Quiet Lives of Desperation

30 Sep 2009

Part of the process of leaving the Army is going through a series of classes and job fairs to help you transition from Soldier to civilian. Although some of it is useful, as a blogger and entrepreneur I feel that the process is a little dated and is meant for Soldiers that want to keep living in a box where everyone tells them what to do.

Anyway, as part of that pipeline, I attended a job fair today for no reason other than it seemed like the right thing to do. Before I joined the Army, I had the entrepreneurial spirit, but I didn’t have the dedication to pull it off. Having your freedom taken from you will change that, which is one of the reasons I’m thankful for my time in the service. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, I was going to mention that in the past, when stuck in the 9-5 grind and a search for someone to tell me it was OK for them to pay me, I would attend a job fair and reek of desperation. Going to the job fair today reminded me of that past, and honestly it sickened me to be there.

This is where they make robots

As I strolled through the crowded Officer’s Club, which was home to approximately 50-100 potential employers, I watched people put on their costumes and beg for people to pay them a measly 30k a year for a job they would probably hate. I don’t want to discount work, because society needs workers, but to see people battling over these ridiculous jobs that pay less than I can make writing articles or ghost blogging, made me feel both very proud of my situation, and very sad for those that haven’t woken up yet.

Cattle Ranch

The process reminded me of a cattle ranch, where cows would line up to get fed and then slowly walk back to where they were housed for the day/night. People were walking around and passing out resumes as if they have nothing to offer the world. My take on that is wake up! I read a great manifesto yesterday by @kyeli and @pacesmith that speaks from a similar perspective and after experiencing this madness today, I feel like I needed to weigh in.

So great…you don’t feel like you have any skills to offer the world, so you think that if you can convince just one or two employers to give y0u a chance, then you can prove you have what it takes. My question for you is, why are you placing your future in the hands of someone else? Why are people willing to lay their dreams at the feet of people that probably also have broken hearts and shattered dreams?

Looking at the booths at this job fair I saw a few very proud police officers and human resources managers, but for the most part I saw people with the same look in their eyes as those that were walking around in desperation. The look says “please save me from this madness…” and I want to shake them all and tell them “you don’t need this!”

You are Your Own Power

Don’t seek validation from external sources. Don’t force yourself into a job that fits your skills when it isn’t something that you want to do. The game works like this…you have a set of skills that you picked up, but usually they aren’t your favorite set of skills. Still, when you seek a new job, you are stuck trying to sell this skill set to a new employer and hoping that they’ll need you. The cycle continues and 20 years later, you’ve built up a skill set that places you further and further from the work you love and closer to complete and total misery.

Peanuts taste good but they don’t pay the bills

I’m here to tell you that you have so much more to offer than you think you do. You don’t need to spend time doing things that you hate because if you look hard enough, stop living in fear, and dedicate yourself to making it work, you can live your passions. Your power lies within you, not in some employer that wants to pay you peanuts for a hard day’s work. I heard an @garyvee interview the other day in which he stated that if you really want to escape from your job, then you should find one that allows you as much time as possible to work on your own business, while still paying you enough to get by. That is fantastic advice, but how many of you are actually working as hard on your own business as you do for your boss? At some point, you just have to take a leap of faith and go for it…screw the naysayers!

I felt empowered knowing that as I walked through that job fair, I could pick and choose who I spoke with. In fact, I didn’t need any of those jobs (and I don’t plan on taking them), but just having that inner power can do amazing things for your confidence. Knowing that you don’t need the gatekeepers to allow you to work for a check puts the game in your hands. You get to turn the tables on them…you get to make the rules.

If I’m preaching to the choir, I apologize, but I just had to let this loose. In the year 2009 and beyond, there is absolutely zero reason why any of us should have to waste our days in a job we hate. Hell, in my opinion, living in a cardboard box is better than allowing someone to rob me of my freedom and my ability to create. Find that thing that turns your brain on…that activity that makes the hours fly by…and do that. Don’t wait for a better chance because now is the best chance you’ve got. It really is up to you to save the world.

Don’t agree? Let me have it in the comments.