (and that you have permission from your manager).
You could also create a special project on a more personal side. Decide to run a marathon and take up daily training. Start writing a novel. Start a project to enhance your community. Or you could take what you love to work. One client loved gardening and got permission to plant a bed of flowers in front of her sterile office building. She organized a team of colleagues, and they planted it together. Now, every day she looks forward to seeing the fruits of her labor. Although she created this project purely for her personal satisfaction, she ended up attracting the attention of senior management and has since been promoted!
My special project was called “Neat Street.” I was tolerating two big things about living in New York City—the dirty streets and the homelessness. I didn’t like the way my block always looked trashy even though it is in a nice residential neighborhood in midtown Manhattan. I also didn’t feel right about the homeless people. I didn’t want to give them money because I thought it would go to drugs or alcohol, but I didn’t feel right about just walking by either. Then an idea popped into my head: why not ask the homeless people to clean the streets? I was so inspired I went down to the nearest ATM and as always, there was a homeless man with his cup extended. I asked him if he would be interested in working. He said yes, and I told him my idea. If he volunteered to sweep my block every day, I would ask each resident on that block to give him at least $1 a week donation. He could make up to $150 a week. He showed up on the block the next morning at 7:00 a.m., and I gave him a broom and a dustpan. This was the birth of “Neat Street.” James, the homeless man, ended up being photographed for an article in the New York Times and was also on television. He became a regular part of the community, sweeping the block, rain or shine, and ended up making enough money to share an apartment with a friend. Now “Neat Street” has spread to other blocks, and all sorts of organizations have created partnerships with the homeless to provide them work cleaning the streets. Who knows, maybe one day New York will be a remarkably spotless city with fewer people living on the streets.
What special project would you like to start? If you aren’t the starter type, how about joining someone else’s project that you believe in? It doesn’t matter if your project is a small one; it can still makes a difference.
As you work on a project that inspires you, you may discover what it is you truly love to do in life. Begin to orient your life around it. You may also find that in working on the project, you attract the next career opportunity. People who love what they are doing frequently attract great people and opportunities to them effortlessly.