All right. In all accuracy what I am about to describe is in fact a plan. So much for my cutesy, eye catching title. But it could be considered a non-plan in more ways than one.
2010 was about a plan. I joined Twitter, and launched this blog in an effort to not only describe the nature of a square peg trying to live in the round holes of a materialistic, productivity-obsessed society, but also to join together with others who felt the same way. I wanted to connect with other people who wanted to get ahead, but found themselves to be Too XYZ. Though that has occurred to a small degree, and I have in fact connected with several great people as a result of my social media endeavors, I have not, (as I have written about before) formed a coalition of such souls. 2010 brought about many things for me, among them allies of varying stripes. For which I am grateful. But the establishment of a network of almost total like minds did not happen as I had planned or hoped.
I had decent exposure, through Twitter, Brazen Careerist, and other such places. I could always have more, as I have seen blogs younger than mine get lucky enough to take off like wildfire. But overall I have a network of well wishers. Yet what 2010 taught me was that I couldn't take people who are Too XYZ, and network with them in the manner that more conventional people do so. In other words, I had thought I could achieve my unique definition of success, using my own unique methods, by simply applying the social media rules and art form to people of like-mind. I have come to theorize, however that being an unconventional person, with unconventional methods and yes, unconventional weaknesses means that attaining even my own unconventional idea of success is nearly impossible when applying conventional tactics.
I know what many are thinking. There are all kind of gurus, super-bloggers, location independent freelance billionaires with passive incomes in the tens of thousands a month who got there by being exactly that; unconventional. Maybe. But as I have spent the last year looking into social media, and its alleged heroes, I have realized that for most of those types there is actually a common, and dare I say conventional thread. That common thread is their manner of marketing.
Leaving the rat race. Traveling the world. Living a dream. Saying "up yours" to the status quo. Creative visualization. LinkedIn. Blogs. Subscribing. Commenting. Linking. Tweeting. Re-Tweeting. TEDs. Podcasts. Conventions. Give-Aways. E-books. Asking "How can I help you today?" On and on and on. After awhile is all starts to sound the same to me. And maybe it is all the same, since in the end it all comes down to one (and I mean one) thing. Constantly selling.
Now, some people will flat out tell you that is it. Always be selling. Yourself and what you do. Sell, sell, sell. How? (See the above paragraph.) They make no bones about it. That's fine, for them. I actually respect them a bit more for just coming out and saying it.
But then there are those who disguise their riches, their new "free" lifestyle, their fame, their influence, in terms of how much they loved life. How much they faced fear. Made themselves uncomfortable. Went out there and "just did it!" And they encourage us all to do the same thing, because there is no such thing as luck, and anybody anywhere can do what they did.
To me that is buying the house based on how lovely the weather was that day. What all of these gurus, (some of them very well intentioned I will admit) are actual selling is....salesmanship itself. They only think it is their desire, their vision of their future, and their passion that they are selling. But really, look carefully at almost all of their stories, and you will find, in the end, that they learned how to sell, or hired, or got mentored by, or subscribed to the blog of, or was introduced by an acquaintance to someone who taught them how to sell the shit out of themselves and what they "offer" the world. In some cases it is clear that selling was far more responsible for their success than quality of their product...
Then others see the lives these people live, and how passionate, and eager to help, and lovely they are, and we start to think that it is those things that got them where they are. Those things may have kept them where they are. But in the end, selling got them there.
And you know what? I hate selling shit. I tried it as a career and it sucked every bit as much as I thought it would. I have tried to sell myself at networking events and you know what? It sucked just as much as I predicted it would. Good, talented people get ahead by selling. As do really lousy bastards. But to quote a line from one of my favorite films of all time, Primary Colors:
"I don't care. I'm not comparing the players. I don't like the game."
And I don't. This game of selling is for the birds. Actually I have a caveat; this game of selling as currently defined by most people is for the birds. This version of marketing yourself and your wares that people insist you need to master in order to get anywhere as a freelancer. The version of marketing yourself and your wares that even the most open minded, generous, and status quo hating individuals in social media will beat you over the head with, and insist is necessary, only to turn on you when you determine you cannot do it. A version of marketing yourself and your wares that has at some point transformed into a nebulous altar at which 90% of the ironically self proclaimed non-conformists gather and before which they all genuflect whilst immersed in the ecstasy of the game changing wonders of Social-Media marketing and networking.
Yeah. For the birds.
