This blog is dedicated to finding, sharing and discussing a variety of topics around the struggles our clients and audience go through. Each episode we discuss a key concept that many humans struggle with. To give you a variety of perspectives for you to see the concept through so you can find one that makes it feel easier to deal with.
And if you prefer to listen, this episode is available as a Podcast or a Video.
Let Me Tell You A Story…
Instead of my usual blog posts with lots of information for you to read and use in your life, today I want to tell you a story. And this story is also being written / read / told live every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30pm GMT on (hopefully!) YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn between 12th November and 24th December. Click these links to subscribe and join us for the next instalment!
Stories have been used for centuries to share wisdom and ideas within our species. And this idea for this particular story came to me
I find stories are the best way to get a message across. It is why we like to read books, watch TV series and films. Because stories are a great way to share a message by inviting the reader / watcher / listener to be a part of the story. To become the character in their imagination.
And that’s what this story will do. It will invite you to become the main character, Morgan, and become the hero / heroine of the story!
There will 13 chapters and this will constitute the first draft of this story before I send it to publishers and become a published author. Which has always been a dream of mine! So thankyou to you for joining me and holding me to account to get this planned, written, shared, edited and finally published! Without you, I would probably let myself off the hook (like I have effectively been doing all year since the idea came to me!) and this would never get done.
So I hope you enjoy these 13 blog posts, and if you want to send me any ideas or ask any questions to guide the story or to make it make more sense to you, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, but for now let us dive straight in…
Read Chapter One HERE.
CHAPTER TWO – C.S. Lewis / What Do I Want?
Work is its usual dull process today… Bob is still being lumbered with the majority of the tasks, and seems to take them on willingly, while everyone else seems to be doing the bare minimum. Just enough to be paid while not drawing the boss’s attention.
Me? I follow along with everyone else, because that’s what we do isn’t it? Follow the crowd wherever the crowd leads. Do the same amount of work as everyone else. Any less and you are called lazy, but if you do more then you are a brown noser and should stop before you get everyone else in trouble by showing up their lack of work.
I find that a bit weird… Surely if extra can be done in the same time frame, then it should be done? Won’t everyone benefit by getting the job done more quickly and still to a good standard?
No one else seems to think so… Until the annual appraisals need doing of course then its scrambling to uncover all those nitty bitty extras that we each may have done, may being the key word, in the last year to eek out that extra bit of bonus from the boss. All lies and cover ups of course!
But that’s how it is everywhere isn’t it?
Even if you actually did the work, that you say you did, and put the extra effort in and did more than everyone else to a better standard, you still get given the same appraisal score anyways. As otherwise everyone else would complain and shout about unfair treatment.
Workplaces are weird…
If I owned my own company, it would be the opposite. Not to the other extreme of course, but people would be praised for doing their job and that little bit more. For spending the extra time getting that extra bit done. And those who are lazy? They would just be fired. Slow is just slow, you allow for the speed that that person works at if they are at least still trying to do their best. But if you know someone can do their work more efficiently and is just being lazy, then they should be called out.
But in my company that wouldn’t happen because everyone would know where they stand and what is expected of them. And if they couldn’t meet those expectations then they would understand where the door is and how to use it without being nudged or shown.
I think I’m daydreaming again because someone is looking at me funny.
Wait, do they want me to do something? I smile and nod my head.
“Oh you are still with us then! Meeting room, right now, let’s go.”
Don’t you just love it when your mind has wandered off on autopilot when it needs to be aware of what’s going on around you! Like when people are giving you dodgy looks and trying to get your attention?
Oh well. Meeting time! Everyone crammed into a smallish room waiting for some big announcement. The boss comes in smiling in a funny sort of way. I can sense he is quite excited but trying to hide it. It’s a very weird smile… Almost like a smirk. Like they are trying to not smile but still smile, if that makes any sense!
Everyone goes quiet as some other people come in with the boss and the announcement is made.
The company is being sold.
Everyone still has their job.
For now.
