The Fun Theory
My Friend Hisham posted a video of The Fun Theory (sponsored by Volkswagen ), and call me extra sensitive, whinny or plain girly, but I teared up looking at what some brains a lot of creativity and experience can accomplish. Maybe it was the music, the great ideas behind it, or maybe I’m PMS (I’m a guy!), but on the other hand it may be my inner creative, smart and experienced professional feeling jealous of these marketing geniuses behind the videos.
I paid my dues, went to college, grad school, work hard, and keep on learning as much as I can every day, yet knowing that I’m doing better than most is no consolation for me; I want more. I want to feel useful 24/7, I want a challenge, a team, a job well done, and someone to notice it.
I want to think that most of us feel the same way. This professional society where we go to school and learn ONE and only ONE thing prevents us from reaching our potential, yet the comfort of it makes it almost impossible to leave. One thing I learned when I was working for a company named after me, is that when there is no one else to do the job, you will learn how to do it. One day I was making a website, the next a white paper, and before the end of the week I was programming a GUI; heck I also learned how to make the best Egg, Ham and Cheese sandwich in the world; because there was no one else to do it.
Do we all need to go to such extreme measures in order to feel competent, challenged and successful? Shouldn’t this attitude be prized somehow by our employers? I guess the fact that I didn’t get laid-off when 30% of the company did back at the beginning of 2009, means they notice some of that attitude in me; but how long would that last?
I need and want more, more out of myself, but I also have the psychological burden of wanting someone to notice (and pay me for it). What can I do, if every project accepted does not present a challenge for me, and the ones that would are too scary for management to approve?
I ask the more experienced readers; what would you do?
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Wow. So many things packed in such a small article.
Can these emotions be addressed from within? Or can it only be solved by someone else’s intervention? (I don’t tend to wait for others to improve my situation – doesn’t happen that often.)
Also consider that independent life, ownership, and/or entrepreneurship is not without its own set of drawbacks. It is more effective when you decide to go on your own to do exactly what you love most about an existing career or interest. Because the task at hand itself is its own reward. And any sub-task (including the ham-egg-cheese sandwiches) is just part of the bigger task that you enjoy so much.
That said… I must tell you… Every sale, and every time a customer says that it is OK to invoice I feel a sense of accomplishment greater than anything I have felt when I was fully employed. To me that is a great “they notice” moment. It goes beyond the money part – the actual figure is almost irrelevant from a joy perspective (although the bigger the figure the better it feels at bill payment time).
I didn’t used to pay attention when someone told me “money isn’t everything in life”. Of course, it is everything when you are starting a career, buying a house, trying to save for a retirement, and stabilizing your life so that we can start a family. But after those problems get out of the way, it is easier to look at things in a different perspective. One that is more about enjoying life. Too bad the difficult part comes at the time when we have less experience.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:28 PM
@Jose,
I think the last paragraph of your comment has the most truth. Once you’ve covered the essentials your career shouldn’t be about money, it should be about finding challenges and work you enjoy.