Hey friends,
Happy New Month! Hope October goes well for you.
This week has been great. Finally back in Nairobi to commence my sophomore year and also I was part of a team that welcomed the first years. More on that later.
Disclaimer: this might be a long piece so hold on tight🙃.
I came across an article this week and it was very impressive, titled What Do You Want?
It is written by one Calvin Rosser whom I emailed applauding his wonderful writing and got back to me😀. (Warning: a little showboating here🤠). Here’s a screenshot of the response email;
Felt pretty good to have him reply and give me a little piece of advice. I’ve read his other writings, and he is a great writer.
On the article What Do You Want, Calvin talks about a friend who wanted to quit his job due to unfulfillment, feeling that something was off, even though he was paid well, had a good boss and peers, and had enough vacations for the year. The guy further told him that he’s not sure if he could get another job like that one. His colleagues may think he gave up. He feels he should be grateful for having a job when people are struggling.
“Those are fine considerations,” Calvin said. “But what do you want?”
After a long pause, the guy said, “Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about that.”
The rest of the article then talks of how Calvin helped him find a solution, and what he learned on the way. I’ll summarize what I learned, on fear of this post being too long🥱.
He talks of how he (Calvin) personally quit his investment banking job to join a remote startup as a marketer. Of course that came with uncertainties and an inconstant safety/surety of money that his previous job gave him. But after a few years he got on good track and now does well.
But he says, that worked for him, and will most probably not work for his friend who is in a dilemma. His job was different. His reasons for leaving work were different. His situation was different. If his friend took the same path hoping for same results he would have been even more disappointed with his life than before. Because Calvin left his job knowing well he is going to be a digital nomad due to his marketing role. Of which if that didn’t work out, he would have gone back to his job or tried another field. But his friend would have left his job, not to follow a passion, but rather due to internal dissatisfaction. It was way not similar for him because he didn’t even know why he wanted to quit his job.
Calvin ends the article by advising his friend and us. I quote:
If there’s anything that he or you should take away from this exploration of figuring out what you want, it’s that you should not listen to me or anyone else about what to do with your life.
Only you can answer that question.
This read I think is best for us Gen Zs, who most of us nowadays are swayed by this notion that you don’t need to work a 9-5. That you can just sit around your laptop and do forex trading, Amazon FBA, freelancing, click buttons and expect to earn or have a fulfilling life.
But who’s gonna build the roads, and the buildings or the next big thing?
Some who are already in the workplace want to quit for ‘freedom’ because that is what is most advocated. Not knowing that that freedom is not a sure bet and can leave you more devastated than before.
Someone has to sit in that office to do the paperwork. Someone has to be that lawyer to handle your marriage cases. Someone has to be that engineer on the road telling the workmen to put tar and mix gravel and cement. Someone has to do your books of accounts to make sure you’re not overtaxed or fail to pay tax illegally. People have to be in these industry offices and factories for the economy to run, for the world to run. Not everyone can be the ‘no 9-5 guy’. Hell! Most of our parents worked 9-5s, or some miniature jobs like doing laundry for the rich, but still produced and raised wonderful brilliant children that are now well off, and make the whole family happy.
It just depends on what do you want.
Might want a well-paying job for the rest of your life. Well and good. Might want a free, travelling all the time, kind of life. Or to be part of an NPO trying to solve some world problems like hunger and poverty. Even better. Or you might want to be the solver of society’s other problems like financial illiteracy or lack of good transport systems. That’ll be a meaningful contribution to a dying world. Heck, some might want to be the next pastor or Buddhist prophet.
Question is, what do you want?
I still don’t know exactly what I want in my line of work or career, but I will definitely know my reasons why, coz I’ve decided to give it careful consideration and thought in my time.
What about you?
Hit that <reply> button.
Reagan..✍🏽
