I had to go out of town at the end of last week for a conference and trade show, which required me to fly through a couple of airports on the way.
At almost every airport, I saw a scene that really made me step back and think about life, careers, and truly "hard" jobs.
In airport after airport, I saw men serving in our military heading away from home.
Just one or two at each airport, but the scene was moving: They had a loved one there, and it was obvious that they didn't want to say goodbye. There had been tears. There had been stress. Fear. For the person saying goodbye and heading off to serve their country, it was truly a very, very hard job.
Then it hit me: How often do I, as a business owner and sales professional, complain about my "hard" job. Sure, sales is hard. But compared to fighting for your country? It's embarassing to even think about it for a second as being "hard".
Folks, we actually have the best jobs in the world. Most of us have a lot of control of our schedules, we have the opportunity to determine our own income, and we get to go home at night and kiss the ones we love before we go to sleep. It's humbling to think that thousands of other Americans have voluntarily given up that priviledge, in exchange for sacrificing thier conveniences - and possibly their lives - for a way of life that allows the rest of us to do frivolous things like earn commission checks and buy bigger houses.
I'll never again think of my job as "hard".
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