Some people waste their entire lives choosing average, blaming their circumstances for where they are in life. What these people fail to realise is that the same mediocre winds fall upon us all, and our direction is not determined by the blowing of the wind-our happiness is completely controlled by how we set our sails. In Awesome or Average: Vol. 1, wellness professional and motivational speaker B. M. Selby-Hele brings us an invigorating, inspirational and up-close view of fifty of the most underappreciated, yet critical, jobs in our modern world. From bricklayer to IT tech to waitress to stay-at-home dad, Awesome or Average shows us how even in the most average and undervalued of situations, we can still achieve awesome in our lives and our work. Anyone who struggles with motivation and purpose on a daily basis will appreciate Selby-Hele's concise, entertaining and insightful vignettes. With one page per profession, the selections move from their average definition to the fullness of their awesome equivalent. And this awesome equivalent, which is truly no equivalent at all, can be ours if we but take the step. Make that choice. Choose to be awesome no matter what you do or who you are.
Awesome or Average
Vol. 1By B. M. Selby-HeleBalboa Press
Copyright © 2011 B.M. Selby-Hele
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4525-0224-3Contents
Preface..................................xiBricklayer...............................1Nurse....................................3Concreter................................5Carpenter................................7Personal Trainer.........................9Baker....................................11Receptionist.............................13Chef.....................................15Personal Assistant.......................17Checkout Worker..........................19Factory Worker...........................21Crane Operator...........................23Laborer..................................25Lifeguard................................27Waiter/Waitress..........................29Garbage Collector........................31Teacher..................................33Accountant...............................35IT Person................................37Restaurateur.............................39Librarian................................41Electrician..............................43Real Estate Agent........................45Police Officer...........................47Kitchen Hand.............................49Sales Representative.....................51Truck Driver.............................53Stay-at-Home Dad.........................55Publisher................................57Mail Carrier.............................59Sign Writer..............................61Graphic Designer.........................63Landscaper...............................65Engineer.................................67Housewife................................69Bus Driver...............................71Groundskeeper............................73Bartender................................75Coach....................................77Arborist.................................79Road Worker..............................81Bank Teller..............................83Taxi Driver..............................85Newsagent................................87Agent....................................89Butcher..................................91Fast Food Attendant......................93Hairdresser..............................95Plumber..................................97Fisherman................................99My Spiel.................................101
Chapter One
Bricklayer A person whose job it is to build walls, houses, and other structures with bricks.
Protector from the Elements
I have a responsibility of gigantic proportions. I am not only responsible for ensuring that freezing winds, harsh rains, and penetrating heat are kept at bay, but am also judged by the aesthetic nature of the given structure and its ability to provide a sound living and working environment. I protect people from the elements and build structures with the utmost care, displaying fine attention to detail. I not only worry about the overall look of the finished product, but also concern myself with every element responsible for ensuring a sound finish!
I painstakingly create my mud by hand, batch after batch, ensuring it is of the highest quality to possess the integral strength required to keep each brick attached to another. I realize that if the mud is not sound, the finished product risks being flawed and may crumble, and that is not a chance I dare take when my reputation is on the line. Each brick is meticulously positioned with intention, guided by the string line that I've placed, measured and checked, then measured and checked again. Keeping each and every brick level and on track is the cross I bear. No one brick is superior to another; each and every brick has the potential to jeopardize the finished product.
On a daily basis, I risk life and limb for greatness, fearlessly scaling heights on scaffolding to complete my masterpiece. Only I have the true vision of the ultimate outcome in mind, and I will not rest until each and every necessary brick has been laid to achieve that result. Each brick is laid with the same care and effort applied to the one before it. The larger the structure, the more bricks to be laid, the more days required to fulfill the task. While the days can blur into one, I remain vigilant and focused on the end result. That's what fuels me.
Uncompromising in my execution from start to finish, I enjoy the fruits of my labor when the project is completed. Looking back, I'm satisfied with the end result and humbled by the fact that my structure will stand the test of time. But I do not linger for long, because as one structure is complete, another is just beginning.
Nurse
A person trained to take care of the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital.
Patron of Unconditional Care
The often silent and unnoticed face of caring for the frail and the sick, I am bound by my compulsion to look after and nurture others in their times of vulnerability and need. Each and every day, I stand at the coalface, dealing with the devastating effects that misfortune and ill health can have on a human being. While the hours are long and the demands relentless, I manage to take responsibility for each and every patient whose needs I cater to as if they were of my own flesh and blood. This trait I possess is not something that is learned, but something that I was born with. I cannot ignore it, which is why no matter how many times I may draw blood, clean a patient, answer a patient's call of distress, or simply provide a reassuring word, I do so with utmost sincerity and unconditional caring.
Often, my patience and generosity goes unnoticed, and I am left to deal with the resentment and spite I can harbor towards those who have underappreciated me. However, I don't let these feelings get the better of me; I'm above that. My seasoned soul knows that for every person who ignores my caring gestures and actions, there is one who takes notice and truly appreciates everything I do, and that person makes what I do worthwhile.
I deal with people at their most vulnerable, and often, it brings out unexpected and unanticipated outcomes. Yet amazingly, through all the madness, I remain level-headed and focused, because that's the effect I have on those around me, and that's the reason I do what I do. My presence is something that cannot have a monetary value attached to it, because if it did, it would be priceless. I continue to serve the ill of health for the sense of fulfillment it engulfs me with. Each patient is like my own child. The bond I forge with each person is unconditional, and it remains until I have helped that patient through his or her time of need.
I don't care for others because I am forced to, but because I have to; it's in my make-up. The moment I stop caring is the moment I lose purpose in my profession, so I am forever affixed to the great sense of honor that comes with imparting the gift of life on another human being. My skills far surpass what is taught in the institutions of education; they were ingrained in me from the moment I came into this world. In a world plagued by the misfortunate and ill of health, I rest at ease, knowing there will always be people for me to nurture, care for, and serve until they return to full health.
Concreter
A person whose job it is to build foundations, walls, and other structures with concrete.
Foundation Expert
I have a position of immense responsibility; I build the very foundations on which humanity exists. While not the most decorated role, without me, our most basic day-to-day...
