What? Clean The Toilet?

Toilets. Anyone reading this uses a toilet of some style, somewhere. If they are left without cleaning, we don't need words to describe what will happen next.

This is the first article in a new series of articles. It is the 11th article in this newsletter.

I am a man. I think like a man, I act like a man. I work like a man. (I t….t like a man).

And like a man, I'd rather not have to think about cleaning a toilet.

So what has that got to do with #careerrecovery or coaching myself to greater work productivity?

There are lots of things that people would rather not do in the workplace.

If we were to make a list of those things, figuring out exactly what needs to be done in a given job would probably feature high on the list for most people.

Preparing GST (VAT - Sales Tax) online documents preparation for the accountant is an example of something I’d rather not do, but I find myself having to do it for our business.

I sit in the office upstairs at home, for what feels like days on end.

While I’m doing it I’m locked out of family life and my wife is noting the time ticking as we look closer to the deadline.

It reminds me of a dream I had recently.

There was a man in a multi-story space. He was on platforms, looking at computer stuff working. He was observing in a dark room.?

His wife noted things down.

That was the end of part of the dream that I recall.

I sincerely hope that the bookkeepers of the world don’t start tormenting me.?

We had a bookkeeper.?

I found myself still needing to do a lot of work myself.?

After I have finished the accountant does the other bits, then it is up to us to approve the filing.

Let’s get back to the art of toilet cleaning. That’s another job people don’t enjoy.?

I certainly don’t enjoy it at home.

Why??

I don’t have the tools set up.?

Now my train of thought has been diverted to what I consider an amazing story. Like, one out of the box.?

There was once a young man who was at an education institute. He had a plan for this life, it was to study and become involved in business.?

That’s far away from the topic of toilet cleaning.

So, he was in the classroom and there was a knock at the door.?

This boy suddenly had a feeling something was wrong.?

At age 18, his life was about to change dramatically.

The school principal enters the room. He stops by the lad. Soon the news is revealed.?

The boy’s father has had a massive heart attack and died.

His father was a pastor in the US state of Mississippi. Now his wife is left trying to run the church.

The 18-year-old feels the weight of responsibility and pivots his plans from business to being a pastor.?

Now that’s quite some change for a bereft teenager!

After starting down that line of study he comes to the conclusion that he is not helping his struggling mother.

So he goes all in on that task of helping her. He quits studying and becomes the Pastor, in his father's place.

Well, he's 19 years old now.

More than half the church stopped attending. That means more than half the income for the church leaves, and they have debt on the building.

He thinks, "I'll destroy all that my Dad has spent 20 years building up".

Now he was 19 years old, and desperate to help his mother.

What could he do?

He did what most 19-year-olds won't do. (Who knows, he might have cleaned the toilet for his mother too).

He got rid of the TV. And that was just the start.

So, let's get back to the tools I was speaking of before. I could put the toilet cleaning tools in an accessible place.

How many males have all the flash tools in their shed?

We all know a nice saw doing nothing is not cutting anything.

So it is with everything. A career will never progress without that special something.

A toilet will not get cleaned regularly without that special something.

Well, now it's time for me to hear from you in the comments. Do you want to hear an update on the #careerrecovery that happened to that 19-year-old by age 29? (He'll be in his 40s by now).

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Neil Smith posts and writes articles to connect ideas, people and products together. He is a farmer by choice. He has a fulfilling full-time job, off-farm.

The Smith family have a mission to provide people with dry skin with a soap that works for their skin. Would you be interested in learning more about how Neil's beautiful wife and children help him farm goats, and make and market handmade soap? www.PalmOilFreeSoap.com and www.GoatMilkSoap.co.nz

Buying from these sites helps keep the dream alive for those with irritable skin.

Why do we need to curate our dreams? They'll slip away unless you do.

Many of us want to improve our #career or #sidehustle income. But the world is already at no. You don't have to do anything to get that response. Too much "no" could lead to despair.

The boss could say no to a new role or higher pay. The customer could say no to your offering. You have to do a lot to get to a yes.

When you are dreaming during sleep, your mind is responding to time alone. It is helping you put down deeper roots. It is mulling over the things that matter.

That's why I curate those eureka moments, to displace despair.