What would you do if you were in your mid-twenties and had to choose between two awesome job opportunities? What if one was located in Boston and the other one was in Orlando? What if one left you standing on the field next to Randy Moss during an NFL football game, while the other had you working on computer security for the Presidential Helicopter? What if one required you to give up 55 hours of your life every week, but the other one monotonously made you feel like you had worked 55 hours a week? What if one filled your time with exotic intangible benefits, while the other promoted paid education and promotion? What if one permitted you to interact with clients in a t-shirt and jeans, while the other made you dress up to sit in an office chair for 8 hours? What if colleague camaraderie was packaged with industry instability and tedious work environment was tied to elite job title? What if one made sense right now, but the other one was more practical in the long term? Would you live for now or prepare for later? We flew from Orlando to Boston in a desperate attempt to answer these questions. We will be in Boston for the next 48 hours…
Archives for July 2006
Watching From A Distance
Have you ever felt unappreciated? Have you ever felt like all your efforts are taken for granted? I know I’ve been down that road a time or two, and until recently I wasn’t sure my labors would pay off. But they did. Last week I was contacted by my previous employer. They basically told me I was a valuable asset, they were upset when I left, and that they are prepared to make me a substantial offer.
This caught me way off guard, and I’m truly struggling to assess my options. The catch 22 to their offer involves relocation. Angel and I would have to relocate to Boston. However, the offer is substantial. The money makes sense, they’re offering a management position, and I always enjoyed the intangible excitement associated with my old work environment. But my current employer is good too, and I’m in a position to move up the ladder there as well… not to mention the reluctance of relocating. It’s a tough one! Angel and I feel inundated with feelings of enthusiasm, fear, and change. So no decision has been made just yet.
Regardless of what we decide, one thing is certain… when I was out on the field giving it 110% and feeling like nobody noticed, I was wrong. They were aware of my efforts. They were watching from a distance. They have expressed their appreciation, and are now offering me the position I once yearned for. If nothing else, this has served as a life lesson. Be honest, be passionate, and put heart into whatever you’re working on. It won’t go unnoticed. Someday your name will be subliminally stamped on all your past efforts. When the time comes, make sure you’ll be proud to own up to them.
Irony of Choice
Regardless of whether or not you’re satisfied with your daily routine, you always have the choice to adjust it. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to decipher the right choice from the wrong one. Good could be cloaked behind bad, or bad behind good. Once the decision has been made, the moment is gone. That decision will alter your path in one way or another. The repercussions to some choices may ripple throughout the remainder of your life, while others may be easily altered. The level of severity you’re dealing with is not always obvious. While not foolproof, squinting deeper into the hazy grey fog of tomorrow is probably your best bet. Ask yourself: “Where does this path lead?” There really is a certain degree of irony in one’s liberty to choose. Having “the choice” is freedom, but you can easily become a slave to the decisions you make.
An Immeasurable Playground
Angel and I had an interesting conversation the other day regarding the natural uncertainty of life. We discussed the ever-changing fluctuations in our attitude toward past decisions and future goals. Some days it feels certain that we’re headed down the right path, and other times we feel completely misplaced. It’s a continual evolution of highs and lows characterized by the balancing of family, friends, work, desires, and aspirations. Dancing around this immeasurable playground, our thoughts, dreams, and ingenuity create the groundwork for our forward drive. There’s a long string of experiences and ideas that design a lifestyle we persistently attempt to reconcile in an effort to make more significant. As we react over the past and dream about our future together, we begin to understand who we are and where we intend to go. Our life presses forth as we stumble over the balance of simplicity and extravagant ambition.
Out of the Rat Race
My buddy A-town (Andrew) left a very intelligent comment in regards to my last post, “Perfect Rests in a Shade of Grey”. He discusses the idea of harboring personal skills and efforts with the goal of building your own enterprise. In other words: Get out of the rat race, stop trading hours for dollars, and start building a revenue generator of your own. Angel and I have discussed this idea on several occasions, and we have also shared these thoughts with some of our closest friends. Most of us will agree that pissing 50% of your life away fulfilling someone else’s initiatives pretty much sucks. All your efforts are feeding into someone else’s dream, and making them rich while you just grow older.
I’ve recenly been employed by two different successful start-up companies. The time spent at these companies has given me the opportunity to meet some really sharp people with clever business ideas. But, none of these people are the next Albert Einstein. These are average individuals who had an idea, nurtured it, and converted into a small enterprise. When I look around my inner circle I see genius. I see IT professionals, business/finance majors, sales/marketing managers, computer programmers, real estate gurus, information security analysts, etc. These people are brilliant, talented, skilled, and capable… and someday they need to unite in an effort to build a revenue generating dream of their own.
Here’s an excerpt from A-town’s comment:
…I think the best color for the middle ground we are looking for is the color yellow. Yellow is the odd ball. It’s out of the ordinary, something wild, something between white and black. I still think the only way to get everything you desire out of a job is to break out and start something yourself. Be out of the ordinary. Don’t just work a job like everyone else. Create a job that everyone else wants to be a part of…