When I was in 6th grade, my teacher told me I was going to be a psychologist because I loved helping people.
When I started my career, all I wanted to do was help people. My bosses told me I could conquer the world with my insight and relationships.
My goal for my first job in a residential treatment center was to help at least one child be better off in life. I accomplished that in my first week of employment. The manager of the center told me I would run the place someday. I was 21.
Really, I have been a public servant my whole life. I am awake at night thinking about how I can help people. I get out of bed every morning knowing I can help groups of people strive and survive.
It’s who I am. It’s what I do.
And yet, I challenge myself every year (or more) to stay at my job. I learn about my market value and I recommit to myself, my family, and my community. I commit to being who I am, to continuing to prosper personally in society with all of the pressures of the unknowns. My boss and I ask each other the question, “are you happy here?” often.
When you’re a public servant, no matter where you are in life or where you work, you believe in something greater than yourself. You believe in the people whose lives you touch every day. You believe what you do matters for that one kid who needs a break or that first-time mom on the road to the hospital in a snow storm or that woman who lives with schizophrenia and wonders who is real and who is not. You hug that child who was born with Down’s syndrome, and the parent whose child was normal until age 6 when the degenerative disease took place and made his IQ to be that of a 2 year old.
You love every day.
And when home beckons and the day ends, you lay your head on your pillow knowing you made a difference to one person today.
There is no compensation greater in life than giving back every day to those who can’t do life alone.
I am a public servant. What I do every day helps people.
Being a public servant or not, I hope you re-imagine and reinvent and recommit yourself to your career regularly. How else do you ensure you have energy for tomorrow?
I also hope your stay true to your youthful soul. Am I still focused on helping one youth? Yes….Forever and in different ways all of the time. And hundreds of youth have prospered, thank God.
What are you committed to achieving through the work you do every day? What do you love to do in life? When you were young, what were your dreams? Are you working to achieve them today?
Inspiring New Leaders 