Great Work
The YouTube video below is the 2005 Stanford Commencement speech by Apple and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs.
About half way through he says, "I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisifed is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
He follows that with the story of his brush with death in the form of pancreatic cancer. All of it touches on why the position declaring 'the job is not the point' has never set well with me.
7 Comments:
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Bill, that you can't dismiss work as not important in your life journey/quest/shopping spree.
When I left BEA nearly three months ago, I knew I just wasn't going to be happy there any longer. I'm now doing a bit of independent consulting with my previous client (state of PA), doing pretty much the same work and getting paid less, but it feels a lot better. One reason is I know it's not forever...each gig I accept is only for 3-4 weeks. But I'm also doing it not b/c I work for BEA and that's where BEA is sending me, but because I have the choice to do other things and choose to go back to PA.
Why would I chose to go back and do something I didn't like much previously? Well, to be honest, it's relatively easy and it's not 40 hours per week. But beyond that, my biggest motivation is that if they hired someone else, the new person might not be any good nor very personable. I started the PA Portal project and I know it could still die if it doesn't have the right support. So, I'm choosing to advance it a bit more b/c I think it will be good for them, and the state employees who are running it will all have much happier lives if the program continues to run smoothly, more people are trained, etc. So, at the bottom of it all, I feel that my staying with this client is making a genuine PERSONAL difference to the people who will continue to work on the project long after I'm gone.
Knowing that I'm making a personal contribution to others has turned out to be a good motivator and keeps me pleased with what I'm doing. It's not the best in the world, but I'm content while I look for something else.
Keep searching, Bill. Not only for another position, but for reasons to enjoy and feel good about where you are for the time that you do have left there.
[And if neither of us have found something by the time I visit you, we'll brainstorm on starting our own company!]
what, did i miss something? did unbrellaman leave CME? from stephen's comments it sounds like bill is looking for a new job?
what's going on with your work bill? are you still in the game industry, or determined to leave arizona and become a full time author?
Still here at CME, no worries. Though I like the sound of the author thing. :)
I had wondered what the job is not the point argument was, and I see that you have coined the term(at least in my google, your site comes up first).
And I also see most if not all commenters on that post take the job is not the point stance.
So, there should be some interesting conversation on this post.
Is there a 4th "argument" or what do you think about the other two (get a real job, games matter)?
I have been wondering a little on these lines, as this is my first week of being part-time at what used to be my full-time job. My company has been doing well, mostly on the web hosting and web software development side, but I am working on the embedded software side too. It doesn't currently provide enough income for it to be my full-time job, but I have run out of hours in the week, and my full-time company was nice enough to allow me to drop to half-time.
Hrm. Have to go do work instead of posting on a blog.
But, my question is, should I care who my customers are, ie. does it matter if my customers are not Christian, "nonreligious", or "ecumenical", etc.
If I am doing excellent work for my web hosting customers, God is glorified, and even those that aren't aware that Lime Daley is run by a Christian will hopefully see that there is something different and see God in my work.
I took a few road trips this past month after my college graduation. They were awesome and I greatly enjoyed being outside. Nature's beauty and fellowship with friends is paramount.
But it's got me thinking, why should I get into the video game industry, that seems to take everyone away from outside? So far I've brushed it off, saying that when I played games like Smash Bros. and Half-Life in the dorm with friends, it's good fun and fellowship. Video games are easier to set up than some larger adventure, making them quick and easy fun.
But is that excuse valid? Should I have made more effort in my college years to go do other things? Are movies and board games "better" entertainment than video games? Can I justify working in the video game industry?
"You are what you do, and how you do it means everything."
--Rand Miller, 1997.
That phrase has come back to haunt me over the past 10 years in my career. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to, if indeed such a thing exists, and sometimes I feel like I'm just marking time. Sometimes I feel I'm completely wasting my time and talents, and those are the worst days.
But when I write, when I bring my own dreams to life, that feels the most appropriate. If I have a calling, that's it. Pity it took me 42 years of life to figure it out.
I appreciate the post. Keep searching. Keep writing.
I think I said this in the previous blurbleings, that the job *can* be the point, if it's something that makes you feel like you're Doing Something. If it feels like it's in your way, or holding you down, then there's a problem.
~El
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