Since starting my Masters (well, since being born) I’ve struggled to define my life’s purpose – taking endless personality tests, asking every mentor and psychic I cross paths with, doing flip-chart visionings at home. Much to my dismay, no one will tell me what to do with my life (jerks!), or more precisely, what to do with myself when I graduate. New strategy: make my own path.
No, I haven’t been listening to too much Tony Robbins, I just finally realized what everyone’s been saying – you can have any job you want, as long as you’re willing to create it. Or, in June Jordan’s famous anti-apartheid poem, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Why wait for a company to create the project management eco-comedy position of my dreams, when I can just start my own business, online platform, or menagerie? It seems ludicrous that I could create my own job, but isn’t that what all successful entrepreneurs are doing, and aren’t I in business school?
As I stare out across the professional degree desk-chained wasteland of paperwork and protocol, program design and performance metrics, I feel a deep malaise. I don’t know what it means to work for myself, and it makes me uncomfortable to consider all that responsibility and buck-stopping, but if I don’t create the company I want to work at who will? And if I don’t try, can I really complain?
Maybe getting to participate in a few brainstorming/presentation workshops gave me extra pizazz, but I think it’s up to our generation to invent a new iteration of business as usual, including production, marketing and distribution. (Check out the Innovation Incubator, Inn-Inc, we’re starting at MIIS to accelerate student ideas!)
I hope my peers and I take the risk of believing in ourselves, and building new enterprises and communities, because these post-normal times desperately need radical leadership shift. Maybe after we’re millionaires we can run for office, and our youthful facebook indiscretions can be overlooked? The anti-science megalomaniacs running things have managed to cock it up royally so far, I don’t think we could possibly do worse.
#whatreyouwaitingfor?
Marry Me:)
Hey Jessica. I’ve been reading through your blog and we have a lot of common interests. I’ve written a lot about ponerology which involves the study of how psychopathy and similar disorders influence our society. I’ve written at length about the struggle to find worthwhile projects and partners in such a pathological environment. And I’ve done a lot of coaching with people focused on finding life purpose and strategy.
Your blog doesn’t allow posting links, but this comment has my email so feel free to email me and I can send you links to the pages on my site that might interest you and we can talk more if you want to after taking a look.