I've learned that when most people tell me that they're highly stressed or unhappy with their job, it simply means that they aren't confident in their strategy, their company's strategy, and their ability to execute said strategy.
It's easy to come up with excuses:
"My boss gave me a hard time."
"A client quit."
There's always an excuse, but it's the black hole you don't want to get sucked into.
In order to find someone who believes in you, you first have to believe in yourself. When you're confident in your ability and focused on a good strategy that you trust, you will never feel pressure.
In order to do that, you need to make sure the little voice inside of you is telling a true story. It helps to find people as confident in you as you are in you; someone who can reiterate your strengths and help you focus on getting better.
In my case, I had an amazing mentor as a kid.
His name was Alzie Jackson, a hat-maker from Philadelphia. He was the head chef at Camp Sussex in New Jersey, where I spent many summers when I was young.
I was a dishwasher when I first started working with Alzie, but I was looking to do more. I asked him if there was more I could help with. He immediately pulled open his knife drawer, and asked "you see these knives? They need sharpening!" There was an electric knife sharpener that I would use for 20 minutes each day. It was a simple task that I became good at very quickly, which started giving me a lot of confidence.
Within the next few years, I was Alzie's right-hand man in the kitchen, and together we served over 500 meals a day. I learned how to make soups, salads, and baked goods.
It all started by finding someone who believed in me. Rather than telling me what to do, he showed me how to do it.
That little bit of confidence Alzie instilled in me has gone a long way in keeping me confident and happy at my jobs.
Quote of the Day: "The common denominator of failure is an excuse" - Jon Taffer
