A Letter to Our Children

How to be more deliberate at leaving something lasting for your children

 

What Do You Wish Your Parents Did? 

What relics do you have from your childhood? Here’s what I have:

• 3 Beanie Babies
• POG collection, including metal slammers
• An album of burned CDs (I always named them ‘Jason’s Jukebox’)
• Keychain from France
• Journals (one declares my love for Britney Spears)
• Photo albums, including one from a trip with my mom to Alaska
• Jaguar-fur juggling balls
• Letters from my family and friends when I was a missionary in Brazil

These are all put away nicely in a little tote, and about once a year when I’m sorting through things I’ll sit down and leaf through them. And what do I spend the most time with?

The POG collection, of course.

Just kidding, it’s the photos and letters! Those are priceless. I’ll have them forever. Those letters I carted around with me through the jungles of Brazil in my beat-up suitcase and kept them in a large ziplock bag so they wouldn’t mold (everything in the jungle seems like it grows mold).

So while I love that my parents wrote letters to me while I was in Brazil, I have shockingly few other artifacts of real value from my childhood. What if parents were more deliberate about journaling, writing letters, or otherwise creating treasures for their children?

Austin and I were talking about this, and thought if we have no other readers at least our children one day can read this career advice. So this article is to them. We hope you enjoy it as well.

How to Find Meaning in Your Career

Every career has meaning. In one of my favorite books, the author describes a study where they told hospital cleaners that their cleaning directly contributes to the patient’s recovery (which it does). They found these cleaners stayed in their jobs longer, worked harder, and were happier.

Whatever you’re doing, ladder it up to something greater. When I worked in the grilling category, I would imagine all the millions of meals being created on the grills I worked on. When I worked in the ring category I would imagine the symbolism of love behind each wedding ring. You get the point.

Beyond this, likely the biggest impact you will have is on the day-to-day happiness of your coworkers. Be a delight to work with. Some of my best friends I have found through school and work. You’ll spend more time with your coworkers than nearly anyone else, so make that time count.

Lastly, I’ve gotten a lot of value from working a hybrid work schedule. I love going to work and I love being at home. Not many jobs have this, but I really cherish my time in both places. Seek for this if you can find it.

You Will Get Laid Off at Some Point. It’s Okay. 

At some point you’ll lose your job. It’s not if, it’s when. Every team, company, industry, and economy has its ups and downs. There’s no such thing as a “safe” job.

It’ll be okay. You are surrounded by people who care about you. You still matter. The vast majority of the time, a layoff is a reflection of conditions far far beyond your own control. That’s not easy to believe in the moment, but it’s true. This isn’t a reflection on you.

Here’s what to do if you just got laid off:

• Take a day and just breathe. Wind down what you need to do from your old job. Go for  a walk in a place you enjoy. Give your parents a call. Sit on a bench and just be still for a bit.
• Apply for unemployment. It’s easy, and you can get some money coming in soon.
• Do some soul searching. Do you want to do the same thing? Pivot? This is a great opportunity to switch.
• Update your resume. This article will be helpful: How to Rewrite Your Resume in 61 Minutes. 
• Start looking for a job. This article will be helpful: How to Find a New Job in 8 Hours.

It’s not easy to find a new job. It’ll take time. You’ll have sleepless nights. No amount of worrying will change the situation, so just stay positive. Treat it like a job to be looking for a job, and that will fill your days.

Send Positive Notes

I had a boss who would forward me all of the nice notes people sent about me. Things like “Jason is crushing it” or “That report was amazing!” It always made me feel good

Because of that, now I’m a person that sends nice notes. They’re always genuine, and I try to do it in the moment I’m thinking about it (otherwise I’ll forget). I usually send it directly to the person, and if it’s especially outstanding I’ll send a note to their boss.

People just really want to be seen and acknowledged. Bonus points if you can do this in person, but having it in writing (as a relic, like the letters from my parents) can make it even more meaningful.

Your Work Has Your Name On It

You are building a reputation, both for good and for bad. I hope whatever you do – whether you’re a chef, an administrative assistant, an athlete, a social worker, a plumber, or whatever profession you choose, you put 110% in.

You’re already spending time working, so why not make it your best?

In business, my goal is to make everything I do Board Room Quality (BRQ). Every report I make needs to be something I’d be proud to show in a board meeting. This means being thorough, taking time on the formatting, and ensuring the story is sound. It takes extra time, but I feel like this has built a solid reputation that I’m proud to have my name attached to.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the things I want my children to know about building a career.  I hope they’ll read this one day. There will certainly be more things I’ll write to them in the future, but this was a start.

If you’re looking for ways to be more deliberate with sharing advice or passing things on to your children, one of our top recommendations is to make time for it. Carve out some time during lunch, when you’re on a plane, or on a Sunday afternoon to create something worthy of your kids keeping.

Like us, you could start a newsletter, write letters to your kids (I do this every time I fly on an airplane), set up an email for them and email it periodically, or journal. Whatever you do, it’s better than nothing.

My guess is that whatever it is you leave for them, it will be the thing they cherish most when they pull out their own childhood box.