All tagged Making career choices
Chris Brogan, a writer whose thinking I really admire, recently wrote about the idea of freedom and the struggle so many of us face between our decision to lead (which requires venturing into the unknown) or be led (where we’re told what we should be doing), especially when it comes to our work.
To illustrate this idea, he included in his most recent email (which I’d highly recommend you subscribe to), a quote from Loki, from the Marvel Comic Book Universe, as he subjugates a crowd of people:
It’s important to take the time to get good at something.
A spike in a specific area is important and helpful on multiple levels. You’re able to contribute via that particular skill, to a level that’s considered “expert”, which means you become sought after, and develop something of a reputation. That’s always a positive, both personally and professionally.
I don’t know if there’s a single maxim by which we should live our lives. Life’s too complex for that, but there’s probably a few that are useful.
I do know that, in general, any advice that encourages us to think before we make a life choice is likely to be on point. I came across one such maxim recently:
This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.
Today's episode focuses on how we define happiness, and specifically how it all boils down to expectations. That is, our happiness is always down to us and what we expect.
I like to think I’m a pretty rational guy. That I consider the pros and cons when making decisions. It’s been drilled into me - through college, business school and then consulting - specifically, the need to be balanced, thoughtful and to consider all aspects before deciding on a path. Nothing controversial or unique about that. I’m sure we all think and behave the same way.
But that rationality belies a reality of making decisions that all of us also grapple with: the role of intuition.
Many years ago, one of my closest friends was discussing career choices with his father and in that conversation, his father told him something that I thought was on point, and profound. He said:
“Even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat…”
There’s many ways to unpack that statement and you can certainly have your own interpretation of it.
If you spend any amount of time in the Bay Area, you can’t help but be struck by the entrepreneurial spirit on display (seemingly) everywhere. Billboards promote the latest AI startup, not the usual Fortune 500 monolith. Coffee shops all over are filled with twenty and thirty somethings typing code, while random overheard conversations inevitably turn to the latest tech venture or entrepreneurial startup.
Very early on in my career, I went to meet a senior executive at one of the fastest growing entertainment companies in Asia.
At the time, I was a Marketing Executive in the Consumer Goods space and, while the work was interesting, I wanted to explore what else was out there, especially in this exciting new area that was taking Asia (I lived in Hong Kong at the time) by storm.