It's this manner in which we sell things, and ourselves, from which I am clearly unable to launch my life and my work. And reading the top 25 books on current marketing trends, subscribing to Seth Godin and 100 other blogs, stopping in on every web chat by every guru on this side of the equator (all of which have been emphatically suggested to me) is not going to change any of that. When it comes to traditional marketing (and social media does have its own traditions) I'm not worth a damn. Period.
And so 2011 is going to be about going at it my own way. And by my own way, I actually mean my own way. Not living life in my own way only to try to market it in a conventional way, but to proceed with my daily life, communications, research, passions, and yes, even marketing in my own way. If the gurus cannot cure themselves of their traditional social media marketing fetishes and help all of us, then I will do it myself.
And yes, I will be doing it. I never said that marketing and getting the word out in some form are wrong for me. I see their value. What I am saying is that it has be done at my own pace, using my own methods, and paying little attention to how it was done by "Cindy Happypants: Blogger Extraordinaire", who changed the world while writing about selling donuts and living a dream. (Though I would date such a woman if she existed...)
In 2011, it may come down to me living with my family again for a while. If so, I'll do it. It may mean less time networking, and more time alone, perfecting me. Fine. It will mean most of my day will be spent writing. Not selling my writing, or pitching my writing, or talking about writing. But the actual process of writing. Like doors closed, curtain drawn, I do this because this is all I know how to do, writing.
My novel at first, and then blogging, and then whatever time is left can be spent seeing if there are any magazines out there that want my stuff. And if I find them the days will be spent reading them, not making calls the schmooze the editor. And when I finally do decide I may have a piece worth pitching, I will pitch it. This may happen 10 times next year. Maybe more, or maybe even less. I won't be forcing it.
It will mean that I will be reading scripts, looking for acting projects and memorizing speeches. It will not mean saving up and moving to New York to make it on Broadway, because I don't want to be on Broadway. I want to be a better actor, and that means acting, and studying same. Not paying someone to tell me how to do it, but doing it my own way. It's not a hobby. It's what I do.
I won't be trying to learn to cook more things very often. I won't be attempting to tackle home economics or Apartment Management 101. I'll be going to bed when I am tired, and getting up when I am no longer so. I'll be writing in the passive voice, and not all of my protagonists will be different by the end of my book. I'll pass up the chance to attend the local business card exchange and instead opt for an audition at a local community play house. And if I get in to the play, I'll blog about it on my acting blog that nobody reads, which brings in no money, and for which I have done all the marketing I know how to do, and for which I still have almost no readers.
I'll retweet things I like, and not because I want to get on the good side of someone else who isn't following me anyway. I will leave comments on friends' blogs just because they are friends and deserve to have their stuff read, whether they have "social proof" or not. I won't bother commenting on sites who require me to prove my expertise in something before taking me seriously and I will not prove my expertise through anything but the work that I do. Content shall be king in 2011. Judge my abilities by that, and not be a work history, or to hell with you.
And it won't matter what I know or who I know because I will be too busy being better than I was in 2010. And when it comes time to start knowing more people, I only want to know people who know how to behave in public, treat everyone with respect, and have the decency to return a message. Because nobody out there is important enough for me to sit around and wait weeks just for the chance of kissing their ass. I don't care how many pings their blog gets, whatever the hell they are.
And if I starve? Folks, half the time I am close to starving anyway. At least I'll starve while doing my damnedest to be productive in my own way, and not starve while trying to tweak a resume so that it can be summarily ignored by the 30 trillionth hiring manager who just doesn't have the time to understand that my "employment gaps" are due to misfortune and things beyond my control, and not because I'm not worth anything. If someone has no time to read what I write as a writer, and instead wants a flashy resume and some name dropping, they don't want me. Nor do I want them.
And just maybe, in so doing, I will get to the point where I do what I want, just like Cindy Happypants: Blogger Extraordinaire. The only difference being I'll get to be whatever I want first, as opposed to playing a half-assed game in order to have the privilege of doing so. Then I will have a product that will sell itself. (With a little bit of luck, which unlike most, I am not afraid to admit is a big part of our lives.)
And if anyone wants to join me...well...I'm still not Too XYZ for a little bit of company, and a little bit of help. And I am willing to give any help I can to anyone who wants it. But I'm not a guru, thank god.
Happy New Year.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tasks vs. Goals
Before I delve into my point, let me say that I understand the importance of having goals. 90% of blogs, TEDs (whatever they are, I'm still not sure), podcasts, and other success oriented media will mention the importance of goals.
