Today, in among piecing together b-roll clips for the news and business shows on which I work, I edited a two-minute package about Leonard Nimoy. For close to two hours, the world buzzing around me virtually disappeared, as I worked to piece our limited available clips and pictures together into a worthy tribute.
Now, I am not, and have never been, a Trekkie. But ever since my high school history teacher, who most certainly was a Trekkie, incorporated Star Trek into a number of his lectures, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner have been on my radar. As I might have felt with the obituary of any accomplished person, I had the very clear feeling that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. While there is always a rush to create something for immediate air, I was determined that this was a rush that I would control. I could be aware of the time, but not to the point of slapping something together, just so I could move on to something else. If I was going to do this, I would do it justice.
When I was done, and the piece aired just twenty minutes later, I understood for a moment the idea of work not being work if you enjoy what you are doing. Sure, a job and a paycheck matter--a lot. But for those few hours, I forgot about the job and the paycheck, and simply focused on the work. And as I emerged, and moments later, saw my "work" as others were seeing it, I couldn't help but be grateful. Because once in a while, we get the opportunity to do work that doesn't feel like work. And once in a while, that feels as good as a paycheck in our hands.
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