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Kate O'Neill <kate -at- kathleen -dot- net>
>
>How do you stay motivated on a Project That Will Not Die?
Kate,
Perhaps my response in this thread yesterday was misunderstood. I suggested that the need for a regular paycheck is adequate to motivate me.
Let me try to clarify that, and I sincerely hope that nobody will take offense.
I love doing what I do. I believe that work is, in and of itself, ennobling and empowering. But, yeah, sometimes it sucks, too. Sometimes I'd rather be trimming the hedges. And it's at times like those that the differential motivator is money.
It is not my boss's job to make me happy (and it sure as hell ain't my job to make him happy). The job for both of us is to get the work done so the company can have the revenue to pay our salaries. Does this corporation make a positive difference in the world? Yes it does. Otherwise I'd be looking for work elsewhere. But is it this company's purpose to make me want to come to work every morning? No. The company pays me to come to work every morning. The company's purpose is to return a profit to the shareholders.
So I'm not trying to put anyone down or damage anyone's self-esteem. I'm just trying to point out that work is a four-letter word. It does not have to be who you are. It does not have to be fun (even if it is fun most of the time). It just has to be fair. And what's fair is that you get paid for doing it.
Is money the most important thing in the world? No, of course not. But it works, as I said, as a differential motivator when everything else falls away.
Of course, if you are independently wealthy, you can always walk away. But I doubt that applies to most people on this list.
Dick
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