I’m been doing a lot of reading and thinking over the past few weeks – and finally, I’ve been able to codify what my calling is – to simply be an entrepreneur. “An entrepreneur of what?”, you might ask. Nothing. Just that…an entrepreneur.
Yeah, I know it sounds dumb to you. I don’t really care. Here’s where I’ve come with this thinking.
Talking to a coworker weeks ago, I mentioned to her that if I could do anything, I’d simply want to think. Think and create, then leave it for someone else to take care of. We both smirked and said “Yeah, that’d be nice”, and went on with our lives.
Well, thinking more about that moment, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no reason I can’t be that. Sure, it’s unconventional. Sure, it seems unrealistic. But maybe that’s just what I need.
I’m currently reading an excellent book – No More Mondays, by Dan Miller. Dan is from here in Nashville, and also wrote the book 48 Days to the Work You Love. 48 Days was a fantastic book, and this one surely lives up to its predecessor. One common theme that I am noticing is that Dan insists that the current model of work is changing, and that those who embrace it, look for new opportunities and change as well will be those who succeed. I have to say I wholeheartedly agree.
I’m certainly unique. Like Dan, (I assume, only because I’ve heard him mention things to this degree) I get restless easily. The reason I’ve had so much trouble trying to figure out what I “want to be” is because I don’t just want to be one thing. The thought of staying in one place for too long makes me queasy. Now, some people (ok, most people), would push this off as irresponsible. We’ve come about in the age where seniority rules in the workplace and employees are rewarded for their extended lengths of time at a particular job. So saying that I don’t want to be at any place or doing any one thing for very long may seem to come across as a bit stubborn, bullheaded and naive. I disagree.
The world is vastly changing, we know that. So is the typical model of work. I love that. I love innovation, change and new ideas. Because of that, I’ve found that what I’m here to do is just that – come up with ideas. Now, unfortunately, ideas aren’t worth much alone. You’ve actually got to DO something with the ideas to make them work. So, what I think I’ve come up with is a “job description” that really works for me – I create businesses. Anything. This year, it might be an online business. Next year, it could be a product line or store. Who knows. What I DO know is that my passion really comes in working furiously for a short amount of time to realize an idea, then move to the next. Serial entrepreneurship – that’s me. I’m literally a create-addict. I love to create, but don’t love to manage or maintain. So I won’t. I’ll create, and let someone else who is more inclined toward management do the maintenance for me.
This is, to me, a great example of how I think people should approach work and your calling. Don’t say “well, I like doing this, but I’ll have to put up with that in order to do it”. Why? Change the system, change the archtype. Listening to another great mentor of mine (not directly, ’cause he doesn’t know me from Adam, but I REALLY respect him and look up to him), Dave Ramsey, he mentioned one day that the greatest thing about living in this country is that you can wake up one day and decide you’re going to be something else and you are – just like that. You only have to do two things – convince yourself and convince other people.
So I’m going to take my strengths, which I believe to be forward thinking, tunnel-visioned like focus for short periods of time, and a willingness to be laughed at, and use them in harmony to realize my calling. I won’t take on tasks and jobs that I hate in order to make concessions – I’ll simply do those that I want to do, that really fit me. Once I’m in that groove, the rest should fall into place nicely.
And there it is, my calling and the justification thereof. I realize to many it sounds crazy, dumb, or even naive. That’s fine. Continue working the job you hate, for the pay you despise with people who you can’t stand. Fine by me, I’m going to change my world…see ya’ll from the top.