"You can't get anywhere until you know where you want to be. You need a focal point for your visualization."
I get it! Thank you so much.
Yet I think this goal fetishism can sometimes throw a monkey wrench into the works of some people at certain times. I think it overlooks completely a whole different type of person, with a distinct type of wiring. And it may not surprise you to learn that, in theory, I consider myself one of these people. I call them, (for now) task oriented.
Obviously, goals and tasks are closely related, and in some ways contain aspects of one another. Finishing a task is a goal, and what is a goal but a series of tasks to be completed? But when we get into the metaphysical obsession with long or even medium term goals, things get a bit murky.
Here is a prime example.
I am a freelance writer, part time. I hope to be a full time freelance writer some day. At least that is one of my options. I won't refuse an appealing nine to five job, but it will have to possesses certain characteristics. So I keep my eyes open. But whether it be a standard job or my freelance writing, I always hear, "what are your goals?"
Well, my goals are to be able to make most of my living as a result of writing. I'm really good at it.
"What sort of writing? For whom? How many pieces do you want to write per year? What sort of ROI do you want? Do you have a career impact statement? An elevator pitch? What platform best suits your needs and who do you want to meet in those areas? What are your goals?"
Well, my goals are to be able to make most of my living as a result of writing. I'm really good at it.
In other words, there are countless of ways to make a living that I would find acceptable. Even dozens within the writing world alone. I don't even yet know all of the ways in which I could be happy in a career. It's easier to know what I would be unhappy doing. I do have general goals; to make a living wage as a writer. To work in the arts. To be location independent in some fashion. Yet that isn't enough for most gurus who insist I need to have those laser focus goals, so I can accomplish exactly what I want. And so that people can help me out.
I get beaten over the head with, "define your goals, define your goals, define your goals" that I get numb. Numb because despite having goals, I don't think I work in a goal centric fashion. I don't ever really have an answer that is acceptable to most of my contemporaries to the question, "what are your career goals?" I mean, my career goals are to make use of any number of my talents in service to things I believe in, in a place that does not make me unhappy. As a result, I get a pretty standard reply to the uncommon requests for help I get.
"I can't help you. I don't know what your goals are."
Well, maybe on the level others want them, I don't know either. There is a fine line between focused goal setting, and boxing one's self in, and I think for people like me the line is blurrier than for most.
That doesn't mean I lack ambition or a work ethic. Nor do I wish to just float through life, waiting for things to happen for me. I am accused of such things, but they are not true. But with so much out there that could potentially leave me satisfied, and me having been given so little chance to stretch my talents in life, I don't see as how I could possibly have the type of specific goals that people talk about. I try to describe through this blog and other media what I can do and what I am about. And I want to find a place in this world that will allow me to engage in such thing. Such is my version of a goal setting.
But to most? This is goal setting;
"I want to use my expertise as a marketing guru and linguistics specialist to gain employment as a digitally based distance working community manager for a predominantly Jungian oriented mental health facility, geared towards troubled youth."
And you mean to say you haven't included in that goal statement which precise pair of underwear you will wear on the first day at said job? Where is the detail??
I just don't think I am wired to to be that goal oriented. I don't know at this exact minute if I want to be a content writer or a copy writer. I haven't chosen beyond a shadow of a doubt what subject, if any, I want my writing to focus upon. I really don't know if I have a "specialty". I write, damn you. I am a writer. And I write damn well. And I can prove it. And if you hire me to write whatever it is you need an excellent writer for, I will adapt and apply my skills to that task.
I'm task oriented. Why does there always have to be such a far reaching, meticulously detailed goal, summed up by the god-awful elevator pitch, in order to achieve something? A great deal of achievement takes place in the midst of accomplishing a task for me, and I would much rather be given a list of ten things I have to accomplish that week, and then be allowed to engage my resourcefulness and ingenuity to get them done. I want specific tasks to do. And I will earn your trust through doing them quickly and efficiently, before the deadline. I am less trustworthy because I do not have the very nature of what I want my life to be condensed down into a little 30 second speech? Is the fact that I don't lay out a specific goal for the trajectory of my next five or ten years really indicate I would not be a good employee? I fear for many, it does.
I go back to my writing. I can't predict in what precise fashion I will be most useful, or get the most satisfaction. I know I write. Everything beyond that is what I call false gravy. It's micromanaging the future. And while I see the benefit in doing some of it, I think I lose when I am judged, assisted, or defined based on my ability to do so. Because I really am no good at micromanaging the future. Sometimes the present is all I can handle. So I'd rather be judged for what I am trying to do now, not the fancy ways in which I describe how I'd like some theoretical future to unfold for me.
