There is a new neighbor down the street. His name is Dave and he is apparently a wiz when it comes to motorcycles. I know this because I see him every night working on one in his garage.

I'm pretty jealous, as you can imagine.

After all, I don't repair motorcycles, ceiling fans or cars. I did paint a bedroom this past week which was pretty awesome. But motors... that's a different story. I call in the experts when wires, oil or engines are involved.

Back to Dave.

Besides his obvious skills in the garage, what's more amazing is that he has a day job. Bikes are just a hobby but he treats them with the same energy as if it were a second job.

His "second job" keeps him energized so that he can excel in whatever he does during the day.

I started my second job last week as I began a new doctoral program. For the next three years, I will treat this incredible task as if it were a second place of employment. I'll have a second office. A second set of notebooks. A second set of responsibilities.

My wife, Cary often says that moms need a second job. Their first and primary, that of being a mom, can benefit from another area of interest. This looks differently for each mom. Some get jazzed up by working out. Others sell stuff online.

The magic: it almost doesn't matter.

The key is to be a growing person. In my experience, a "second job" has the following benefits:

It ensures that you have an area of interest outside of your "day job"
It keeps you growing as an individual
It ensures that your social life is bigger than just your 9-5
It just might be an area of life where God meets you and teaches you something

Dave has his second job. I've got mine.

The big question is, what's yours?

*photo by fdp