[This is part five of the changing the world in 5 easy steps series]
Effort and perseverance always wins. Not right away, not today, and not tomorrow, but eventually it always does.
Doug Zell wrote that specifically talking about Mike Phillips when he placed first in the United States Barista Championship back in March. This weekend he placed 3rd in the World Barista Championship in Atlanta which is pretty awe inspiring when you take into account that 3 years ago he took his first job in the coffee world ever basically working in a warehouse at Intelligentsia in Chicago. Kyle Glanville once told me he’s regularly surprised by the lucrative careers people have given up to work in the field of coffee simply because it’s something they are passionate about.
Those folks are talking about their field but the same things apply to us in the rest of the world. There are only so many hours in a day, and only so many days in your life, and filling those with something you love I think is of the utmost importance. There was a time when prevailing wisdom was you should get a steady 9-5 job, work hard every day and save money for that one day down the line when you could finally retire and enjoy life. How the fuck was that ever considered wisdom? It’s the phrasing that tricks you, if someone had advised people to spend their entire lives doing something they didn’t like in preparation for a day that might never come I think people would have second guessed it a lot longer ago. Luckily we’re all starting to come around. The truth is that old way of thinking doesn’t ensure anything except that you, and likely those around you will be miserable for most of your life. Everything else is a crap shoot.
We’ve all had friends who had jobs they hated and were both depressed and nightmarish to be around because of it. We’ve had friends get laid off from those same jobs and get even more depressed because the only reason they were going to those crappy jobs was because they were supposed to be reliable. We’ve all had grandparents who tried to tell us “if I knew then what I know now” stories. How you spend the very short time you have in this life shouldn’t be decided because you have a gas bill due next week, it should be decided based on what makes you smile and appreciate that you have another day to do something with.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advising quitting your job and doing nothing all day. I’m also extremely aware that paying bills is stressful in and of itself and there’s a logical thought process which advocates doing one stressful thing (having a shitty job) to alleviate another but I simply think there’s another way. I also tend to think being happy is more important than a lot of other things. I’ll put up with a lot of hardships if I get to do what I want, and I know not everyone is willing to make that compromise. We also know that a world where 100% of the people are doing that one thing they love rather than what needs to be done won’t work either. That was proven in this scene from the philosophical masterpiece, Office Space:
PETER
Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you would do if we had a million dollars and didn’t have to work. And invariably, whatever we would say, that was supposed to be our careers. If you wanted to build cars, then you’re supposed to be an auto mechanic.SAMIR
So what did you say?PETER
I never had an answer. I guess that’s why I’m working at Initech.MICHAEL
No, you’re working at Initech because that question is bullshit to begin with. If that quiz worked, there would be no janitors, because no one would clean shit up if they had a million dollars.
Luckily embracing the thing you love and running with that after throwing all caution to the wind takes equal parts vision and ambition. Two things not a lot of people have. Now before I get my head bitten off for that, I’m not saying if you have a job you don’t like you have no vision or ambition. I’m saying those two things are often used in a complimentary fashion when describing people because they aren’t universal. If every single person on the planet was a visionary it wouldn’t be special. When was the last time you heard someone talking up someone they admired by saying “that guy is one of my heroes, when he sleeps, he closes both of his eyes. It’s amazing.” So my point is if you are reading this still you are probably more ambitious than most and should take this to heart. What are you doing on a day to day basis? If it’s not something you absolutely love and can’t wait to do again tomorrow the most important thing you should be doing is figuring out how to quit and do something else with you life. Today. As Chuck Palaniuk wrote in Fight Club “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.” What are you waiting for?
So why is that good for the world, how does it change it? Well, think about two things you’ve done sometime in your life. One of them you loved and probably did on your own because you were interested in it. The other you hated, most likely something you had to do because a boss told you to. Which thing did you spend more time on making sure it was done right? Which thing did you take pride in the results. Which did you brag to your friends about? Which did you just do the quickest easiest way you could so that you could cross it off a to do list. I already know the answer, and so do you. The things you do will be done much better if you love what you are doing. Everyone else benefits from that attention and care.
Plus, chances are if you are doing something day to day that drives you nuts you end up being an intolerable prick from time to time and your friends/neighbors/waiters/spouses/family all have to put up with the results of that. If you were happy more often they would be to. Even if only few people reading this make a change in their lives and it will have massive spill over effects for the rest of us. I know that some folks reading this have already made those changes and comments about those experiences and its effects on you and those around you would be greatly welcomed here.
The overall point is this: You only live once, don’t fuck it up. There’re no do overs.
Previously: Part 4: Visit a different country
I prefer: You only live once, enjoy it to the fullest.
Posi, man!
i like reading and writing blog posts, how do you turn that into a job?
I totally agree. I’m living the dream, baby! Publish or perish!
@thomas: Do what Paris Lemon did. Start writing about your passions, and see where it leads you:
http://parislemon.com/2009/04/on-to-techcrunch.html
Great series! I imagine there will soon be a Facebook Quiz where we’ll all be able to rate our “Change the World” ability, one Eurotopian Spartan Tour de Tofu at a time.
Regarding the notion of spending one’s entire life doing something one doesn’t like in preparation for a better day that might never come.
We can’t forget the role the Abrahamic religions have played in re-enforcing this idea.
These have been great posts, Sean. I’ve really enjoyed reading them; they’ve been a great catalyst for a deeper examination of one’s life and how one chooses to live it.
Thanks!
@kelliemegnin
two years ago, i finally went back to school in order to do what i think i really want to do – librarianship. it’s not visionary or glamorous, but it suits my skills, my interests, and my ethics.
unfortunately, two weeks after graduation the economy tanked, and jobs immediately became scarce. for now i continue to work at my same old job (not in my field) and do volunteer work at a public library. it’s frustrating not to be able to find work in my field, especially now that the student loan bills have begun to roll in. despite the frustration, i know that my decision to go back to school and pursue a different field was the right one. the day i started school, i started to feel different about myself and my life. the few hours i spend volunteering every week are far more satisfying than the 40 some hours i spend at my job.
I remember when I changed careers to go into journalism/writing. It was scary, deciding finally to quit my Crappy Day Job. I needed the money, but also needed to write more to break into the field, and the CDJ left me with no time to write.
I finally decided to make the leap. The day I quit, I got two emails: each for internships at two publications, both of which ended up giving me lots of paid work down the line. In fact, I ended up Managing Editor of one of them.
Leap. The bridge will rise up to meet you.
Or it won’t, and you’ll fall, but at least you did what you loved & tried it. Really, what’s the worst that could happen? Losing your current job? Meh. Take the risk. You’ll be glad you did. As the cliches go, “You never hear anyone on their deathbed saying, ‘I should have been at work more.’” and “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I learned long ago that if I don’t feel slightly in over my head, I’m not learning. And I learn fast.
Great Post! I think most people don’t do the job they love is because, it may not pay much. Take myself for example. I love teaching and when I was a teacher, my students loved me. Some even said, I was their best teacher ever. But, the pay was horrible. I had to take a job in the industry which payed 3 times(no kidding!!). My savings every year amount to what i yearned as a teacher. I comfort myself with vacations, toys that i couldn’t afford as a teacher.
I agree, I am just a side kick in my present job and was a super star while teaching. I am afraid i can’t go back to teaching. I am getting used to the fat paycheck.
Money played spoil sport. May be this is what the communists had in mind when they said equal pay. May be they felt people will do what they love and we will get better products. But, it didn’t seem to have worked either.
- Kumar P