When did being goal oriented become synonymous with talent?
Clear results of predetermined tasks. That is how I like to begin. Perhaps how I need to begin. And it is tasks that I seek to clarify, not goals. I will make my own decisions, and I will certainly do the heavy lifting myself. But I, like anyone, require some help in setting course. Unlike many others though I don't want or need help in setting goals, or developing a five year plan. I need help in pinpointing the specific tasks I need to accomplish in order to get closer to the life I want. The life I talk about and write about. The life I share with all of you. The life I hope some of you can, over time, help me realize.
Yet I am Too XYZ for goal setting with a high, lifetime arc in most cases. I just think the future is too nebulous and fluid, and my history too full of sudden changes and surprises for me to work in concrete, no matter how useful it may be to some. Instead, I'd rather define the general principles of my life, and ask people to help me determine the smaller tasks that need to be undertaken in order for me to get closer to same.
I know that sounds like "tell me what to do". And it could be seen that way. I prefer to look at it as "show me what to do," since the conscious choice to do it will be my own. As will all of the creativity, work, time, energy and accomplishment.
Along the way I will have a better idea perhaps of what my ultimate goal is. Maybe after being led towards certain useful tasks, I can begin to more clearly work out my goal, as so many of you define the term. But for now, tasks take precedence over goals in my mind.
Do you ever feel swamped, or pressured, by a micro-goal oriented society?
"You can't get anywhere until you know where you want to be. You need a focal point for your visualization."
I get it! Thank you so much.
Yet I think this goal fetishism can sometimes throw a monkey wrench into the works of some people at certain times. I think it overlooks completely a whole different type of person, with a distinct type of wiring. And it may not surprise you to learn that, in theory, I consider myself one of these people. I call them, (for now) task oriented.
Obviously, goals and tasks are closely related, and in some ways contain aspects of one another. Finishing a task is a goal, and what is a goal but a series of tasks to be completed? But when we get into the metaphysical obsession with long or even medium term goals, things get a bit murky.
Here is a prime example.
I am a freelance writer, part time. I hope to be a full time freelance writer some day. At least that is one of my options. I won't refuse an appealing nine to five job, but it will have to possesses certain characteristics. So I keep my eyes open. But whether it be a standard job or my freelance writing, I always hear, "what are your goals?"
Well, my goals are to be able to make most of my living as a result of writing. I'm really good at it.
"What sort of writing? For whom? How many pieces do you want to write per year? What sort of ROI do you want? Do you have a career impact statement? An elevator pitch? What platform best suits your needs and who do you want to meet in those areas? What are your goals?"
Well, my goals are to be able to make most of my living as a result of writing. I'm really good at it.
In other words, there are countless of ways to make a living that I would find acceptable. Even dozens within the writing world alone. I don't even yet know all of the ways in which I could be happy in a career. It's easier to know what I would be unhappy doing. I do have general goals; to make a living wage as a writer. To work in the arts. To be location independent in some fashion. Yet that isn't enough for most gurus who insist I need to have those laser focus goals, so I can accomplish exactly what I want. And so that people can help me out.
I get beaten over the head with, "define your goals, define your goals, define your goals" that I get numb. Numb because despite having goals, I don't think I work in a goal centric fashion. I don't ever really have an answer that is acceptable to most of my contemporaries to the question, "what are your career goals?" I mean, my career goals are to make use of any number of my talents in service to things I believe in, in a place that does not make me unhappy. As a result, I get a pretty standard reply to the uncommon requests for help I get.
"I can't help you. I don't know what your goals are."
Well, maybe on the level others want them, I don't know either. There is a fine line between focused goal setting, and boxing one's self in, and I think for people like me the line is blurrier than for most.
That doesn't mean I lack ambition or a work ethic. Nor do I wish to just float through life, waiting for things to happen for me. I am accused of such things, but they are not true. But with so much out there that could potentially leave me satisfied, and me having been given so little chance to stretch my talents in life, I don't see as how I could possibly have the type of specific goals that people talk about. I try to describe through this blog and other media what I can do and what I am about. And I want to find a place in this world that will allow me to engage in such thing. Such is my version of a goal setting.
But to most? This is goal setting;
"I want to use my expertise as a marketing guru and linguistics specialist to gain employment as a digitally based distance working community manager for a predominantly Jungian oriented mental health facility, geared towards troubled youth."
