I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland
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0:10 - 0:12Hello.
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0:12 - 0:14My name is Stephen Kellogg.
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0:14 - 0:17I'm a professional singer and songwriter.
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0:17 - 0:21When I was kid, I wanted to be Bon Jovi:
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0:21 - 0:26rock and roll, money, girls,
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0:26 - 0:28leg kicks, (Laughter)
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0:28 - 0:30moves wearing a headset, ironically.
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0:30 - 0:32It's part of that.
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0:32 - 0:35But, by the time I graduated college,
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0:35 - 0:36not only was I not Bon Jovi,
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0:36 - 0:41but I found myself eagerly
jumping into a six-dollar-an-hour job, -
0:41 - 0:42no benefits,
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0:42 - 0:47working in a ten-foot-by-ten-foot
kiosk in a mall. -
0:47 - 0:50So, needless to say,
there was not a lot of room -
0:50 - 0:53to practice leg kicks in that environment.
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0:53 - 0:56But, over time,
work became something for me -
0:56 - 0:59that was like pizza or sex:
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0:59 - 1:02even when it's bad, it's pretty great.
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1:02 - 1:04(Laughter)
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1:07 - 1:11I believe that our ability
to be satisfied with our work -
1:11 - 1:15is something
that is well within our grasp. -
1:15 - 1:19I don't think it's specific
to any one field. -
1:19 - 1:22I don't think it's as subject
to external forces -
1:22 - 1:24as we give it credit for being.
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1:24 - 1:27And I think that the strategies
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1:27 - 1:31or the truths that have helped me
find joy in my work -
1:31 - 1:33are things that could work for anybody.
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1:33 - 1:35And that's what I want
to talk to you about today. -
1:35 - 1:36When I was getting ready,
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1:36 - 1:39I read a study in Forbes that said
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1:39 - 1:44job satisfaction in America
was at 19%. (Laughter) -
1:44 - 1:45That's grim.
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1:45 - 1:47I'm not sure if I totally believe that,
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1:47 - 1:49but it's certainly supported my feeling
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1:49 - 1:52that this might be a relevant talk.
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1:52 - 1:55But even some of the more
optimistic studies that I've found -
1:55 - 1:57still had it well bellow 50%,
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1:57 - 1:59which should mean
that most people aren't happy -
1:59 - 2:02with the work that they're doing.
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2:02 - 2:04And that's a serious bummer.
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2:04 - 2:07I don't think it has to be that way.
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2:07 - 2:08So...
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2:10 - 2:12I'm going to share some of those things.
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2:12 - 2:14I know some of you guys
might be thinking, -
2:14 - 2:15"Well, you sing in a rock band.
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2:15 - 2:19Of course you're happy with what
you're doing." And you'd be right. -
2:19 - 2:23Musicians do rate high
on the satisfaction pole. -
2:23 - 2:27But I would also say to you
that the challenges that I face -
2:27 - 2:29are, I think, the challenges
that we all face. -
2:29 - 2:34I'm going to introduce you
to my four daughters here. -
2:34 - 2:35(Audience) Aw...
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2:35 - 2:37SK: Yeah... (Laughter)
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2:38 - 2:41These are my favorite people in the world.
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2:41 - 2:45And, over the last ten years,
I've played 1,300 concerts -
2:45 - 2:48and I figured out I've spent
about four out of every seven days -
2:48 - 2:50away from them.
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2:50 - 2:54So, I know what it's like
to struggle with time commitments, -
2:54 - 2:56and how much time we spend working
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2:56 - 2:58versus doing other things.
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2:58 - 3:00I would also share with you
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3:00 - 3:04a job performance review that I received,
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3:04 - 3:07particularly public,
in a newspaper, which says, -
3:07 - 3:12"{his} music is likewise little more
than an airbrushed fabrication... -
3:12 - 3:15a victim of its own gritless contrivances
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3:15 - 3:18and overproduced underproduction."
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3:18 - 3:21(Laughter)
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3:21 - 3:23I don't even know exactly what that means,
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3:23 - 3:25but it's not good.
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3:25 - 3:27(Laughter)
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3:27 - 3:29And I think anybody who received
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3:29 - 3:31a job performance evaluation like that
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3:31 - 3:33would be very disappointed.
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3:33 - 3:35So, I know what that's like too.
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3:35 - 3:37And, if you still don't believe
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3:37 - 3:38that my struggles are your struggles,
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3:38 - 3:40I will show you my tax returns
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3:40 - 3:42from the first few years that I did this.
