Remembering a Success Story

A cowoker of mine has been struggling with the way her manager defines success. Apparently, it has to do with being worth billions at age 35.  My friend feels as though she is missing the beat, somehow, and doesn't fit it.  I had to tell her a story about Roy....

Roy moved to California to marry me (lucky dude). So, he had to find a whole new job. Here he is, 44 years old and partially disabled, looking for a job as a receptionist, competing with 20-year-old waifs wearing butt-high skirts. So, he goes into a recruiting office who advertised for a receptionist for an interview, and one of the partners, who was younger than Roy, says, "Why would I hire you? You are older than I am and all you want to do in life is be a receptionist?"

Roy said, "Scott, I don't know how you measure success. For me, when I lie down each night to go to bed, I ask myself whether I acted nicely that day, whether my relationships are in good order, and whether I made people and myself happy. Did I treat people right? Did I make my wife and kids smile? THAT is success. Money is NOT success. So yes, I want to be a receptionist. And if I do a good job for you and your firm, then it will add to my success each day. The salary is not how I measure myself."

They hired him on the spot.

And now you know one more piece to the puzzle of, "What makes Janine tick?" It's all the Gospel According to Roy, baby.....

Oh yeah, and he worked there until he finally had to go out on permanent disability. Scott happily and graciously paid for ALL the flowers for Roy's funeral, and called me weekly for a while afterwards to make sure I was OK. He cried like a baby when Roy died. I think Roy made Scott a little more successful, too.

(Roy also got away with once telling Scott over the PA that 'Howie' was on the phone for him. Scott barked back, "Howie who? I've told you a million times, I WANT A LAST NAME!" Roy said softly, "Lichtenfelter. Howie Lichtenfelter." Silence in the office from every room, then raucous laughter from every direction. That man knew how to break tension.)