What I Gained When I Lost Everything...
Fourteen years ago, at age 53, Michael Gates Gill was at the
top of his game -- he had a lovely wife, an expensive home and a
$160,000-a-year job in advertising. By age 63, he was divorced,
unemployed and nearly broke -- then his doctor informed him that he
had a slow-growing brain tumor.
In desperate need of health insurance and a regular paycheck, Gill
took an entry-level job serving coffee at Starbucks for $10.50 an
hour. To his amazement, he loved the work.
Four years later, Gill no longer needs the health insurance -- he
now is old enough to qualify for Medicare. He also has sold his
life story to Hollywood (Tom Hanks is expected to portray Gill in
the film), but he plans to remain at Starbucks -- he enjoys the
job. He has chosen “watchful waiting” as the treatment option for
his brain tumor.
Bottom Line/Personal asked Gill to share what recent
years have taught him about life...
Your own expectations can constrain
you. In my earlier life, I defined myself by my
career and social status -- I was an affluent, Yale-educated
ad executive. When I lost my job in advertising, I was certain
that the solution to my problems lay in landing a new job in
advertising or, if not that, a new client to get my own
advertising consulting business on its feet.
My mental image of myself prevented me from considering
opportunities that did not fit that picture. I could not see myself
in a service-sector job wearing an apron and a baseball cap -- even
though Starbucks’ generous health insurance plan offered a solution
to my most immediate problem.
It took an outside force to break me out of this box. I was in my
local Starbucks when, out of the blue, a manager asked me if I
needed a job -- it turns out that the Starbucks I had entered was
having a “Hiring Open House.”
You may not know your true
priorities. I spent most of my adult life
chasing bigger paychecks, loftier job titles and flashier
possessions. These were my goals not because I chose them, but
because I never considered that any other goals existed. My
friends and family seemed to want these things, and I assumed
that I wanted them, too.
When I accepted the job at Starbucks, it struck me that I probably
would never again have money, titles or expensive possessions --
yet one evening at Starbucks, I realized that I was as happy as I
had ever been in my life. This “low-level” job gave me supportive
bosses and coworkers, lots of human interaction and enough money to
live a simple life. These were my real priorities, and I had never
even known it. Instead, I had wasted most of my life pursuing other
people’s goals. Perhaps I could have discovered my true priorities
long ago if I had listened to my heart, rather than allowing myself
to get swept along in what those around me were doing.
Trust the universe. I thought of
myself as a master of the universe when I was young and
successful. Only later did I discover that no person is a
master of the universe, and it is foolish even to aspire to be
one. Trying to master the universe means struggling against
the tide of events, which rarely works. When the universe
pushed me out of the executive suite, I tried to take charge
and reclaim the life I had had previously. I did not find
happiness again until I stopped fighting the tide and started
swimming with it to see where it led.
Any task can be worthwhile if it involves
serving others. I had considered serving coffee
an unimportant job -- until I figured out that my job was not
really serving coffee at all. It was serving my customers and
my coworkers. I might not be curing cancer, but I am doing my
best to make life a little better for anyone who steps through
the Starbucks’ door. There are few feelings as wonderful as
the feeling you get when you help someone feel better.
Having money only creates a desire for more
money. I earned a lot in my previous career, yet
I was always in debt and worried about finances. Today I no
longer have a car, a big house, stylish furniture or $2,000
suits... and I do not miss my former possessions in the least.
I can’t even remember why I thought they were important.
Living without luxuries doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. I love
my cozy apartment. I love that I can go for a walk or sit at
home reading a book and not feel that I should be out at a
business event or an expensive restaurant.
The best jobs are those that keep you in the
moment. Much of my 26 years in advertising was
wasted in meetings. Many times we had meetings to prepare for
other meetings. We were living not for the moment but always
in the future.
Only when I started working behind a counter did I discover the joy
of work that keeps you in the here and now. There are no long-term
projects in my new career. When I prepare a cup of coffee, I don’t
worry about past mistakes or future challenges. I just do what I am
doing right now to the best of my abilities, and I immediately see
the results of what I have done. That is a wonderfully gratifying
way to live.
Most people work long hours and think about their jobs even when
they are home. When I worked in advertising, a boss once ordered me
to fly to Detroit on Christmas while my young children were still
opening their presents. I went.
I love the fact that now when I leave work for the day, I do not
think about my job again until my next shift. That is what a job
should be -- a relatively small part of life.
True, jobs that offer lots of free time are unlikely to be very
lucrative -- but the free time they provide can lead to even
greater financial success. I used some of my free time to write a
book that will soon become a movie. If I were still a “successful”
executive, I never could have found the time to write.
The only job that’s beneath you is one that you
do not give your full effort to. I no longer
consider it degrading to clean the toilets in a coffee shop
bathroom. What would be degrading would be cleaning them
poorly. Doing a task well -- any task -- is a source of
self-respect.
It is natural to fear change, but things are
rarely as bad as we fear. When we’re faced with
change, we worry that we will not be able to adapt or that we
will not enjoy our new situation. I was scared of taking a job
at Starbucks... scared that I wouldn’t get along with
coworkers half my age... scared when I was put in charge of a
cash register, because I have never been very good with
money.
Each time, I was scared before the change occurred -- yet once it
did, it was never as bad as I had feared. Sometimes we just have to
take that leap into a completely unfamiliar situation and expect
that we will rise to the challenge.