The Lesson: Why is it that the people who do the hardest jobs in America are oftentimes happier than those in more comfortable positions? After spending time with blue collar workers in over 300 different “dirty jobs”, Mike Rowe has learned a thing or two about happiness and fulfillment.
Notable Excerpt: “The idea and the big lesson that came from working with so many of those people [on Dirty Jobs] for so long was that by and large – as a group – they were happier than most of my friends; they were better balanced than most of my friends; and they had just the kind of peace that I think comes from knowing what I call the ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ test … where if you are somehow magically pulled out of existence, like right now, what happens to the world? What happens to the world of ‘poof, I’m gone’ and ‘Dirty Jobs’ never happened? Is the world gonna spin of its axis? No … [I tend to try and fundamentally measure the concept of] ‘what I can do that will ever change a thing?’ Dirty jobbers can. If all the plumbers call in sick for a week, the…
