I found the end of the article concerning the second half of one’s life very interesting. In searching for jobs I often wonder if I will be in the same position and with the same company 30 years down the road. I really liked Druckers comment about a midlife crisis being the result of boredom; I totally agree. I can apply this thought to my current life. I should learn to take risks early on, because “no one can live very long without a major setback.” I truly believe that one learns the most from failures, and becomes a stronger more confident person from those experiences. I plan to leave time for “parallel” jobs in my life, this way I can remain entertained and engaged. In doing something that I love I hope I never count the days down to my retirement but rather count the days to my next business adventure!
You might want to check out the relatively new notion of encore careers - http://www.encore.org - which is getting more popular. Failing fast is another new concept gaining traction in world of eship - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_26/b4040436.htm.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about leaving time for "parallel" jobs in life. We'd all be very lucky if the first job we landed out of college was one that we loved and were with for the rest of our working careers. One thing that I know will be difficult is doing what I love regardless of pay. I do not want to be bored with work or hate getting up to go to work every day - like you said, I too want to remain entertained and engaged. I think the risk takers in life are those that are the happiest because although they may have set backs, they can (if they choose to) learn from them and carve out that place in life where they really want to be.
I agree with you as well. As Andra basically said, most likely you will not love your first job out of college. Sure, in the beginning we might just take a job because "its a job" and that is perfectly understandable. However, I believe there needs to be a point in time where you have to take risks in order to find or create the job that you know you will love doing. If it doesn't work out the first time, then you learn from your mistakes and try again!
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