Question: Why Do You Work?
No Really. Why?
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Assume that you have everything you need to live your life.
Would you continue doing (working at) what you do?
If not - what stops you from making that change right now?
If you would continue - what do you do?
This is the first issue of a new way of thinking about our newsletter. I wrote about it here. I hope you like and please do comment, email or even carrier pigeon - I want to start to bring together the collective wisdom of the people following People First and sharing it.
I’ve been discussing these questions with myself quite often lately, having retired from a always-on corporate tech career last year. I always assumed I would jump straight into writing and volunteering with unlimited freedom of retirement. Yet I have not jumped in. Why kit? At first I was stunned senseless by my empty calendar. Cured quickly. The blocky thing that is lingering, I’m realizing, is that I’m missing my work tribes.
Every company - its colleagues, customers and partners - is a tribe. Working has always been a way to join/evolve/affect a global tribal community. Find people with shared values, different perspectives. Grow with them. Help them along their growth path.
I’m not going to take a job to get that sense of community back. I do want to find a way to replace it.
One of your (John's) summary points - "We have our dreams, but fear holds us back". I thought about this....when I had kids, one of the overriding themes became "Provider". And, I think, directed my focus to both purpose and income. Growing up relatively poor, my parents did the best they could. And encouraged me to go to college. Which I did, but with plenty of 9% student loans and a 20-hour per week job at UPS.
So I wanted to get my kids through higher education without incurring debt. Work got that done. Was there an element of fear? I don't know. did it "throttle" my choices in work? Perhaps. Any regrets? no