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3:42 - 3:46So, alright. Let's talk about how
to be happier with the work that we do. -
3:46 - 3:48The first strategy or idea:
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3:48 - 3:50"Know why you're working."
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3:50 - 3:53As the saying goes, measure your wealth
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3:53 - 3:55not by the things you have,
but by the things you have -
3:55 - 3:59for which you wouldn't take
any amount of money. -
3:59 - 4:02Before my time
as an illustrious songwriter, -
4:02 - 4:04I had my first job at Brooks Pharmacy.
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4:04 - 4:05I was sixteen years old.
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4:05 - 4:07I was a sales associate,
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4:07 - 4:10which meant that I was stocking shelves,
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4:10 - 4:12checking people out,
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4:12 - 4:13cleaning the toilet, you know,
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4:13 - 4:15whatever needed to be done,
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4:15 - 4:19and not work that one would consider
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4:19 - 4:22obviously fun type of stuff.
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4:22 - 4:24And one day, my mom came in
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4:24 - 4:27and she was waving a phone bill,
and she said, -
4:27 - 4:29"If you're going to keep dating
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4:29 - 4:31this girl who lives 45 minutes away,
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4:31 - 4:34you're going to need to pay for this."
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4:34 - 4:37So, as you can see,
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4:37 - 4:40I married that girl.
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4:40 - 4:42I knew there was no way
I was going to be able to get -
4:42 - 4:45from point A, my junior prom,
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4:45 - 4:46to point B, my wedding day,
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4:46 - 4:50unless I could continue
that conversation with my future wife. -
4:50 - 4:52I knew there was no way
I was going to be able -
4:52 - 4:54to continue that conversation,
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4:54 - 4:55unless I paid that phone bill.
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4:55 - 4:57When I went back to Brooks Pharmacy,
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4:57 - 4:59I went back with a bounce in my step,
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4:59 - 5:01because I knew why I was working.
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5:01 - 5:04And I got into the habit of saying --
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5:04 - 5:06this is totally true -- I'd say,
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5:06 - 5:09"Welcome to Brooks, where you'll love
what we do for you." (Laughter) -
5:09 - 5:12which I am not even sure
if it's one of their sayings, -
5:12 - 5:15but I just... (Laughter)
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5:15 - 5:18You see, you've got to know
why you're working. -
5:18 - 5:21OK. The second strategy.
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5:21 - 5:24"It's better to be at the bottom
of a ladder you want to climb, -
5:24 - 5:26than the top of one you don't."
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5:26 - 5:28I got that from The Office.
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5:28 - 5:31(Laughter)
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5:31 - 5:33I'm big into sayings.
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5:34 - 5:38So, about three years
after I took that 6-dollar-an-hour job, -
5:38 - 5:42I was selling advertising for a magazine,
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5:42 - 5:45and I was doing pretty well at it.
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5:45 - 5:49And I got a call to come play
at this local steakhouse. -
5:49 - 5:51And the gig was such that they said,
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5:51 - 5:53"We want you to play four hours."
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5:54 - 5:56The pay was absurdly low.
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5:56 - 5:57They made a big deal of the fact
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5:57 - 6:00that I was going to be fed.
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6:00 - 6:01(Laughter)
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6:01 - 6:05And they asked me to wear
this really goofy shirt, -
6:05 - 6:08with a steakhouse emblem on it
and everything. -
6:08 - 6:10So, it was not a sexy gig.
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6:12 - 6:15But at the end
of that first night doing that, -
6:15 - 6:18I knew I was on a ladder
I wanted to climb. -
6:18 - 6:21I also knew I was at the bottom
of that ladder, -
6:21 - 6:23but it was alright.
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6:23 - 6:26So, whenever possible,
climb ladders worth climbing. -
6:27 - 6:32Number three: "The grass
is always going to look greener." -
6:32 - 6:33This is such a cliché.
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6:33 - 6:36I really hesitate to use it here at TED,
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6:36 - 6:39but I don't think there's actually
a better way to say this. -
6:39 - 6:41We're talking about
being happy with your work, -
6:41 - 6:45and I think one of the easiest ways
to be unhappy with your work -
6:45 - 6:49is to sit there, looking over
your shoulder, at the other guy, -
6:49 - 6:50thinking that they have it better
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6:50 - 6:52and that their situation's better.
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6:52 - 6:57I think that we have
common denominators in all work, -
6:57 - 6:58or rules of the game.
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6:58 - 7:01Everybody's going to have a boss
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7:01 - 7:03who doesn't always appreciate you
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7:03 - 7:05as much as you wish they would.
