Work
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Burnt out. Exhausted. I quit.
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog entry about recognizing and avoiding burn out before it hits. Unfortunately I spoke way too soon. I’ve got a long-standing pattern in my life. Work work work work. I get hyper focused, get lots of interesting stuff done, then collapse in a depressed exhaustion which sometimes last [...]
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7 Steps to Being a Fantastic Leader
Over the next few months I’ll be writing a series of posts about one of my favorite subjects: making the world a better place. I’m currently working with my editor on final edits of Saving the World on $30 a Day: An Activist’s Guide to Starting, Organizing and Running a Non-Profit Organization, which will be [...]
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Avoiding and preventing burn-out
One thing I learned about myself a long time ago is that I am prone to overcommitting. I get intensely productive: deeply involved in work, in personal projects, in writing, various side businesses, and have bursts of intense energy where I’m doing lots and lots of stuff. I have a hard time saying no, and [...]
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Awful things people say to waitresses and waiters
Continuing on my train of thought from yesterday. I was writing about finances then, but right now I’m writing about dignity. There are some people out there who just seem to enjoy feeling superior to others. Some do it over religion. Some do it over lack of religion. Some do it over jobs, class, personal [...]
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Driving the working poor into the dust
“Charles, can you print off my last four pay stubs? I need them for….” Since I made my career change to the restaurant business, this has been a frequent, regular request I get from some of my employees. Why? Because they need them to qualify for various government related benefits: primarily food stamps and medical [...]
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Here comes the Bad Boss
“Charles, I think you’ve been falsifying your time sheets.” I was speechless. It was 1995, and I was in the early stages of getting the National Gulf War Resource Center started, not long after Veronica and I moved to Washington, DC. I’d taken a job at a plastics trade association I won’t name for fear [...]
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You never know what will happen
What is the thing I most love about my job? I never know what is going to happen. What is the thing I hate the most about my job? I never know what is going to happen. Dealing with the unexpected is the bread and butter of life. At its best, it can be awesome. [...]
