"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 distills 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."
--- Kahil Gibran, from "The Prophet"
Finding the joy in work can be difficult when you are stressed to close a deal, make payroll, or meet a deadline. Often it is not necessarily the work we have to do, but the way that we approach our work that makes the difference. We can decide to soar like an eagle with joy or simply complain and grumble.
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say: Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Harvey Mackay tells a story about a cab driver he met at the airport. The driver's cab was washed and waxed and looked great. The driver got out of the car wearing a white shirt, tie and pressed trousers. When the driver came around the car to open the door he handed Harvey a laminated card and said: "I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement."
It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
-- James Michener
As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf and I have a cooler with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice." Almost stuttering, Harvey said, "I'll take a Diet Coke."
Handing him his drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today"
As they were pulling away, Wally handed Harvey another laminated card, "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio."
Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.
"Work should, in fact, be thought of as a creative activity undertaken for the love of the work itself; and that man, made in God's image, should make things, as God made them, for the sake of doing well a thing that is well worth doing….. Work is the natural exercise and function of man --- the creature who is made in the image of his Creator."
--- Dorothy Sayers
When asked by Harvey why he goes to all the trouble when most cabbies don't, Wally told him that he decided years ago that he could either be a duck and quack and complain about his work or he can be an eagle and soar above the crowd. He said that since becoming an eagle, his income has quadrupled and he now has regular customers calling for him.
What will you choose today? Personally, I'm going to go try on some wings!
Retrofitting Print Billboards with their LED Digital Counterparts
By Louis M. Brill
As more and more outdoor advertising companies introduce or expand their digital billboard inventories, there is now a new challenge of where to install them along existing highway routes or to replace existing print billboards.
Read the article...
System Inc. Takes Dominion on Powerboat Wrapping Industry
By Jennifer LeClaire
Feeling creative? The water sports industry is hungry for cutting-edge designs printed on vinyl and applied to powerboats that are ultimately seen by hundreds of thousand of people in competitions around the country.
Read the article...
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Advertiser - The International Sign Association’s International Sign Expo
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See How One Show Can Make You Look!
The International Sign Association's International
Sign Expo returns to Orlando, Florida, April 7-10,
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Education and networking events: April 7-10
Trade show floor open: April 8-10
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http://www.signexpo.org
For more information, contact ISA at (703) 836-4012 or expo@signs.org.
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In a New York drugstore:
"We dispense with accuracy"
In a Tacoma, Washington men's clothing store:
"15 men's wool suits - $100 - They won't last an hour!"
On a New York convalescent home:
"For the sick and tired of the Episcopal church"
We know those funny signs are out there. Take a moment and send them in to us and we'll share them with the world. Send all hysterical observations to: info@signindustry.com.