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7:05 - 7:07We're going to have coworkers
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7:07 - 7:11who don't do things the way we would
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7:11 - 7:15or who are just annoying,
you know. (Laughter) -
7:15 - 7:19Rarely do people get paid
what they feel they're worth. -
7:19 - 7:22And, you know, sometimes,
you have too many hours, -
7:22 - 7:27too little hours, you could always
do a better job, if only. -
7:27 - 7:29It's fine that we have these.
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7:29 - 7:32These exist at every job, at every level.
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7:32 - 7:35The important thing,
if you want to be happy with your work, -
7:35 - 7:38is to realize
that they exist at every level. -
7:38 - 7:41Everybody's got these,
so you're not sitting there -
7:41 - 7:44thinking, "Ah, the grass is really
greener on the other side." -
7:44 - 7:46This picture, I'll just explain,
that's me in a van, -
7:46 - 7:48about five years into my touring.
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7:48 - 7:51I had it in my mind that,
if I could get on a tour bus, -
7:51 - 7:53all my problems would be solved.
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7:53 - 7:54One day, I got on a tour bus.
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7:54 - 7:56I promptly found a bunch of new problems.
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7:56 - 7:58Now, I'm back in a van,
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7:58 - 7:59so I had a lot of problems.
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7:59 - 8:01The bottom line is
the grass isn't always greener -
8:01 - 8:04on the other side. So, alright.
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8:04 - 8:09Number four: "Understand
the positive effects of your work." -
8:09 - 8:12This is something that sounds simple,
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8:12 - 8:16but I'm kind of amazed
when I talk to people about their work, -
8:16 - 8:19how not keyed in it's possible to be
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8:19 - 8:23to the positive impact of what you do.
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8:23 - 8:25I think of the guy
that brings pizza to my house -
8:25 - 8:27every Friday night.
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8:27 - 8:30And now he knows I'm so psych to see him
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8:30 - 8:33that he's got this big grin when
he shows up -- (Laughter) -- doing it. -
8:33 - 8:36But you're bringing
the best food in the world -- -
8:36 - 8:38non-negotiable -- to someone's house.
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8:38 - 8:41(Laughter)
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8:43 - 8:44It just is that way, you know.
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8:44 - 8:48So, I think of my accountant,
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8:48 - 8:50who takes a big scary mess of papers
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8:50 - 8:54and the looming threat
of the IRS and possibly jail, -
8:54 - 8:58and he turns that into, sometimes,
a tax return. (Laughter) -
8:58 - 8:59I think of a realtor
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8:59 - 9:03who takes in a young couple,
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9:03 - 9:04who says, "We want this much house,
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9:04 - 9:06and we have this much money,"
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9:06 - 9:09and, somehow, they make it work.
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9:09 - 9:10I could do this with every job.
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9:10 - 9:14Obviously, we don't have time to do that,
but, seriously, email me, -
9:14 - 9:17and I will help you find
the positive impact of your work, -
9:17 - 9:20if you can't, unless you're a criminal,
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9:20 - 9:21in which case -- (Laughter) --
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9:21 - 9:23I can't help you there.
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9:23 - 9:24(Laughter)
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9:24 - 9:27This moment really came for me.
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9:27 - 9:31I'd been out there -- I think I can say
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9:31 - 9:33I feel at home with you.
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9:33 - 9:37You know, I was trying to bolster
my ego, sell more records, -
9:37 - 9:39sell more tickets, be a bigger deal.
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9:39 - 9:41And I'd been on tour
and doing that for about six years. -
9:41 - 9:44And I got a call to play
at the Saint Jude Children's Hospital, -
9:44 - 9:46in Memphis, Tennessee.
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9:46 - 9:50And I went, and I played
to about a dozen patients, -
9:50 - 9:53and parents and staff.
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9:53 - 9:56And at that small concert,
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9:56 - 9:58I had an "aha" moment,
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9:58 - 10:01because I saw people who had
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10:01 - 10:03so little to smile about
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10:03 - 10:05smiling back at me.
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10:05 - 10:10And I realized that this skill set
I'd been working on -
10:10 - 10:14I had developed so that people
without an inclination to smile -
10:14 - 10:17could have joy again.
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10:17 - 10:19And I never played a gig different --
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10:19 - 10:22I never played the same way, after that.
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10:22 - 10:25So, key into whatever it is that you do
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10:25 - 10:27that's positive, and hang on to that.
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10:27 - 10:29You'll be happier with your work. OK.
