Do you love what you do each day?

Don’t settle.

Love what you do. Do what you love.

Labor Day is a great time to barbeque, finish summer projects and put away the white clothes. It’s also a good time to evaluate your labor – your work. Steve Jobs said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.”

There’s a saying in my family, “You’re such a Flint.” It’s code for “stop being a workaholic and come have some fun with the family.” Having had this prod directed at me many times, I’ve reflected on what I’ve learned about work and the lessons I want to remember. Here are a few: 

• When your work aligns with your life purpose you know why you’re getting up in the morning and you can do hard things.

• Being able to use your talents and skills daily makes work fun.

• Opportunities to grow and learn give us fuel to keep going. 

• We need to hang with good people who share our values and inspire us to be our best.

• “Work is a purpose, not just a place.” This insight by Tom Rath is what I wish I had learned sooner. Recently I realized that the user name for most of my personal accounts was my work user name. Somehow, I let my identity become blurred with the place I worked, rather than staying focused on doing great work.

• Minimal debt gives us freedom to leave when the place no longer fits with what we need to be happy.

Steve Jobs asked himself every morning, “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' When the answer was “no” for too many days, he knew he needed to change something. 

Whatever work you do at whatever place-do you love what you do each day? If not, what are you going to do about it?