This post is part of my book Conspire To Inspire: Everything Is Awesome When You Are Part Of A Team

Michael Paine @strangerarray

Copyright © 2015 Michael Paine

1 BOB GOFF

My wife, Sarah and I had come across a short series of little books by the Barna Group entitled Frames. From their website: “The typical person doesn’t have entire weekends anymore to spend reading a book. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to learn. That’s why we’ve created FRAMES—short yet deep, digestible reads”. This is where we first found Bob. The short book is titled Multi-Careering: Do Work That Matters at Every Stage of Your Journey.

The description on Amazon.com says: “LEAD A LIFE THAT MEANS SOMETHING. This FRAME is for anyone navigating the 'new normal' of careers. You want a career that's meaningful. Whether in a coffee shop or an executive office, in a school or hospital, you long to do work that matters. Yet you won't always find that work in the 8 to 5, which means you have to find it elsewhere. Sometimes following your calling means taking a risk, getting creative. Sometimes it means multi-careering. Whether you've had a handful of careers in your lifetime or a handful of careers this month, consider Multi-Careering your guidebook to find work that matters---work that leaves the world in a better place than you found it”.

After reading that book and learning that the “Average tenure of American employee per job is 4.4 years of service”(Goff, B. (2013). Multi-careering: Do work that matters at every stage of your journey. Zondervan.), I felt much better about my current position at work and my patchwork history of previous jobs. I have been working since I was 16. Well officially. I had a temporary job being a score keeper for little league baseball when I was 13. It was the best job of my life. I would make about $10 bucks a game watching baseball (and keeping record) and get a free soda. After working all summer I saved up enough money to buy a Nintendo 64 game system. It was great! I did that and some other odd jobs here and there. I would help at catering events with my sister who ran a restaurant. And anything else that would pop up.

When I was 16 I got my first official job. I worked there part time while in high school and some of my early years in college. I worked there for a total of four years. Then I bounced around a bit and landed at a job working with children for two and a half years. By then I had graduated college and starting substitute teaching. I did this for about four years with side jobs thrown in for the summers and slow times. Now I have been at my current job just over three years.

Until I read Bob's book on Multi-Careering, I thought there was something wrong with me. Now I think there is hope. Hope that I don't have work at any particular job for the rest of my life. I always try to remind young people of that fact when I am offering guidance on their future. I tell them that they should try different things and that nothing has to be forever.

Who is Bob Goff?

The profile on his website reads: “Bob Goff is the New York Times Best-Selling Author of Love Does, as well as an attorney who founded Restore International, a nonprofit human rights organization operating in Uganda, India and Somalia. Bob is a sought after speaker for leadership, church and university events, inspiring current and future influencers to get to the “do” part of life. Choosing to live audaciously, Bob connects to audiences in a powerfully inspirational, yet down to earth manner.”

One day at work I mentioned to my boss that I had come across an inspirational guy named Bob Goff. Not only had my boss already heard about him, she had his book Love Does. Then she offered to let me borrow it. Now that was awesome! I quickly read it and shared it with my wife Sarah. At one point in the book Bob discusses how you should quit anything on every Thursday. This inspired my wife which in turn inspired me. We don’t always quit something, but when we do, it’s on a Thursday. So what is it about Bob’s story that made us take action? What did he say that made us do something we haven’t been doing and now want to do?

This is where I encourage you to get his book and find out on your own.

But if that is not something you are into then I will tell you shortly. First, Bob is enthusiastic about life. He loves it! He tells great stories in the book that make you feel like you are part of something special. He knows how to share his life with you in a way that makes you want to follow suit. He even is bold enough to suggest that you contact him if you need help with anything ever and gives his own personal phone number at the end of the book.

Bob's enthusiasm has spread to my life and has driven me to seek to do more and to live my life for others.

What is Bob doing now?

Go to his website: http://bobgoff.com/ to find out. As I am writing this there is even a segment on his site if you scroll down that says “What's Bob Up To”. I dare you to check it out!

CTI