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10:29 - 10:34The fifth and final strategy,
or insight, or truth -
10:34 - 10:37that's made work like sex for me
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10:37 - 10:39is this, -- (Laughter) --
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10:39 - 10:43"Maintain your integrity and core values."
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10:43 - 10:46Core values are some of those buzz words,
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10:46 - 10:50that you hear so much
that it's kind of become white noise. -
10:50 - 10:54But I'm really talking about your soul.
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10:54 - 10:59And probably the most humiliating moment
of my professional career -
10:59 - 11:01came a couple years ago.
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11:01 - 11:04It was decided I should have a hit song.
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11:04 - 11:06So, I flew out to Los Angeles,
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11:06 - 11:09where all hit songs come from, (Laughter)
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11:09 - 11:11to work with some writers.
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11:11 - 11:14And we wrote a song that was
intended to be a tip of the hat -
11:14 - 11:17to Simon & Garfunkel.
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11:17 - 11:20Suffice it to say we pretty much
put the hat on. (Laughter) -
11:20 - 11:21And, when the song came out,
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11:21 - 11:23my fans called me out on it and said,
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11:23 - 11:27"You know, that song
sounds like Paul Simon." -
11:27 - 11:29My four-year-old daughter
walked into my office one day, -
11:29 - 11:34and she said, "Daddy, Paul Simon's song
sounds like your song." -
11:34 - 11:35(Laughter)
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11:35 - 11:37And that was definitely,
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11:37 - 11:41definitely the lowest moment of my career.
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11:41 - 11:44I felt very out of touch
with what I'm about. -
11:44 - 11:48The good news
is you can make those things right. -
11:48 - 11:51And, in this case, I withdrew the song,
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11:51 - 11:55rewrote it to be 100% mine,
feel like mine. -
11:55 - 11:58I explained as best as I could
to my fans, -
11:58 - 12:01kind of how that had happened.
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12:01 - 12:03And, out of the lowest moment
of my career, -
12:03 - 12:06came really the proudest moment
of my career, -
12:06 - 12:11because I knew exactly
who I was in that moment, -
12:11 - 12:13and I could continue my mission.
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12:13 - 12:16So, don't ever underestimate the power
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12:16 - 12:20of keeping your integrity
and your values in your work. -
12:20 - 12:21You do these five things,
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12:21 - 12:25and we are going to show
Forbes who's boss, my friends. -
12:25 - 12:26(Laughter)
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12:26 - 12:30So, I'm going to finish
this talk with a song. -
12:30 - 12:32It's what I do.
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12:32 - 12:36I'm not really known for brevity,
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12:36 - 12:39and no one that's ever interviewed me
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12:39 - 12:41has accused me of being too concise.
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12:41 - 12:46But this opportunity to do this today
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12:46 - 12:50and boil down some of why work
has been a positive thing, -
12:50 - 12:52it gets me really excited.
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12:52 - 12:54I hope that somebody out there
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12:54 - 12:58who's not satisfied
can grab on to that and can think, -
12:58 - 12:59"If I know why I'm working,
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12:59 - 13:02if I climb ladders worth climbing,
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13:02 - 13:04if I don't spend all my time dreaming
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13:04 - 13:07that the grass is greener
on the other side, -
13:07 - 13:11if I can understand
the positive impacts of my work, -
13:11 - 13:14and if I can keep
my soul intact in the process, -
13:14 - 13:16I'm going to get more out of my job."
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13:16 - 13:18This song I'm going to leave you with
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13:18 - 13:23is my final comment on job satisfaction.
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13:23 - 13:27And it's the last thing
that I want to share with you. -
13:27 - 13:28I've put it in this song.
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13:28 - 13:32It's, your work is just your work.
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13:32 - 13:36It happens to be what we spend
most of our waking hours doing, -
13:36 - 13:40but it's not the whole of who you are,
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13:40 - 13:43and it's just one part of your identity.
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13:43 - 13:44You can switch it up,
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13:44 - 13:46you can do whatever
you have to do to be happy. -
13:46 - 13:48But I hope we're happy.
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13:48 - 13:50This song's called "Satisfied Man".