I understand why the boss is being weird now. A massive pay out for them but equally this company is theirs. We are their staff, and some staff have been with the boss since the beginning. Bob for example.
There seems to be no response from the staff… Almost like a hushed sense of disbelief.
A few more words and the boss and the others who came in turn and leave.
A few seconds pass… Then I simply stand here and listen as I wonder what do I want this news to mean.
“Well, guess we go looking elsewhere then! No loyalty anymore… Just lining their own pockets.”
“But they did say we still have our jobs?”
“Ha! That’s just that everyone doesn’t jump ship straight away and leave these new people with no staff to pick and choose from!”
“Well, I’m going back to work, there are still things that need doing.”
“Why bother! P45s for all by the end of the week and I’ll bet there won’t be any redundancy money either.”
“We still have customers that need their orders sorted.”
“They will go elsewhere regardless anyways. Have you not noticed all the ones that have left in the last week?”
“If we are no longer required then they have to give redundancy.”
“Not if the company folds and then reopens, all hush hush like the big wigs do! Remember Hermes? They just collapsed everything to avoid paying its bills and then they opened up again as Evri.”
“Er, that was a rumour…”
“Prove it!”
“We still need to get back to work everyone, nothing is confirmed yet so lets just carry on as normal.”
A few murmurs of agreement pass around the room at that point, as some people leave the room and others stay to continue their discussion.
Me? I follow Bob back to my workstation and get on, just like he said. I was always taught to just do my work, so that’s what I will do until I’m told not to.
Besides, I have rent due in a week or so, so work needs to be done! They can’t just fire us and not pay what is owed so I’ll keep earning the paycheck. Bob seems to be doing the same, as do a few of the others. It feels a bit like putting our heads in the sand, I’ll admit, but what else is there to do? The boss is busy with his buyers, some workers are just using any excuse to not do any work for the rest of the day, Bob is busying himself to make sure deadlines are still met. So, I will simply do my work.
Ping.
Darn, thought I’d turned the sound off on my phone!
Better check it though…
Message from an unknown number. Probably spam… Right, back to work.
Ding.
Now the computer is at it!
Email from the boss, putting in writing everything they just announced but no more information other than a spreadsheet detailing the current customers and who is working where. Oh, I seem to be moving to work with another team as my last customer is marked as leaving…
That can’t be good. If I have no customers to manage then my job can’t be that secure! Hmmm… No. I do my work, I am here on time. Mostly… They have no reason to let me go. Do they? But what if they do though. What if I am served my notice, or given no notice period? I’m already behind on the rent. Food still needs to be bought, and I was so close to having enough money in the bank to buy new boots for the winter.
Wait, now my forehead is aching. Right across my brow bones. My right ear this morning, now my forehead. What is up with my body today!
What do I want… I think it’s time for lunch.
I’m not being productive sat here so fresh air time! I’ll take my lunch to the bench in the park like I usually do when its not chucking it down.
The streets are surprisingly empty today as I leave work. Its cloudy and there’s a bit of a chill to the wind but its not unpleasant. A few people are standing around the bookstore window. They must have a new display. I cross the street rather than get pulled into their gaggle of gossip. I think I’ve had enough gossip for one day!
The park is empty save for one lonely dog walker at the far side. Just the way I like it. And I can’t see any dog mess on the path today either! Maybe the council have been in and actually cleaned up for a change, or maybe the dog owners have finally grown a conscience, or have actually been watching their dog instead of their phone. That has always seemed weird to me to go for a walk and just look at your phone instead of looking around you.
It is my all-time favourite pastime to make shapes out of the clouds, or watch the leaves blowing on the trees. Or see the squirrels scurrying around trying to bury the last few nuts before the weather really starts to turn.
The image of the bridge from my dream pops into my mind.
It startles me a little as the feeling of falling still isn’t fully gone from my system and it isn’t pleasant. But then I realise that that can’t happen anytime soon as the leaves are almost all already gone from the trees today, and the trees in the dream were only just starting to turn their different shades of reds and oranges and browns.
That’s comforting at least. No falling for at least a year! Woo hoo!
