To honour this basic principle, and to mark the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, here’s a video showing a most unusual profession: freestyle skiing.

“Our offices were controlled by the same thermostat, and he was always hot while I was always cold,” she recalls. “We literally argued about it every single day.”

The tension between Ms. Wesson and her former boss got so bad, they finally decided to have a meeting. The outcome? The thermostat stayed under her boss’s control but Ms. Wesson was allowed to bring in a space heater to put under her desk.

Battling over thermostats? It might be more common than you think. Of the thousands of people who responded to an online poll the Globe conducted, over two-thirds of people report bickering in their workplaces over setting the thermostat.

It might seem a trivial source of conflict, but let’s face it, these things have a way of expanding, even running out of control. Workplace conflicts can be petty, irritating and vicious.

Of course, one can’t help but wonder whether these conflicts are the result of people feeling unhappy in their jobs. But regardless, it’s worth being on guard for this sort of thing. Wouldn’t want to start an office war over a little needle, after all …

Not the sort of place one would expect excellence, right? Wrong.

This struggling school, set in a blighted district, is home to the Hobart Shakespearians. Who might that be? Well, it’s a class in the school taught by a gentleman by the name of Rafe Esquith. Over the years he’s become a legend among teaching circles.

Despite the immense challenges, he has developed an amazing series of teaching methods that has won spectacular results.

Mr. Esquith’s fifth-graders not only excel in the usual academic areas like math and English, but he also has them learning economics, arts, and to play music. They also perform Shakespeare plays, mixed with music they perform themselves. Furthermore, they take class trips to places like Washington, D.C. as well as other trips to scout out universities. And if that weren’t enough, most of Mr. Esquith’s students are the children of immigrants and are still learning English.

Despite the extremely difficult circumstances of their environment, pretty much all these students go on to university, and many go beyond that to amazing careers.

Mr. Esquith says he is not an extraordinary teacher; he owns up to having made many mistakes on the road he’s chosen. What he is is passionately dedicated to his work. He believes in it with everything he has, and brings all that passion and devotion with him when he shows up for work each morning. He does it because he loves it; and loving it leads him to excel.

So the question then, becomes, how are you showing up for work? Do you passionately believe in your work? Does it speak to your soul? Does thinking about it make you happy? Does doing it bring you joy?

Because if not, if you lack enthusiasm, if your work fails to interest you, then guess what, your work will be lacking.

There’s more than one way to excel in your work — but the best one is to truly believe in what you do.

Better yet, to love what you do!

(for more information on Rafe Esquith and his class, click here)

They include tips like “Find a mentor” and “Say ‘thank you’ as often as you can.” There’s also “Look for something new to learn every day,” and “Find a mentor.” It even urges readers to “Rise above the insanity:”

No matter the state of the economy or country, there is always something to worry about or be afraid of. You can join the naysayers and the fear-mongers, or you can refrain from panicking and be the voice of reason. Looking for rational solutions to problems is a much better use of your time than, say, freaking out about them. It also (bonus!) makes you an invaluable member of any organization.

Overall, the list is interesting, but not atypical of the kind of career advice that gets passed out by most people.

The question is, are these tips going to make people happy in their careers?

Hmm … actually, the question is, just what is it that makes people happy in their careers?

Is happiness attained by managing the various aspects of their job, regardless of what that job is? Is it attained by arriving at the right gimmick, strategy or device?

Because we at The Right Mountain don’t think these things are the key to career contentment. Sure, they have their place, but only as a side dish, not the main course.

The real goal is and should always be to know thyself. To learn who you are and what you need to be happy. To nourish your soul by putting yourself in situations that fulfill you. You certainly can’t find happiness by forcing yourself to adjust to a job that’s not right for you.

As the New Year Arrives – Do You Want The Same Job and Life That You Have Now?

Have you made the same New Year’s Resolution about your career for years in a row and never made it happen? Will this year be different?

Or is 2010 the year that you are determined to find career happiness? How are you going to go about making that happen? Meet with Michael and find out how the career program can assist you.

