What Should I Do With My Life?

Bamafan77 writes "FastCompany's website has an interesting article about what it means to be successful that I think builds nicely upon a recent Slashdot discussion. That Slashdot thread was about a study that wanted to find out if there is a link between college rejection and success. This new article asks a more basic question that many people struggle with: what does it mean to be successful and how do I achieve it? This article is an excerpt from a new book by Po Bronson which details the personal lives of several people, many of whom are very talented and superficially successful, who switched gears to try to find that 'thing' they are impassioned about. One interesting excerpt that might particularly hit home to the Slashdot community is Bronson's tidbit about a Rockwell manager who left his job because, though it was mentally challenging, lacked a deeper level of gratification. What is this man doing now? He's a cop in East LA."

Comments

My real answer

[Daengbo]

I know that there are a lot of flippant comments so far, but I'd just like to say that in my mid-thirties, I chucked everything and came to Thailand with US$1000 and two suitcases. I have successfully built a future here, and ther are many side benefits for me, as well (see my sig). Just the ability to read manuals in English, understand them without assistance, and explain them to Thais makes me profitable.
I make, in US$, somewhere from 500 - 1800, depending on how hard I work, but that amount is more than enough to support me and build a nest-egg for the future.
Did I mention the girls?

_Now_ they tell us...

[Otter]

The first assumption to get busted was the notion that certain jobs are inherently cool and that others are uncool. That was a big shift for me. Throughout the 1990s, my basic philosophy was this: Work=Boring, but Work+Speed+Risk=Cool. Speed and risk transformed the experience into something so stimulating, so exciting, so intense, that we began to believe that those qualities defined "good work." Now, betrayed by the reality of economic uncertainty and global instability, we're casting about for what really matters when it comes to work.

In other words, a writer and a magazine who made themselves by proclaiming that the only worthwhile use of your life is starting a dot-com, going public and keeping your stock price elevated until the lockup period ends and you can bail out are now embracing "money won't make you happy".

Truth is, the excerpt was interesting and occasionally thought-provoking, and the book might well be worth reading. But the smarminess level here really rubs me the wrong way.

I finally figured out what to do with mine

[Bitter Cup O Joe]

I've been working in tech since I dropped out of college about 8 years ago with terrible grades. Computers were something I'd been raised around and had a knack for, and I could make a decent amount of money from them. That was enough for a while. Not anymore, tho.

For several years, it's bothered me that I don't really do anything to help anyone. Well, I do help them make money faster, but that's about it. I can't stand watching all the suffering in the world and thinking like I'm wasting my time building manufacturing systems so that some company can make widgets more efficiently. Instead, I've gone back to college. One semester down with a 3.7 so far, and I've got about 6 or 7 more to go til I've got my neuroscience degree, then on to med school, hopefully.

I understand that some of y'all are stuck in jobs you don't like because of circumstances beyond your control. And I'm sure that a bunch of you are doing things in programming and engineering that will one day improve the quality of life for those around ou. For the rest of you that aren't, take a long hard look in the mirror and see if you're happy helping someone else make money and playing with toys. I think, or at least I hope, that some of you might be a bit uncomfortable with that idea. At the end of your life, do you want your big accomplishment to be "I got my company ISO 9001 certified" or even "I raised my kid to work as a drone in the tech sector?"

Don't equate your job with your life

[Helmholtz Coil]

I've always kind of thought that it didn't really matter what you did to make a living, it's what you did with your time off that made you who you are.

My grandmother used to ask me if I loved my work and if it was fun. I'd always say I liked it, but it wasn't what I'd call "fun." Eventually I started saying "Work that's fun, that's a hobby. Work you wouldn't do if you weren't paid for it, that's a job."

Anyway, I guess my advice would be to not automatically assume that what you do for eight hours a day or whatever is necessarily who you are. I know PhDs that cheerfully drive cabs for a living: they never confused the job with their life. So find something that can fund what you really find worthwhile.

physical work

[rvr]

After sitting behind a desk for fifteen years I decided to see if I could still do physical work. I am working up in northern Canada in the oil patch. The area is a sour gas field and one mistake can kill you. It is hard on an old man and hours are long but there is a satisfaction. I won't do this forever and can always go back to software development. Life is too short and varied for being a one trick pony.

