Best Job Ever

A friend of mine just recently got an offer for what might be close to his dream job. Working in his field (programming) on something he loves (fantasy sports). This got me thinking about myself and my ideal job. Honestly I wonder if I'm in it... Not many people truly love their job and look forward to going to work. At least not many people I know do. They find a job that pays them well enough and is tolerable, then they find reasons they keep going back to it (like the people, like the pay etc.).

Now I'm an eternal optimist about most things. The glass might be half full or even a quarter full, but someday soon it will be getting filled up to the brim... That attitude allowed me to start my post-college career doing inventory finance and being happy enough doing it. A series of strange coincidences led me to meet my wife, decide to move to Southern NH and to apply for a web design job I had no business getting that was for a hockey retail company. Well it turns out my print design and love for hockey landed me the job despite my minimal to no experience on the web. That was 7 years ago and I was grossly underpaid, but discounts on equipment and the ability to see all the new stuff right when it came out made it worth while.

Flash forward 7 years and I've been through a bankruptcy, the firing of all but 5 people in the company, a company/owner change & re-hiring, a downsizing to just myself and 1 other person and move out of state for operations, a complete change of job/companies and yet somehow here I am. Sitting 3 floors up from my original office with a good friend working for another Hockey retailer with a much better salary and a lot more creative license to do what I think works well.

The ironic thing was with each of those seemingly bad things going on (including the bankruptcy and firing of all but 5 people and then the operations move and firing of all but myself and the programmer) I kept getting raises and finally got to a point where I feel I am being fairly compensated.

I don't know if it's Karma, help from a higher power, luck or just my own doing. I guess more likely a combination of many things but I truly feel I have the best job right now.

Working in design, flexible schedule so I can spend time with my kids, decent pay, getting to work in the hockey industry, 8 minute commute from home, having a good friend along the ride with me and a boss who's enthusiasm helps keep you striving for doing more than just churning the same stuff out.

Some say "good things come to those who wait." I say good things are already here, you just need to recognize them and then more good things will be right around the corner.