Seven days to 40 - Value every connection you make and every experience you have.

When I was in my junior year of college, I started an internship at the American Red Cross of Mid Coast Maine. When the executive director asked me how many hours I would work (for free), she very smartly joked “40, right?”.  I said yes, and I worked for free for 40 hours a week from May until September, working my server job in the evenings. The experience was invaluable.

In 2005, after having my first child, I bumped into the former CFO of the ARC-MC, and she asked me to interview for the Director of Marketing and Events position at the arena, I worked there for just over a year – really grueling hours – with an infant – I likely made $2 an hour some weeks given the sheer number of hours I worked. The experience was invaluable.

Every career move I have made since has had some kind of connection either to the American Red Cross or to the job at the arena. The pay wasn’t great, but I met hundreds of incredible people, and I earned way more than taxable income, I earned experience. I learned that if I gave back to my community – whether my nonprofit community or my business community, and kept my promises, the sky was the limit for me, personally. Or at least it felt that way.

Through those positions and through the years, I’ve also met people that I knew weren’t my kind of people, but the lessons I learned from them were also invaluable. I learned that if I didn’t like how someone treated me or another person, never to treat anyone the same way.

This every connection is valuable philosophy is a pillar of my approach to work-life harmony. It all ebbs and flows – it all blends. Value the people you meet. Value your family. Who you are as a human being – your basic values should never change – regardless of your current role. In the moment, it may seem hard, but when you maintain your values, even in the most challenging of situations, it will always pay dividends. Even if those dividends are simply peace of mind.