John Smith and the colonists around Jamestown was enraged with gold-fever and looked for it constantly, as gold was a major currency around this time.
The Patawomeke Tribe often harvested a type of sand they called matchqueon, which was full of pyrite flakes (Fool’s Gold).
This sand was rather worthless, but since it Looked like Gold, the Colonists traded their quality equipment in exchange for 1,100 tons of Fool’s Gold sand.
They then hauled all this sand back to England thinking they had struck it rich!
Iron pyrite is a shiny mineral composed of iron disulfide. It looks somewhat like real gold, so it came to be called Fool’s Gold.
Many inexperienced miners believed that they hit the mother lode upon finding iron pyrite.
Unlike the real thing, Fool’s Gold is a relatively worthless commodity because of its natural abundance and lack of industrial utility.
Compared to actual gold, Iron pyrite will flake, powder or crumble when poked with a metal point, whereas gold will gouge or indent like soft lead.
I have worked with business owners, leaders, and managers for the past 30 years.
Each one of them is continually looking for Gold in the workforce.
They invest thousands of dollars searching, enticing, training, and motivating, hoping to hit the Mother Lode!
Finding an employee who has Passion, Work Ethic, Attitude, and a desire to be more than average is extremely hard to do.
They are RARE!
The average, do just enough to keep my job, worker is as common as the sand the Indians traded with the Colonists.
It gives the appearance of the Real thing, but with a little pressure, heat, or prodding, you see that it is nothing more than Fool’s Gold.
In my 45 years of working, I have been fired one time.
I deserved to be fired because I was a below-average worker, my attitude was horrible, and I had an entitlement mentality.
Once I discovered my Passion, everything changed.
There was no longer time or desire to be common.
I wanted to be the Gold Standard instead of Fool’s Gold.
Twenty years after being fired, my wake-up call, a Headhunter tried to entice me to leave the company I was working for and join another one.
She had me take several tests, go through multiple interviews, talked to clients, friends, and old bosses.
This process took several weeks, and when we were done, I declined the offer even though it was much better than what I currently had.
The last thing she told me was that the company and her considered me to be a needle in a haystack because most people turn out to be Fool’s Gold.
We decide whether to be the Gold Standard that everyone wants or Fool’s Gold that everyone has too much of.
You were created with Rare & Unique skills, talents, and gifts.
Be Uncommon in a world overflowing with Common!
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!