By: Holly Hampton, Director of Innovation at Bay Tek Entertainment

Recently we finished a series at church called, “Owning Your Everyday Work”.  Before you stop reading because I said church don’t freak out, I promise not to get too preachy.  I just want to share some insights that I think can inspire our readers!

On average we live 79 years.  Most if it will be spent sleeping: 37 years.  The second largest portion of time will be spent working: 13 years.  This obviously takes into account each and every second we are alive for those 79 years!  What we do for work is important since we spend so much of our precious time on earth doing it.  But what inspired me in this five week series is how we do the work we do.

We’ve been created to work, to produce, to make an impact.  Work is neither a curse and it also shouldn’t be treated as an idol.  Work, whatever vocation we choose, is a gift but often we focus too much on what we do for a living versus how we do it.  What if we started to ask ourselves why we work?  And not just the obvious financial reasons, but a deeper, purpose-driven why?

  • What do you want your legacy to be?
  • How do you want to be spoken about when you are not in the room?
  • What impact do you want to make in the lives of others?
  • How do you want to make others feel?
  • What other leaders inspire you and why? What about them inspires you?

These deeper-seeded whys will create a foundational purpose greater than promotions and financial incentives for why you work. They will craft how you show up for work each and every day.  How you treat your employees, peers, customers, and suppliers.  How you execute tasks.  How and why you do what you do for work.  The great gift in finding your purposeful why is that it will overflow into your everyday life. It will impact your personal relationships, even your interactions with strangers will change when you focus on your why.

Organizations can also have a why.  At Bay Tek we are grateful that the Treankler family created their foundational purpose for starting their family business together over four decades ago:

  1. To work with people we love and care about
  2. To create opportunities for those people we love and care about
  3. To make an impact on our customers and suppliers
  4. To run successful businesses in order to give back to the communities we work and play in

These principles have crafted our culture here at Bay Tek.  A culture based on care and love.  It’s our why.  It inspires us each day that we are here to do great work that is far beyond what we do.

We each are to be a light in this dark world; at work, every day, everywhere, with everyone. Identify your why and work relentlessly every day to execute that purpose driven why and you’ll start to see a shift in the work you do.  Shine on people!