I enjoyed the companionship and humor of other software developers and now enjoy the companionship and humor of oil patch workers. The work can be dirty, long, hard and physical. Cracking the "greenie" label and being accepted by the rough and tumble crowd is satisfying. Its not for everyone, I don't know where I'll go next but I am not afraid to try. And besides I hear some great new jokes and sayings like "...that lease is so far fucking north they have to truck in sunshine!"

One can read the "Northwest Passage" and be amazed at early artic explorers. The drive they had is nothing new, its been around for centuries. We are doing that today in different ways as this articles points out. They explored new lands which is essentially what we are doing today only the landscapes have changed.

Re:Do something you like

[schlach]

Ben Hunnicut at the University of Iowa has had the lifelong question

sorry for the teaser... preview/submit error :)

Ben Hunnicut is author of Work Without End and is a history prof at UofI. Had the opportunity to chat with him a bit. He has devoted a serious part of his life to wondering about the worth of leisure time in American society. Work Without End is a look at the "shorter-hours" movement in this country from the late nineteenth century up to 1940 or so. We kind of take the 8-hour/5-day work week for granted these days, but it wasn't always so. The shorter-hours movement, both from within labor and without, got the work day from 12-hour to 10-hour, and finally 8-hour, and then got the week shortened to 5-day. The Kellogs factory workers even went down to 6-hour.

And then after WWII, the movement just kinda stopped. No one is questioning the 40-hour work-week, no one is calling for more leisure. Why?

What is leisure time good for? Improving oneself, contemplating the larger questions of Life, Love, and Happiness (insert God if you wish), studying the democratic process in order to be a better citizen, kernel hacking... when you get right down to it, I don't want to do anything that someone has to pay me to get me to do.

Ben points to a lot of utopians, socialists, Progressives, and authors that always figured that increasing industrialization would eventually mean that machines did most of the labor, and humans would be left with pure Leisure. Of course we are in a very good position to rule on what utter bullshit that turned out to be. As long as corporations own the machines, the People do not, hence the profit on the labor of the machines goes to the owners. Instead we find ourselves forced now to keep up with the pace of the Machine.

Don't get me wrong, wouldn't trade it for The Way We Was, but I would fix it. We should always be using Technology to study and answer the really big questions that are fundamentally human. Like communication, love, politics, work, play, war, and so forth. Questions that people have always had to answer, but haven't always had the tech that we do with which to answer them.

For what it's worth, I consider that to be my life's Work. Applying modern technology to answering the fundamental human questions. My dream is to be able to make the quality of life on this planet tied to the progress of technology, so that increasing technological progress brings a corresponding increase in the quality of life. I think this is slightly different than the way it has been for awhile, in that increasing technological progress has brought better ways with which to kill each other, while our political and cultural systems are largely stagnant and always looking backward to the glory days behind us...

Ok I'm monopolizing the discussion, someone take over. ; )

I make and sell soap ...

[Col. Panic]

TYLER

I see in fight club the strongest and

smartest men who have ever lived --

an entire generation pumping gas and

waiting tables; or they're slaves

with white collars.

Advertisements have them chasing cars

and clothes, working jobs they hate

so they can buy shit they don't need.

We are the middle children of

history, with no purpose or place.

We have no great war, or great

depression. The great war is a

spiritual war. The great depression

is our lives. We were raised by

television to believe that we'd be

millionaires and movie gods and rock

stars -- but we won't. And we're

learning that fact. And we're very,

very pissed-off.

Re:materialism and success

[Resseguie]

The whole way "success" is defined has problems. It's like we're always thinking "If I could just get to _that_ point I'll feel successful." The problem is, _that_ point keeps moving.

Think about it, when we were in high school, if we could just graduate and turn 18 then we'd be grown up, mature, and happy.

In college, if we could just graduate and get that coveted degree, then we'd be successful and people would give us the respect we deserve.

Okay, now we've got a degree, if I can just find a job paying at least...

Hmm, I've got that job but I wish it gave me more fulfillment. If I could get the job that guy has, then I'd be much happier and people would see how successful I am. Oh yeah, and it pays more so I can get more toys.

Oh no, Mr SoAndSo saw me driving my Accord. I better go talk to the dealer about leasing a Lexus so the clients at work won't think I'm second rate. Oh yeah, and Bob bought that new big screen tv at Best Buy - I think I saw one two inches bigger at Circuit City that I may have to go look at.

Well, these new toys are pretty fun, but I'm still kinda lonely. All I need now is a wife... Then I can sit back and relax and enjoy being successful.

Now this is nice, loving wife, good job, lots of toys. I should build me a nice big house by the lake. Then I'd have it all.