I reach my bench, open my lunch and tuck into my sandwich. Some fruit and couple of biscuits to follow, and a few other snacks, and a nice bottle of fresh tap water from my sink. I can hear birds calling and look up to see a flock of feathery cows flying in V-formation South for the winter.
I may have to explain that one… The memory makes me smile so hopefully it will make you smile as well!
I was about 8 years old, out for a walk with my mum through a National Trust place near where we lived. We were walking on a path between two fields, and usually these fields have gorgeous Highland Cows in them. You know, those big orange, shaggy ones, with the big horns. Scottish Haelan’ Coos. But there weren’t any that day. Maybe the farmer rotates the fields, or lets the fields rest, or moves the cows somewhere else over that time of year. Regardless, there were no cows.
But there were some geese.
“Those are funny shaped cows” my mum says.
I look at her funny and remind her that they are geese. But she insists that they can’t be geese as they are in a cow field. She pointed out the feathers and the wings and decided, very triumphantly, that the cows had evolved, and she would call this new species; Feathery Cows.
At the time I was rolling my eyes and wishing the world would swallow me up as feathery cows came up again and again over the rest of that year and for quite some time after as well! She even told my friends and her friends and the family, everyone… It was quite embarrassing, but actually now I look back on it? It was quite funny. I love the way my mum sees the world. I guess I get my weirdness from her!
Oh, daydreaming again! Better get back to work.
The crowd has gone from the bookstore now, so I decide to take a look. There are the usual new books and a lovely autumnal display of fake leaves, brown and orange draped fabric and a few quotes in frames.
One jumps out at me and makes me stop.
I’m not sure why, but it grips my attention, and I almost lose my balance as I stop mid stride.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
By C.S. Lewis. The author of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
But why is it catching my attention. My mind fills with images of feathery cows, then me standing on the edge of the bridge, me smiling, me wondering what do I want? My right ear starts burning again and I feel utterly overwhelmed. I hear a clock chime in the distance and thankfully it snaps me out of this weird trance and I hurry back to work.
Now back at work I feel hot. Flustered. Unsure of what is going on. I check my emails, nothing new, so I force myself to get back on with my work.
“What do I want?”
That weird voice in my head again… Right now? I want to be left alone to do my work!
But the question lingers. I realise I’m eavesdropping, unconsciously, to a conversation happening behind me. They are discussing options for other jobs and how they could just start their own business like their mate did from round the corner. They seem to be arguing over whether it is safer to just get another job and work for someone else, than it is to take a risk at running their own business with their own schedule and their own freedom. Making the decisions themselves and selling the company years later for a hefty profit that sees them retire to the Caribbean.
Bob encourages them back to work, but it gets me thinking… What do I want to do? I mean if this job is finished, I am going to need to earn some money somewhere! I doubt my landlord will accept fresh air as payment… And I do kind of like having hot showers and warm radiators which wouldn’t be an option if I don’t pay my energy bill!
But do I need to just keep working for others? What do I want?
Can I not just go it alone and start my own company or get a few different jobs where I can pick and choose what hours I work?
I’ve seen others make it work, really well, with selling things to people as a hobby. Granted I’ve seen many more people fail at that, but some do make it work! Same as I’ve seen people succeed and also fail at running their own business. Shops thriving one year and going out of business the next on the high street.
It seems like the world is shifting. There are so many more opportunities. So why not for me?
Because I should just get a secure job, do my work, pay my bills, settle down, have kids etc etc etc…
But I did the secure job part and that’s not looking so secure right now…
Can any job really be secure?
It seems right now that starting my own business would offer just as much security as looking for another job!
But what business would I run… What can I offer the world? What do I want to do with my life.
I pull out a notepad and pick up a pencil and check that no one is around. I write What Do I Want at the top, and just start writing.
- My own house
- Time freedom
- More money
- A rabbit
- To travel the world
- A nice car
- A house in the countryside
- To learn how to snowboard
- To be able to spend a week every month on holiday
- To buy some nice furnishes
- Have some really nice artwork in my house
- Have a really big garden with a river at the end and a boat
What do I want?
