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Investments

  My boss is very passionate about work/life balance. To him, the two must be maintained or one will fail. For me, someone who likes to work a lot and socialize the same amount, I feel as though I have a good grasp on this concept.
  I recently got a laptop at work to make my job easier. I was surprised how much easier it has become. When I was pulled into my boss's office last week, I made the mistake of telling him I had taken some work home. I was immediately told not to do that again. To him, I was going against the very nature of work/life balance. To me, I loved the idea of doing work comfortably on the couch in front of the TV.
  As I was conveying to a co-worker how much I liked the idea, she spoke vehemently against it...just like my boss. Difference is I don't have a family that would be affected. Anyway...
  This afternoon, our director of production was walked out. Gone. Just in an instant. One moment he was berating me, in jest, for not liking bread pudding, and the next he was red faced with tears in his eyes. The company was shocked. 25 years of hard dedicated service. Gone.
  My co-worker that opposed my laptop said to me "See, Aly, this is why you don't spend so much time investing in work." I immediately disagreed. Of course that's the point. We must invest. We must invest in something. I told her we are not promised a breath tomorrow or a job next week. But how boring life would be if we didn't invest.
  Yes. I believe in work/life balance, but I also believe in giving everything you have. Because if you don't then you will never gain anything outside yourself. In 25 years, this man has given of himself and made a forever impact on those of us he guided. This man invested, and he will always have something to show for it.
  If you think of this man, please say a prayer during this hard season. He deserves peace and a good Christmas holiday.

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