The Right Mountain is giving away “Michael’s Success Library” to everyone who starts the Right Mountain’s career program before February 15th.

These books will be the centerpiece of your very own personal career success library. They will also be an excellent addition to the expanded program. This giveaway has a value of nearly a $150, but it’s absolutely free if you sign up now.

Michael’s Success Library:
• The Right Mountain by Jim Hayhurst
• Where Have I Gone Right by Jim Hayhurst
• Are You Ready to Succeed by Srikumar S Rao
• Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath
• The Gratitude Principal by Dan Sullivan

See Michael’s Success Library at Indigo.ca at: http://tinyurl.com/TheRightMountain

Contact Us to book an appointment.

There are countless programs out there. Whatever career you’re thinking of, there’s a certificate or a degree that promises to get you there. Indeed, so certain a path to career fulfillment does it seem that many schools make grand promises in their promotional literature, often putting particular emphasis on earning potential.

It almost becomes a kind of shopping excursion, with the courses, timetables, schools and whatnot taking centre stage. And before you know it, the whole point of the exercise becomes lost.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with going back to school, if it’s right for you. Indeed it’s often a very necessary part of a career change. But it’s incredibly important to keep some things in mind.

These tools do provide the potential, after all, of not only getting the word out to employees, but hearing from them as well.

The author provides an example of a company using Wikipedia tools to create an internal knowledge base to which everyone can contribute:

Staff use the application to challenge each other, think communally and post content that’s insightful and relevant, says ThinkWrap CEO Steve Byrne. Postings can include updates on what projects staff are working on, or requests for advice or ideas. It’s even used occasionally for personal stories or messages.

Indeed, there is now a staggering array of potential tools for companies to use, ranging from blogs to podcasts to videocasts to discussion boards to … well, you name it!

Underlying this might be an interesting shift in hierarchy. It would seem that the traditional top-down approach is gradually moving to a more interactive model, where the opinions and knowledge of an entire workforce are valued, not just the folks at the top. It’s downright democratic!

Most people can agree with that in a moral sense. You shouldn’t pretend to be someone else, you should embrace and celebrate who you are. But along with these loftier ideas of identity, there are some very down-to-earth practical matters involved too.

We here at The Right Mountain feel it’s incredibly important to be yourself, especially at job interviews.

Yes, this flies in the face of a lot of advice you might get when preparing for an interview. There are whole businesses whose job it is to train you on everything from hand gestures to how to properly cross your legs, and it’s even possible to find voice coaches and acting lessons. All of this is designed to help you present yourself in a way designed to be appealing to a potential employer.

At first glance, this sort of approach might seem like common sense. If you put yourself in the shoes of the person doing the hiring, the applicants might seem like so many items on a supermarket shelf. This being the case, you want to stand out from the others, seem like a real catch.

But there’s another way to think about it.

Let’s say you’re sitting for a job interview, and you’re taking the “traditional” approach of trying to fit yourself to the mold of the employer.

Question: “How do you feel about working weekends?”

Answer: “Oh, I’m just fine with that, in fact I quite like it.”

Truth: “I can’t stand working weekends, I want to have a life outside my job.”

Now imagine that along with giving that answer, you took your right arm and bent it over your head so that your hand is pressed against your left shoulder blade.

Question: “I see that you’re a people person, but we tend to frown on socializing. Will that be a problem?”

Answer: “Oh, certainly not, I’m here to do a job, not make friends.”

Truth: “I thrive on a positive, friendly work environment, this place sounds awful.”

Okay, so with that answer you bent backwards as far as you could without falling over.

Now imagine you had to physically twist yourself into a new shape each time you “adapted” yourself to fit your potential employer. You’d be tied up like a human pretzel! Well guess what, you’d have to be knotted up like that as long as you worked there.

No really … is that any way to live?

So be yourself. You’ll be more relaxed, more happy — and not tied up in knots.

But here are some really, really unusual cubicle decorations. Really unusual!

Here are some examples: