'Heaven is closer than you think!'

I am currently reading, in an effort to figure out the whys and wherefores of my cancer, Rick Warren's "A Purpose-Driven Life'. It is a really impressive book - a 40 day course on discerning your life's purpose here on earth.

If one re-orientates one's life to think of our time here as a precursor, the opening act, to the main event - eternity in heaven - then the cast of our lives in the here and now changes completely. I simply put on a different pair of spectacles, and looked at my life - the number one priority, the job, dropped like a stone to the bottom. People, relationships zoomed to top place. St Peter at the Pearly Gates is really not going to care how many awards I've won, how many stock options, how many raises and promotions.

My fourth assistant in 18 months resigned yesterday. And you know what, I really just did not care. She was saying the job was affecting her health, she had hormonal imbalances. Six months ago, I would have been in a tailspin, going through a major post-mortem, asking myself how I could have avoided this, telling myself that young people these days just don't know the meaning of commitment to a job etc.

But maybe, it is just not important. She made the right choice, which is getting herself on the road to health. Of course, she could have done it more professionally, or in a more mature manner rather than coming in, depositing her laptop, and simply walking out. Jeez.

But for the first time, I looked at this from the perspective of eternity. I really wanted to give her a piece of my mind. But then, I thought - ok, she will be in the exact same position she has just put me in one day - God is nothing if not fair, as I know from personal experience. What is my role? To wish her the best and set her free!

Secondly, is this worth the stress? What is the worst that could happen? Her tasks are not part of my deliverables. If there is no-one to do the job, and the company will not cough up for a full-time headcount in the job, they obviously do not value the function. So, far be it for a small fry me to tell them otherwise. The online communications platform should be re-evaluated and if we cannot resource this, if it has to remain a half-baked piece of crap, then so be it.

I realised that because I felt there was so much more that could be done, that because I owned the platform, I could not let it look like the dog's dinner I inherited. I set the staff the same standards I set myself when I first took over the function and had to do all the work myself.

I myself in my first job worked 15 hour-days. But I was not a temp, as they are. Temps ndon't care about the longer term career path (no matter what they tell you in the job interview), they just want a job for a few months to pay for their next holiday. The penny has finally dropped.

In the meantime, I had created a monster. with the success of the online communications function, people's expectations had risen, so that with every resignation, I went through the stress of searching, hiring retraining, dealing with the emotional outbursts from someone who simply felt they should not be asked to meet deadlines if it meant working past 5.30pm. Well, I have had enough. From the perspective of eternity, I don't think God will ding me if I simply let this one go. It is not critical.

We now have some other guy on the job - French guy who wants to stay in Shanghai because he likes Chinese girls. Oh boy - and it will be my particular joy to manage him. I am lowering expectations drastically...

Even as I write this, I feel a cramping in my stomach - this no-need-to-fix-it behavior is alien to me. Looking at things through the eyes of eternity really turns things topsy-turvy.

Yes, yet another new journey to deal with. Now, I just have to get comfortable for the ride....