I’d like to introduce you to Leroy, the barber. I had the pleasure of getting a haircut from Leroy the other day, and it ended up being an enlightening experience that I’d like to share with you. Not the haircut itself, of course… that was fine, but it was the conversation we had that really stuck with me.

From the moment I sat down in the chair, Leroy struck up a conversation and started asking me about myself – what I do for work, whether I have any vacations planned in the near future, that sort of thing.

We got to talking about my trip to Indonesia, and what a life-changing experience it was, and it turns out that Leroy’s son had a similar experience there. The conversation naturally shifted to a discussion on happiness, and where it’s found in life.

That’s when I learned that Leroy has been a barber for 50 years. He’s 72 years old now, and still cutting hair. At first, I thought this was because he needed the money or something… and then I learned that Leroy had owned his own barber shop for 40 years before retiring and then coming back to the business working at this particular shop.

When I asked why, he said it was because he missed the conversations with people. When he had his shop, he had a series of regulars that would come in and chat with him, tell them about their hopes and dreams, challenges and struggles. He lost that when he retired, and found himself missing it dearly. So he came back, not because he needed the money, but because he loved the conversations.

And I thought to myself, “That. That’s what I’m chasing. I want to do something because I love doing it, not because I feel like I have to do it.”

When I told Leroy that, he expanded on his story around how he got into the business in the first place. As it turns out, Leroy originally went to school to become an accountant. While in school, he found himself complaining to his barber about how he didn’t like accounting, but was already down the path and so it was too late to change.

“Bullshit,” said his barber, “It’s never too late to change, and besides, you’re so young. And you’re great with people, a natural conversationalist. You’d be well-suited to being a barber. Why don’t you go and get your diploma in that, and then I’ll take you on as an apprentice?”

Well, that’s exactly what Leroy did, and what a good choice it turned out to be. He’s now doing exactly what he loves, for no other reason than that he loves doing it. It really does exist out there, guys. You can have a job that pays you and makes you happy. And if you haven’t found that yet, keep searching. I’ve experienced it with my own two eyes, it freakin’ exists!

And let me tell you, when you talk to someone who’s found that, it’s just… different. There’s a spark, a fire in their eyes that others don’t have, and you just know they’re doing exactly what they were meant to do.

I haven’t found that yet. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job and I LOVE my current team. I can’t think of a better group of people to come into work to every day. But that spark, that ethereal feeling you get from doing work you could do until the day you die, and die happy doing it… I’m still chasing that. Every day that goes by though, every conversation I have with someone like Leroy the barber, I get a little bit closer.

By the way, Leroy and I had a good laugh at the irony of our conversation; once upon a time, he was sitting in a chair talking about how he wasn’t sure about his career choice, and 50 years later, there we were having a similar conversation about happiness and work, only the roles were reversed. He was now behind the barber chair, rather than in it. Funny how life works out sometimes, isn’t it?