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13:50 - 13:54(Acoustic guitar)
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13:56 - 14:00♪ There are some things
you never get over ♪ -
14:00 - 14:03♪ Whatever your parents say ♪
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14:03 - 14:06♪ First on my list of these three things ♪
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14:06 - 14:10♪ is the sight of my father walking away ♪
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14:10 - 14:13♪ Next on my list would be heaven ♪
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14:13 - 14:17♪ I already know what it's like ♪
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14:17 - 14:20♪ because I fell in love
when I was sixteen ♪ -
14:20 - 14:23♪ with the absolute love of my life ♪
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14:23 - 14:27♪ Last on my list would be losing ♪
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14:27 - 14:30♪ Someone always needs to win ♪
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14:30 - 14:33♪ And thumbing your nose
at the boss I suppose ♪ -
14:33 - 14:38♪ just feels like a beautiful thing ♪
-
14:38 - 14:41♪ The thing that nobody tells you ♪
-
14:41 - 14:44♪ you figure it out if you can ♪
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14:44 - 14:47♪ There's one thing on Earth
no one can touch ♪ -
14:47 - 14:51♪ It's the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
-
14:51 - 14:56♪ Yeah, the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
-
14:56 - 15:00♪ And I don't know
why I love the leaving ♪ -
15:00 - 15:03♪ It's not from lack of loving you ♪
-
15:03 - 15:07♪ You can't remember
when you stopped breathing ♪ -
15:07 - 15:10♪ and I can't remember it too ♪
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15:10 - 15:13♪ But I'm coming home tomorrow ♪
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15:13 - 15:17♪ and I wanted you to know ♪
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15:17 - 15:21♪ that the part of me
that can make you smile ♪ -
15:21 - 15:24♪ is the same part that needed to go ♪
-
15:24 - 15:28♪ And the thing that nobody tells you ♪
-
15:28 - 15:31♪ you figure it out if you can ♪
-
15:31 - 15:34♪ It's that they can't interfere
or get inside here ♪ -
15:34 - 15:38♪ to the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
-
15:38 - 15:43♪ Yeah, the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
-
15:43 - 15:48♪ And of all the things
I've had to learn ♪ -
15:48 - 15:50♪ there's just one that won't quit ♪
-
15:50 - 15:52♪ no matter how I try ♪
-
15:52 - 15:56♪ one that won't quit,
it's all that I can stand ♪ -
15:56 - 16:00♪ one that won't quit,
I'll never learn to say goodbye ♪ -
16:00 - 16:03♪ but I hope for your sakes that you can ♪
-
16:05 - 16:08♪ Then, on April 2nd,
the birth of my heart ♪ -
16:08 - 16:12♪ the day that the zombie
awoke with a start ♪ -
16:12 - 16:16♪ When I fell for Button
and she fell for me ♪ -
16:16 - 16:19♪ back in the spring in 1993 ♪
-
16:19 - 16:23♪ January 7th, 2005 ♪
-
16:23 - 16:26♪ the birth of my blood
came fully to life ♪ -
16:26 - 16:29♪ Now, when I see Saint Peter
and ask for my wings ♪ -
16:29 - 16:33♪ leave me that memory
and the joy that it brings ♪ -
16:33 - 16:37♪ Because the thing
that nobody tells you ♪ -
16:37 - 16:40♪ you figure it out if you can ♪
-
16:40 - 16:43♪ it's the things
that you never get over ♪ -
16:43 - 16:47♪ that build the character of a man ♪
-
16:47 - 16:51♪ And if heaven,
and family, and children ♪ -
16:51 - 16:54♪ are what's left to me when I die ♪
-
16:54 - 16:57♪ then, I hope for your sake
that you're better than me ♪ -
16:57 - 17:01♪ at learning to say goodbye ♪
-
17:01 - 17:04♪ Oh, if heaven,
and family, and children ♪ -
17:04 - 17:08♪ are what's left to the race that I ran ♪
-
17:08 - 17:11♪ then, I'll quietly slip
to this slumbering peace ♪ -
17:11 - 17:15♪ of the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
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17:15 - 17:18♪ Yeah, the sleep of a satisfied man ♪
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17:18 - 17:21♪ Oh, the sleep of a satisfied... ♪
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17:21 - 17:23♪ And may you all be satisfied ♪
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17:32 - 17:34(Cheers) (Applause)
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17:34 - 17:37Thank you all very much.
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17:39 - 17:42Thank you so much, everybody.
Thank you. -
17:42 - 17:44Thank you.
- Title:
- I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland
- Description:
-
Stephen Kellogg talks about how we can get satisfaction from our work. With his long-time band The Sixers on hiatus, Stephen is currently working on a solo album to be released in 2013.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 17:58
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Leonardo Silva approved English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Mile Živković accepted English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Mile Živković edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland | ||
Mile Živković edited English subtitles for I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction | Stephen Kellogg | TEDxConcordiaUPortland |