The guide to life and maybe everything else

As usual, on the way to work this morning, my friend and I were discussing about ourselves - work, life etc. We noticed that a lot of our friends and colleagues keep chasing things and are never happy or at peace with themsleves. I've had my share of moving around and believe all work and roles in different companies are just another shade of grey. So its what you lose out in your current job when you choose another. I'm not for a moment, suggesting that everything is hunky dory and people shouldn't change jobs (I've done the same, so I should not preach). What I'm trying to suggest is that when most people switch they suddenly get enamored with a good hike and not look hard at the future role & its responsibilities. And quite soon, they get disillusioned. That I feel is a waste of effort and time. If you are lucky to be in a large company, chances are most of the roles you would like to get into would exist; question is how do you get them? Networking & a good ear & pure luck would be the answer. Corny eh? But thats just how it is. One should stop chasing future probalities and focus more on the job at hand and make it worth the effort. A lot of us forget to do this. No work is bad work (refer: FedEx ad). It all adds up in the end, somehow and somewhere, trust me.

Then we talked a while of behaviour of people in a company and how some people just get to you, some are just too superficial. That discussion led him to share with me the Holden Guide to Life. Its an extremely good piece which attempts to answer these questions. He also sent me this poem (we couldn't trace the author, so I'm reprinting this with due credit to whosoever you are):

"The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig
The work or the brand, what is my way?
I dont know if I should stay.

To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say
My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I dont know if I should stay.

The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age
This dilemma is killing me day by day
I dont know if I should stay.

The money is good ,the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate
Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I dont know if I should stay.

The managers dont know what they talk
The team doesnt know where they walk
That's a bad situation, what say?
I dont know if I should stay.

I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace
I cant keep switching day by day
I dont know if I should stay.

The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess
No more will I walk their way,
Its all done, I won't stay."

Amen.