I love my job as a life and career success coach. I’ll be 62 next month. People have been asking me when I’m planning on retiring.
“Retiring,” I say, “I’m just getting warmed up.” And it’s true. I love my job. I plan on coaching, speaking, writing books and blogging for at least another 10 years.
The letter below is one big reason why…
Hi Bud,
I don’t know whether or not you’ll actually get to read this email personally, or the sort of set up you have, how large or complex your “ministry” is but I feel compelled to write anyway. I do know that twice in the past I’ve written, to avail of a couple of your relatively magnanimous offers, and was blessed to get a personal response from you. In fact, I possess three of your books, signed copies, that you forwarded to me free of charge and I extol your “virtues” and your wisdom to everyone who knows me, as my way of attempting to return your altruism and generous spirit, as well as further a philosophy and method that I believe in wholeheartedly. So I hope that, in some way, I’ve brought you some clients or business.
I regard your enterprise as a ministry because Bud, whether or not you realize it, you minister to a great deal of people, like myself, who have little to contribute financially or otherwise, but are spiritually fed by your wisdom and common sense, applicable to any and all human conditions and circumstance. You have certainly ministered to my one-time dying and miserable spirit.
I have been reading and depending on your Success Quotes for at least three years now on a daily basis; it’s like a Bible to me. I’ve been maintaining a file consisting of those daily quotes for years and read and get fed by them daily as well as forwarding them to friends and family with great results. Everybody I know just, simply, love you. I’m fifty-six years of age, a retired addictions therapist who has, for many, many years, ministered to the most marginalized and hardest to serve individuals in the entire country of Canada – rapists, murderers, bikers, homeless and dying. I’ve also done the same for many of Canada’s top politicians and bureaucrats.
Now I’m ill, alone and trying to find purpose, daily, in living. I know, I know, not a great success story, but for the sake of brevity, suffice it to say that it’s been an interesting and educational journey thus far. Bud, you’ve been my mainstay on many a dreaded morning when I opened my eyes and could find no reason to do anything more than that for the coming day.
Each morning I check my inbox to find your email and somehow, I find what I need to place my feet on the floor and face another day. How can I possibly, in my situation, adequately express my gratitude for that? I loved reading of your initiative in supporting the Metro Care Ring. That is so fitting of my vision of you! And so very much like I’ve been doing these many years.
I thank you for being you and for allowing yourself to be used so mightily in the aid of others. If there is anything, anytime, that you may consider I could do to assist or support you, given my personal financial void, please know that I am willing to do whatever is within my ability to do. I can write fairly well (some might disagree lol) and do a number of other things to do with marketing and promotion, and I’m not looking for a wage or a paying job, so there’s no angle here other than gratitude.
Given that there is likely little I can do that you may need other than prayerful support (I’m an ordained Minister but disdain religion), I simply thank you. I thank you. I thank you.
Peace,
Terry
I don’t get these types of letters very often, that’s what makes this one so special. I asked Terry if I could share it and he agreed. As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, my mission is to help as many people as I can to create successful fulfilling lives and careers. It seems as if I’ve helped at least one guy.
What is your passion? If you discover it, you’ll never work another day in your life. I say this because when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. It really doesn’t.
The career success coach point here is simple common sense. As tweet 7 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Figure out what you really want to do. Work you love will make it easier to create the life and career success you deserve.” Work you love doesn’t seem like work. It’s your life and your career. You have to live it. That’s why you have to choose your life’s work based on what’s right for you – your passion — not what other people think is right for you. Other people, particularly those close to you, have your best interests at heart. That’s why you should listen to what they have to say; but you need to make the final decision on your life’s work by yourself. That’s the first step in taking personal responsibility for your life and career success. As the poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Work is love made visible.”
That’s my career advice that comes from the very nice letter I received from one of my subscribers. If you would like to begin receiving my daily success quotes go to http://budurl.com/STExp. When you sign up to get your free copies of Success Tweets and Success Tweets Explained you’ll also start receiving daily success quotes. Finally, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success. I value you and I appreciate you.
Bud
PS: Have you seen my membership site, My Corporate Climb? It’s devoted to helping people just like you create career success inside large corporations. You can find out about it by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.
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