And you mean to say you haven't included in that goal statement which precise pair of underwear you will wear on the first day at said job? Where is the detail??
I just don't think I am wired to to be that goal oriented. I don't know at this exact minute if I want to be a content writer or a copy writer. I haven't chosen beyond a shadow of a doubt what subject, if any, I want my writing to focus upon. I really don't know if I have a "specialty". I write, damn you. I am a writer. And I write damn well. And I can prove it. And if you hire me to write whatever it is you need an excellent writer for, I will adapt and apply my skills to that task.
I'm task oriented. Why does there always have to be such a far reaching, meticulously detailed goal, summed up by the god-awful elevator pitch, in order to achieve something? A great deal of achievement takes place in the midst of accomplishing a task for me, and I would much rather be given a list of ten things I have to accomplish that week, and then be allowed to engage my resourcefulness and ingenuity to get them done. I want specific tasks to do. And I will earn your trust through doing them quickly and efficiently, before the deadline. I am less trustworthy because I do not have the very nature of what I want my life to be condensed down into a little 30 second speech? Is the fact that I don't lay out a specific goal for the trajectory of my next five or ten years really indicate I would not be a good employee? I fear for many, it does.
I go back to my writing. I can't predict in what precise fashion I will be most useful, or get the most satisfaction. I know I write. Everything beyond that is what I call false gravy. It's micromanaging the future. And while I see the benefit in doing some of it, I think I lose when I am judged, assisted, or defined based on my ability to do so. Because I really am no good at micromanaging the future. Sometimes the present is all I can handle. So I'd rather be judged for what I am trying to do now, not the fancy ways in which I describe how I'd like some theoretical future to unfold for me.
When did being goal oriented become synonymous with talent?
Clear results of predetermined tasks. That is how I like to begin. Perhaps how I need to begin. And it is tasks that I seek to clarify, not goals. I will make my own decisions, and I will certainly do the heavy lifting myself. But I, like anyone, require some help in setting course. Unlike many others though I don't want or need help in setting goals, or developing a five year plan. I need help in pinpointing the specific tasks I need to accomplish in order to get closer to the life I want. The life I talk about and write about. The life I share with all of you. The life I hope some of you can, over time, help me realize.
Yet I am Too XYZ for goal setting with a high, lifetime arc in most cases. I just think the future is too nebulous and fluid, and my history too full of sudden changes and surprises for me to work in concrete, no matter how useful it may be to some. Instead, I'd rather define the general principles of my life, and ask people to help me determine the smaller tasks that need to be undertaken in order for me to get closer to same.
I know that sounds like "tell me what to do". And it could be seen that way. I prefer to look at it as "show me what to do," since the conscious choice to do it will be my own. As will all of the creativity, work, time, energy and accomplishment.
Along the way I will have a better idea perhaps of what my ultimate goal is. Maybe after being led towards certain useful tasks, I can begin to more clearly work out my goal, as so many of you define the term. But for now, tasks take precedence over goals in my mind.
Do you ever feel swamped, or pressured, by a micro-goal oriented society?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
What DON'T You Want? (A Featured Post on Brazen Careerist!)
Being goal oriented is important. Most people know that. It gives one a focus. A target. Something to both visualize from the spiritual standpoint, and something for which to plan from a more earthly standpoint.
Yet goals are things which we have not yet achieved. Which means they are in the future. Which means there are bound to be obstacles on our journey to completing them.
Sometimes we know exactly what our goals are. When we do, we can easily see most of the obstacles that lie in our way towards said goals. What we do not see right away becomes clear as we take that journey.
But what if you are not sure what your goal is at any given time? Or what if it is a very broad goal? (i.e. move to another city.) What then? How to focus and gain all of the benefits of a clearly defined goal?
First, take total stock of all current condition pertaining to the subject at hand. Think really hard about every detail of your life. But instead of thinking so hard about what you want in the future, determine with as much specificity as possible what you do not like about the present.
Say you live in New York City. You want your life to change somehow. You want something different, but you can't quite put your finger on what would make you feel better. Set that aside, and think long and hard about what you do NOT like about your current situation. Perhaps you are tired of crowds. Of noise. Or pollution. You may not know what you want to do next, but by isolating those things that make you most unhappy, you would perhaps have discovered it is time for you to make your way to the suburbs, or perhaps a totally rural environment. Where or how is not important today. Just determine where you could go to be away from that which dissatisfies you.