I've got to go talk to the loan officer about that educational assistance so I can send my kids to one of their top choice ivy league schools.

When does the cycle end? The problem is, life doesn't build to some climatic point where we can sit back as say "Now I'm happy and successful." It just keeps chugging on like a machine. And yet, we keep looking for that magic something that will complete the puzzle.

We're not the first ones to go through this cycle. Take a minute and read Ecclesiastes. I am a Christian, but this is an interesting read even if you're not. King Solomon sets out to find meaning in life. If there ever was a person that could find enjoyment and happiness in life outside of God, Solomon could. He had done it all. Considered to be one of the wisest men of all time, he had intelligence, wealth, power - anything he wanted could be his. And he goes through it all and declares it to be vanity. He makes the conclusion that we can't find happiness and fullfillment outside of God.

Of course, once you begin searching for God, you run into a whole host of other issues to deal with. Ecclesiastes is a very honest book. There are two chapters dealing with atheism. In Ecclesiastes, the covenant name of God, Yahweh, is never used. Instead, Solomon refers to God euphemistically by other references and names. Some scholars believe that this book is written intentionally with the nonbeliever in mind. Ecclesiastes addresses someone who has sincere questions about life and the nature of God. It was interesting to me that the article at FastCompany explores some of the same issues that Solomon does.

Ecclesiastes is sometimes difficult to understand because we are unfamiliar with the language and illustrations. If you are really interested in studying the book, you might try reading the following book by Tommy Nelson:

The Problem of Life With God: Living with a Perfect God in an Imperfect World

(Tommy Nelson is the same guy that did a series on the Song of Solomon - a study about love, romance, and marriage. If you're struggling with those issues (don't we all?) you should strongly consider studying that book of the Bible. More resources are available at: www.thesongofsolomon.com. )

The conclusion of King Solomon is that we should enjoy life today. Be happy with what we have. Love and serve God on a daily basis - trusting Him with the big questions we don't understand. How many times do we let what we don't understand ruin what we could enjoy today? How many times do we miss the special moments of today because we're too busy trying to get to that magical point in life where everything clicks?

I know this post may open up a whole can of trolls, but for those of you who are honestly searching for answers to questions like this, I suggest that you at least give it a read and decide for yourself. It's good stuff that has made a difference in my life and in the life of people around me. I'm one of the lucky ones who has been able to hang onto a tech job during these last couple of hard years. And for the most part, I've been able to buy the toys and "stuff" that I've wanted. But I found myself not happy despite it all. I was just accumulating things and not really enjoying any of it.

I've tried lately to make it a point to slow down and enjoy the things I have - enjoy my family, enjoy my work, and spend time with the guys doing guy things ("Let's go lift heavy objects and put them back down again."). I stopped staying late at work trying to impress someone enough to get promoted and I spent that time down at the tutoring center playing with kids that don't get enough attention at home. If you want fullfillment, go spend some time with one of them - a kid comes in with a frown on her face and leaves laughing - that's success.

I think we're looking in all the wrong places.

Re:All work and no play...

[Daleks]

But, when you make your work and your play the same thing, then everyday is a joy.

When one falters, the other suffers. Don't make your career your life, or your life your career.

On that line of thought...

[WotanKhan]

my favourite quotation:

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which; he simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both." - Zen Buddhist Text

Beauty

[BSDevil]

I've spent the last year doing nothing in far-off places: in short, I took a Gap year. I met people who's dreams ranged from seeing a sunrise in every country in the world, to seeing one plant grow in their yard. Why did I take a year away from my future and spend a great deal of money on the process? To try and uncover the surface of this post - what do I want to do with my life. Did I find the answer? Not especially. I found a what a whole bunch of other people want to do with their lives, but couln't come to grips with what I wanted with mine. And then it hit me, while sitting in the Auckland airport.

I want to create something beautiful. I want to bring something that I see as beauty into the world.

I haven't found what that will be - will it be a memory of a scene in a foerign land, will it be a circuit so efficient and well made that the only fittign word is beautiful - but that's what I want to do. But to generalize, isn't that what we all want to do? Pick anyone famous, and within a few minutes you can find the beauty the sought to produce. Plato? The idea of the rule of the people. Einstein? A family (but look what he cam up with to get there). Hitler? A pure aryan race - he saw that as beauty, despite the fact that most of us don't.

So there you have it. What do I want to do with my life? Make something beautiful. Now, I just have to discover what that's gonna be...