Photo courtesy of Maiken Mäemets
There is a chain of pizza restaurants in South Africa who have the rather philosophical phrase “Work is Love Made Visible” emblazoned on their bright orange overalls. The company believes that if they do everything with “love” it makes the whole customer experience better and makes their lives better as well.
The original quote comes from Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer best known for his 1923 novel, The Prophet. He essentially said that if you can’t work with love, it’s better to go begging in the streets:
“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.” Kahlil Gibran
‘Work is love made visible’ is a mindset that centers around what you bring to your work rather than what you take from it. It creates a sense of purpose and desire that raises everything around it. In other words, it improves quality, improves service delivery, increases productivity and this makes for a profitable business. The difference is the effort comes from within rather than from an external force pushing for improvements.
But what if my work is mundane, repetitive and downright boring, I hear you ask. How do I work with passion when I really don’t enjoy what I do?
This was a tough lesson for me to learn: It isn’t about loving the actual work you do. The expression is, ‘Work is love made visible’. The work, when achieved is an example of your love. You may not like changing your baby’s nappy, but you do it with love for the baby. You may not like making your children’s sandwiches for school, but the love for your child ensures that the sandwich is made well. You may not enjoy unpacking the dishwasher, but your enduring love for your family ensures that you do it with joy in your heart. You may not look forward to writing the weekly report, but you do it gladly because the value you create in the office translates into income for those you support. Your love for those important to you enables you to do things that you wouldn’t normally enjoy doing, with love and passion.
Roughly 80% of people are unhappy at work, and 20% are happy. Our culture has separated work from passion, and taught us to prefer a higher paycheck to higher happiness. That mistake costs us our souls. The goal of career development is to uncover one’s gifts and passions, and to link them to the practical needs of the world. We call that “being in the right place,” “finding a good fit,” or “making the best use of one’s talents.”
High compensation and high happiness are not incompatible. It’s not that we shouldn’t seek money, and lots of it. But we should first seek to develop love. Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha — all the world’s religious saints and prophets hold love as a central value, the glue that anchors the universe. That’s the realization of our highest calling.
So, here’s a challenge. Join me for a week of truly joyful work. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it will be meaningful. Print a poster of an inspiring picture with “Work is Love Made Visible” in large letters and put it up at work and home as a reminder. Let me know how it goes by the end of the week in the comments below. Share your ideas of how to work joyfully in the comments.
If you’re a business leader share this message among your staff and see what a difference it makes.
Until then, live fully, love openly and make a difference TODAY!
Michael brings passion, purpose, power and authenticity into everything he does – just look at all his LinkedIn testimonials. If you’re in business, you may be interested in how Michael can bring raving fans to your door. For details, see his article: How to Make a Big Impact.