Your job is ok, but you feel it's time for a change. But a change to what? Is anything better than what you have now? How can you know? Again, think deeply about what it is about your job you simply cannot stand. Have you grown weary of all the traveling you must do? Do you miss being able to always be at home at the end of the day, instead of a hotel room somewhere else? Then perhaps this means you would prefer a desk job at this point in your life. Or at least a job that requires you to go only to one place during the day, and nowhere else. Again, you haven't decided where exactly you are going next, but you have determined that one of your goals will be to research jobs that will allow you to stay in one place.
Many advise you to ignore that which is negative, and think only of your dreams, and what you want. But if you are like me, and sometimes Too XYZ to know exactly what you want to change, it can be of great benefit to determine what it is about your current situation that you most want to be rid of.
Don't take this approach lightly. This should be the result of deliberate soul searching on your part. Because just as we are not always of what our goals should be, we are also not always sure what is bothering us about life. But take the time, and put in some mental/spritual effort, and it will come to you. And when it does you are one step closer to having an all important goal.
Have you ever made a life decision based at first on what you knew you didn't want any longer?
Yet goals are things which we have not yet achieved. Which means they are in the future. Which means there are bound to be obstacles on our journey to completing them.
Sometimes we know exactly what our goals are. When we do, we can easily see most of the obstacles that lie in our way towards said goals. What we do not see right away becomes clear as we take that journey.
But what if you are not sure what your goal is at any given time? Or what if it is a very broad goal? (i.e. move to another city.) What then? How to focus and gain all of the benefits of a clearly defined goal?
First, take total stock of all current condition pertaining to the subject at hand. Think really hard about every detail of your life. But instead of thinking so hard about what you want in the future, determine with as much specificity as possible what you do not like about the present.
Say you live in New York City. You want your life to change somehow. You want something different, but you can't quite put your finger on what would make you feel better. Set that aside, and think long and hard about what you do NOT like about your current situation. Perhaps you are tired of crowds. Of noise. Or pollution. You may not know what you want to do next, but by isolating those things that make you most unhappy, you would perhaps have discovered it is time for you to make your way to the suburbs, or perhaps a totally rural environment. Where or how is not important today. Just determine where you could go to be away from that which dissatisfies you.
Your job is ok, but you feel it's time for a change. But a change to what? Is anything better than what you have now? How can you know? Again, think deeply about what it is about your job you simply cannot stand. Have you grown weary of all the traveling you must do? Do you miss being able to always be at home at the end of the day, instead of a hotel room somewhere else? Then perhaps this means you would prefer a desk job at this point in your life. Or at least a job that requires you to go only to one place during the day, and nowhere else. Again, you haven't decided where exactly you are going next, but you have determined that one of your goals will be to research jobs that will allow you to stay in one place.
Many advise you to ignore that which is negative, and think only of your dreams, and what you want. But if you are like me, and sometimes Too XYZ to know exactly what you want to change, it can be of great benefit to determine what it is about your current situation that you most want to be rid of.
Don't take this approach lightly. This should be the result of deliberate soul searching on your part. Because just as we are not always of what our goals should be, we are also not always sure what is bothering us about life. But take the time, and put in some mental/spritual effort, and it will come to you. And when it does you are one step closer to having an all important goal.
Have you ever made a life decision based at first on what you knew you didn't want any longer?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Passion, Not Obsession.
Two of my biggest talents and passions are theatre and writing. I have spent years looking for ways to make use of both in my career.
So far I have met with only minimal success in doing so. And do you know why? Well, there are plenty of career know-it-alls who think they know why. For years I've read and heard this advice in regards to a career as a writer. (Though you hear the exact same words regarding a career in theatre.)
"If you can even for a moment imagine yourself doing anything else other than writing for the rest of your life, don't write. Do the something else. Writing is not for you."
Pursuant to this, those that are trying to make it their career are often heard to say things like;
"I just have to write. I eat sleep, drink, breath and piss writing, day in and day out. If I am awake and not in the shower, I am writing, and I would write in there too if I could."
Yeah...and if anyone behaved this way pursuant to wine consumption, what would we call them?
The fact of the matter is, I am both an actor and a writer. I am a freelance writer that is just starting to hit a bit of a stride, and I am an actor that performs in amateur productions that don't usually pay. My goal is to make a total living one day utilizing one or both passions.
Yet, sin of all sins, I can visualize myself doing other things.
Yes. I can see myself getting back into radio, if there were any openings. I know I would enjoy some sort of musical career if it came along. I could probably spend a few quiet, content years just getting a paycheck from a used bookstore.
