I see it everyday. My peers “retiring” from the corporate workforce just weeks after joining the newest, hottest sales craze and finally getting the “job” they always dreamed of. Endless commission possibilities, being able to work your own hours, and logging your hours at home building strong relationships with your kids. I get it; it’s an awesome scenario that I wish worked out for everyone.
More regularly than not, as of late, I see people giving up their “comfy,” although oftentimes boring, careers and deciding to work their asses off to build a business that they are “passionate” about. Love yoga? You should quite your 9-5 and open a studio! Does painting provide you with a healthy outlet and let you forget about the stresses of your corporate job? Great! Quit that stupid-ass job and open an art gallery! So many millennial these days are giving up on the 9-5 lifestyle and following their dreams towards the life they want, and the lifestyle they feel they deserve. Sometimes, however, it’s a little too soon for it to really work out. Let’s backtrack a bit here… Before you say I am a “dream squasher,” hear me out…I love the idea of entrepreneurs. Hell, I am an entrepreneur! I love my companies, each of them allowing me to do things that I would have never thought imaginable with my skills, passions and personality. I leave nearly everyday feeling that I gave it my all, and I would never take that away from anybody. For me, taking the risk to open a business or join a business that you feel offers great potential to your market is not only a bold step in the planning of one’s life, but it also requires a lot of work, hustle and willingness to “give up,” the things that you actually enjoy doing. That last part is what most people don’t understand. Giving up a “boring job” can actually force you to give up on the things that you enjoy doing the most. Maybe that whole “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life” idea was all bullshit, right? When a 26-year-old decides to leave his middle management position at a moderately sized national company, complete with a solid 401K plan, a flexible 5 day a week work schedule and possible overtime pay in order to open his own prohibition era style bar and lounge, I usually say say “more power to that dude!” Mainly because that’s a place that I would happily spend 12 dollars to drink mediocre craft beer that his buddy is making in their duplex’s garage; but that’s for another day at another time. Quitting a job that you feel is diminishing your “dreams” in order to feel the freedom of being your own boss is irreplaceable. You can not replicate the feeling that being able to write yourself a paycheck, no matter how small, makes you feel in terms of success and personal validation. Before we go further, I want you to ask yourself one thing: Why is there this cultural shift towards wanting to be your own boss? Is it an feeling that our parents passed on to us which makes us feel that we are “better” at something than we might actually be? Is it the fact that colleges are so overrun with applicants these days that “everyone gets a prize” once they graduate, mo matter the actual skills they leave the collegiate atmosphere with? I believe the truth is that our generation of adults is so focused on living the life they want “now,” that they are not concerned with where their current situation can take them in the “future.” Gary V posted a vide earlier today telling someone to get a job that pays the most and requires you to do the least, in order for you to build your business on the side while taking care of your responsibilities in the meantime.
THANK GOD SOMEONE SAID IT! I see so many people get a $500 check from selling the latest and greatest weight loss supplements and suddenly they “retire” from their 3 years at {INSERT RANDOM NAME} Elementary School and start following their “passion!” The fact of the matter is, if your dream does not pay the bills, it becomes a nightmare you would not wish on your worst enemy… ok, maybe on Carl, that guy deserves what’s coming to him.
I am also a firm believer in the fact that you need to have a separation between the things you love the most, and the things you are good at. Case in point: I love dogs. I have two rescue dogs that I love very much. However, does that mean I should quite my job(s) and begin being a dog trainer? Hell No! Why? Because I SUCK AT TRAINING DOGS! Anyone that has ever met either one of my wild beats knows I would instantly fail. Luckily for me, I know this is the case, so I’m not at risk; but are you? When it comes to trying to cash in on your passions, no one should tell you not to do it. If you are passionate about helping companies build a business plan, design beautiful stationary or help a couple build a pinterest-worthy menu sheet for their upcoming wedding, there is a need in the marketplace for your services and you should offer them to the public. However, does that mean that you should automatically give up on your 9-5 job? At some point (and I blame it on the ever increasing “lackluster” atmosphere surrounding most collegiate programs these days), millennials stopped trying to build a “future” for themselves and their families and started to focus on building the “present” they wanted, “like, yesterday.” We gave up on the idea of working for 10 years at the same job in order to gain experience and annual pay increases, because we didn’t feel “fulfilled.” Do you think your grandfather felt “fulfilled” everytime he left his family and went to work in a coal mile for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 45 years? I really effing doubt it. However, do you think it was worth it, in the end, to be able to pay for this children to go to college with cash, be able to retire at the age of 62 and now drives around with your grandma visiting the world’s largest collection of Elvis Impersonator wigs in their $500K motor home? Hell Yes, I think he would say it was worth it. Instead of thinking about your career as simply “giving up on your passion to become a Jewelry maker, slinging your ‘art’ on Etsy,” you have to remember why and who you are working for. We are all getting married later in life, having children later in life, and thinking about retirement later in life. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be planning for those things today. We are a generation raised to believe that we need it all NOW, and that Tomorrow isn’t promised, “so we shouldn’t even really worry about it, right?” My Biggest advice to young entrepreneurs who want to make an impact on your community is this: Work hard at your job, no matter what it is. Educate yourself to be better than anyone else doing the work you aim to do, and when your family is making enough money that they don’t “need” your income, transition into a new career that you feel passionate about. When you finally are able to look at your bank account and think, “God, what am I going to do with all this money,” you can say, “Dude! I should finally launch that blog I always dreamed about,” or “Man, my friends love my cooking, maybe I should open an eatery!” A Career will always be more satisfying when you end the day loving what you do, however, you don’t always have to love what you do today, in order to build a life that you will love in the future. Cheers, Adam
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Adam P. PfaffCurrent Musings. Incessant Ramblings. Enjoy. Archives
December 2018
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