Why is Work a Four-Letter Word?

Last updated on: January 13, 2011 at 4:20 am by John Shore

Why is Work a Four-Letter Word? 2011-01-13T04:20:09-08:00 John Shore

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Lately, Thruway Christians has been sort of exploding. Members are building a TWC forum so beautiful it’s all I can do not to become Greek. (Get it? Greek forum?! Sorry. I’m exhausted.) We now have built us a TWC website that’s really just a blog that looks just like my blog [update: not anymore it doesn’t!] and right now doesn’t have any content on it at all because I’ve been too busy to put any there because I’m just now ghosting a whole book that’s due in two weeks but I know I can do it because I’m such a good writer as you can easily tell right now thanks.)

So all this TWC stuff has me back in the mind of mine I used to use back when I was a magazine editor.

I used to get hired to create/fix magazines. And part of doing that was dealing with all the people I had to fire, hire, and inspire. Editors, writers, photographers, graphics people, sales people, advertisers who wanted to pay us in trade and how in the heck am I supposed to pay my people with stuff you want to exchange for ads gimme a break and cut me a check.

I miss that stuff. Faxes faxing, phones phoning, sales people having nervous breakdowns, intrusive publishers imagining they know jack crap about what readers want, writers turning in 3,000-word personal essays instead of the 400-word profile piece they were supposed to write, graphics people who … well, are always mellow and awesome, actually.

All of it! I was born to that work, I tells ya.

Except I was also born to write stuff that isn’t Today’s Hot Topic, so … you know: come a time, and all that. But the people part of that sort of work I really, really miss. Now I work alone. No more lines at my desk. No more a thousand decisions per minute. No more twenty messages while I was at lunch.

*Sniff.* I’m so lonely now.

Well, I was. Then Thruway Christians … came calling.

And so lately I’ve been recalling all the great fun I used to have being part of a dedicated, passionate group of people who are giving their all to turn their shared vision into a reality. Being on a team like that is pretty much one of the greatest feelings you can have. I miss it so.

Less so now, of course. Yay yay yayeth!

So here’s what I wanted to share:

I have a theory about organizations—which is basically a theory about life, since what is life but an organization without a clear boss? (Yes, I know: God’s in charge. And, frankly, I’m tired of his having the best office. Plus my chair squeaks.) And that theory is that if people in an organization aren’t having fun, something is wrong.

There. That’s my theory. And I’m so right about it. “Work” is supposed to be fun. Life is supposed to be fun. And if it’s not, then that is certain proof that something somewhere in that organization has gone seriously wrong.

Work should be fun. Our relationship with God should be fun. Life should be fun.

So that’s what I want to now babble about on my blog for the next few posts.

What fun!

****

Think of the fun you’ll have joining my Facebook fan page! But do it anyway.

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