And if I had a family to support in an emergency, I would even be able to see myself taking a more menial job, if a kid's life is at stake.
In other words, there are many things for which I have talent and interest that I could see myself doing, and have at some point tried and failed to get into. The fact of the matter is that I have had more chances to use my writing and acting skills than I have my other skills thus far.
However, even though I am both a writer and actor, and I do love being so, I do other things. I walk. I enjoy movies. I limp my way through video games sometimes. Poker. Conversation. Beer. It may shock you to know I have been on dates with women.
What is my point? My point is, despite being a writer, I simply am not obsessed with the idea of writing. I do not do it all the time, every hour of every day. Any given day I do not write at all. I know that must shock some of you writers out there, but somedays I don't feel it. If I worked for a company I would of course put in writing time everyday so as to fulfill my job duties. But as a freelancer for the time being, I'm not always there.
Nor should I be. This notion that writers, actors and other creative types must be constantly working on or at least thinking about their respective craft is for the proverbial birds. We all have talents, and perhaps all of us have callings and destinies. But it is not for any of us to abandon being a well balanced human being.
Dedication to and visualization of a goal or dream is one thing. And a damned important thing at that. But I grow weary of the suggestion that by being able to imagine my life turning out in some other good way I am declaring myself unfit as a writer. I am equally weary of the notion that in order to be considered a true writer I have to feel compelled by some unknown force to write all the time, everywhere.
It's not like eating, folks. Writing can sometimes be hard work. It can in fact be a pain in the ass. It can be like pushing a rock up a mountain. But I am not a writer because I am in love with pushing rocks. I am a writer because I am compelled to see the view from the summit of the mountain. I just push rocks right now because that is what is required to get me there.
So embrace passion, not obsession.
So far I have met with only minimal success in doing so. And do you know why? Well, there are plenty of career know-it-alls who think they know why. For years I've read and heard this advice in regards to a career as a writer. (Though you hear the exact same words regarding a career in theatre.)
"If you can even for a moment imagine yourself doing anything else other than writing for the rest of your life, don't write. Do the something else. Writing is not for you."
Pursuant to this, those that are trying to make it their career are often heard to say things like;
"I just have to write. I eat sleep, drink, breath and piss writing, day in and day out. If I am awake and not in the shower, I am writing, and I would write in there too if I could."
Yeah...and if anyone behaved this way pursuant to wine consumption, what would we call them?
The fact of the matter is, I am both an actor and a writer. I am a freelance writer that is just starting to hit a bit of a stride, and I am an actor that performs in amateur productions that don't usually pay. My goal is to make a total living one day utilizing one or both passions.
Yet, sin of all sins, I can visualize myself doing other things.
Yes. I can see myself getting back into radio, if there were any openings. I know I would enjoy some sort of musical career if it came along. I could probably spend a few quiet, content years just getting a paycheck from a used bookstore.
And if I had a family to support in an emergency, I would even be able to see myself taking a more menial job, if a kid's life is at stake.
In other words, there are many things for which I have talent and interest that I could see myself doing, and have at some point tried and failed to get into. The fact of the matter is that I have had more chances to use my writing and acting skills than I have my other skills thus far.
However, even though I am both a writer and actor, and I do love being so, I do other things. I walk. I enjoy movies. I limp my way through video games sometimes. Poker. Conversation. Beer. It may shock you to know I have been on dates with women.
What is my point? My point is, despite being a writer, I simply am not obsessed with the idea of writing. I do not do it all the time, every hour of every day. Any given day I do not write at all. I know that must shock some of you writers out there, but somedays I don't feel it. If I worked for a company I would of course put in writing time everyday so as to fulfill my job duties. But as a freelancer for the time being, I'm not always there.
Nor should I be. This notion that writers, actors and other creative types must be constantly working on or at least thinking about their respective craft is for the proverbial birds. We all have talents, and perhaps all of us have callings and destinies. But it is not for any of us to abandon being a well balanced human being.
Dedication to and visualization of a goal or dream is one thing. And a damned important thing at that. But I grow weary of the suggestion that by being able to imagine my life turning out in some other good way I am declaring myself unfit as a writer. I am equally weary of the notion that in order to be considered a true writer I have to feel compelled by some unknown force to write all the time, everywhere.
