It’s crazy how much time Americans spend at work. And we're not the only people who think so. -The rest of the world thinks we’re crazy because of the hours spent working and the amount of vacation time we take. My Aunts and Uncles live in Germany (both of my Aunts married Germans…long story, best told while drinking German beer). My Aunts have now lived there for over 30 years and have long forgotten the American work day/week/month/year. Every German has a mandatory 6 week vacation schedule (that’s right 6 weeks!). Our average 2 week a year vacation is a source of dumbfoundment (made up word) for them. –Crazy for them to understand our work habits and crazy for us to think about a 6 week vacation (seriously, 6 WEEKS!?).

So, my point of this blog posting isn’t to rant or rave about working too much or too long. My point is this: If we are going to spend most of our lives at the office, doesn’t it make sense to work somewhere where you love the people you work with and love what you do? I can’t imagine showing up everyday of the rest of my life to a job that I don’t love -and not work with bright and interesting people who challenge me to be better at what I do. I run into far too many people who spend a majority of their life working somewhere that doesn’t inspire them and are surrounded by uninspiring people.

As I tell my relatives in Germany, there is a reason why we have the number economy in the world: we work hard. Now, if we can just figure out how to play harder and for longer, we’ll be in business……..Germany anyone?