Manicures? Pedicures? Weekly massage? Hmmm… Gym membership would be good! Maybe even my own private island!
Hmmmm… My ear is burning. Hang on a minute.
I say I want all these things, but how am I going to get them? I don’t have those skills. I don’t have the time! Or the money to pay for all of that! I mean, how much does an island cost anyways? I know Richard Branson has got his own but didn’t that burn down?
Hmmm… That burning sensation in my ear has moved back to my forehead.
Maybe I should just stop thinking. Maybe I really should just get out of my head and back to my work. It is nearly home time anyways.
Right let’s get on.
So I finished my work. I say goodbye to my colleagues, hey who knows! Maybe I won’t even be in tomorrow, I’ll get a message saying not to bother! Or some may get a message and some may come in. I don’t know. Because this really secure job is suddenly teetering…
Once home, I have my nice warm shower, cook my dinner and sit down to eat it and then I remember that message I got earlier.
I check it, and yes, while I don’t recognise the number, but I know the name. That’s my friend from years ago who I haven’t been in contact with for ages.
They are asking if they are texting Morgan. I reply and say yes, this is Morgan!
Almost instantly they reply. “Wow! How are you? I’m so glad that you still have the same number!”
Yup. I’ve had this number since I was 17, when my very good friend gave me a phone because they were sick of not being able to get hold of me! But I reply with, “Yeah, I’m good, how are you?”
“Oh I am doing so amazing! Life is so good! I get to choose my own hours. Work when I choose. I’m in contact with so many amazing people! What are you doing nowadays?”
And I sit here and I think… Hang on… This person is saying that they are doing everything that I have written down on that paper at work today…
“Oh you know, I’m not doing much to be fair! Ummmm… Might be losing my job this week. My house is…” Do I really have to tell them that? I delete that message.
“Yeah, everything is good! Work is good, going out in the evenings, life is good!” We don’t tell other people our struggles do we? We don’t make a big thing about it. We just say it is all good!
Then they send me a really weird message back…
“What are you doing at the weekend?”
What am I doing at the weekend? I might, if its not raining, go and play dodge the dog poo in the park like I do most weekends? Maybe I’ll get on a bus and go a bit further? Let’s settle with…
“Nothing much, what about you?”
Huh… They are running their own webinar? So I send, “I’ve never been on a webinar! That sounds interesting, whats it about?”
The Knowing-Doing gap? No idea… So I ask, “That sounds really interesting! No idea what it means, but it sounds really good, me in!”
And then they send me a link. I click it, sign up and before you know it I’ve got four emails and all sorts going on…
That’s enough for today. That’s really enough for today.
But hang on, there is that quote again!
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
That’s the same quote, twice in a day. So I go to my pocket where I stashed the paper where I wrote down all the things that I want and I look through it.
The house. Nice car. The rabbit. Massages. The travelling…
How amazing would life be to be able to do that?
And yet somebody has just text me saying that that is what they do! That can’t be a coincidence…
Hmmm…
I think it might be time for bed before I let myself go to far. And I am going to fall asleep dreaming about all of these things that I could do.
And if that little voice keeps popping up and saying I can’t do them? Well, I’m allowed to dream aren’t I? I’m not going to do anything about getting these things, but I can dream. I think I’ll do just that. I’ll close my eyes and dream, then see what tomorrow brings! Sleep well.
What Do You Think?
So what do you think? Comment below with your feedback and where you would like to see Morgan’s story go or where you think it will go! I only have a rough outline plan so far so your input could guide it in another direction…
If this story resonates with you and you want to discuss this further, then get in touch today. Either here or through any of my social medias or schedule a call to discuss it with me directly.
I look forward to speaking with you soon.
To your success,
Jaiye
PS.
Don’t forget to come and join me live if it hasn’t gone past the 24th December 2024 yet! I go live with a new chapter every Tuesday and Thursday on my Linked In, Facebook and YouTube channels and you are more than welcome to join me. Register now!