It's not like eating, folks. Writing can sometimes be hard work. It can in fact be a pain in the ass. It can be like pushing a rock up a mountain. But I am not a writer because I am in love with pushing rocks. I am a writer because I am compelled to see the view from the summit of the mountain. I just push rocks right now because that is what is required to get me there.
So embrace passion, not obsession.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Go for the...Something
The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games are in full swing, and despite the really lousy American television coverage, (courtesy of NBC), several great moments have already been noted. Undoubtedly there will be more to come in the next two weeks. Probably because the spirit of the Olympics has not quite vanished from view yet.
You hear the stories every Olympics. There are the favorites and the powerhouses. There are the most touching personal interest stories. There are the ones who are not expected to medal in anything, and of course don't, but attain personal bests.
And every once in a while we are blessed with witnessing those who were not expected to do anything, but come from no where and win a medal. Even gold.
One thing is true for all Olympians; they have very specific goals. The push their bodies passed what we could ever imagine, and focus their minds to such an extent that you can almost see them thinking. All in pursuit of whatever their goal is. Gold, or just finishing while standing up.
I envy those who go to the Olympics for many reasons. But perhaps the biggest one is the goals. Nothing about being an Olympian is easy, I would gather, except for the setting of the goal.
Cross the finish line first. Record a specific speed. Have more points than the other team before the clock runs out. Each event has it's own specific goal that is required for victory. And each individual athlete chooses their personal goals from within that framework. One done, all of that body breaking mind bending work can be focused upon something. And the sharper the focus and the harder the training, the more likely we are to see amazing things from them. (medals or otherwise.)
Many times, our goals are not as easily defined. We have to define them ourselves. And for people who are Too XYZ, that is sometimes the greatest challenge.
I know it has been for me. As a freelance writer, my overall, meta-goal if you will is to secure opportunities to be paid for me writing, build a portfolio of said writings, and make the world aware of my abilities.
Broad, I know. And not exactly something I can tape to the wall of a training room and work towards everyday.
I need more specific goals that are smaller, and that is where my problems lie. Something that can be obtained, say this month, or this summer. Sometimes any given single day. Something tangible that is not so nebulous as to remain a dream for too long, but also not so mundane that I can accidentally attain it without effort.
I have improved in this very crucial skill of small/medium size goal setting. Somewhat. But given the nature of my (current) business, I can't really set too many business goals. So that leaves more personal goals.
How do you set goals? Anyone have any stories or advice as to how the smaller, touch stone goals are set in our lives when we are Too XYZ to be mega planners?
And to slow for speed skating...
Share your thoughts with me, readers.
You hear the stories every Olympics. There are the favorites and the powerhouses. There are the most touching personal interest stories. There are the ones who are not expected to medal in anything, and of course don't, but attain personal bests.
And every once in a while we are blessed with witnessing those who were not expected to do anything, but come from no where and win a medal. Even gold.
One thing is true for all Olympians; they have very specific goals. The push their bodies passed what we could ever imagine, and focus their minds to such an extent that you can almost see them thinking. All in pursuit of whatever their goal is. Gold, or just finishing while standing up.
I envy those who go to the Olympics for many reasons. But perhaps the biggest one is the goals. Nothing about being an Olympian is easy, I would gather, except for the setting of the goal.
Cross the finish line first. Record a specific speed. Have more points than the other team before the clock runs out. Each event has it's own specific goal that is required for victory. And each individual athlete chooses their personal goals from within that framework. One done, all of that body breaking mind bending work can be focused upon something. And the sharper the focus and the harder the training, the more likely we are to see amazing things from them. (medals or otherwise.)
Many times, our goals are not as easily defined. We have to define them ourselves. And for people who are Too XYZ, that is sometimes the greatest challenge.
I know it has been for me. As a freelance writer, my overall, meta-goal if you will is to secure opportunities to be paid for me writing, build a portfolio of said writings, and make the world aware of my abilities.
Broad, I know. And not exactly something I can tape to the wall of a training room and work towards everyday.
I need more specific goals that are smaller, and that is where my problems lie. Something that can be obtained, say this month, or this summer. Sometimes any given single day. Something tangible that is not so nebulous as to remain a dream for too long, but also not so mundane that I can accidentally attain it without effort.
I have improved in this very crucial skill of small/medium size goal setting. Somewhat. But given the nature of my (current) business, I can't really set too many business goals. So that leaves more personal goals.
How do you set goals? Anyone have any stories or advice as to how the smaller, touch stone goals are set in our lives when we are Too XYZ to be mega planners?
And to slow for speed skating...
Share your thoughts with me, readers.
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