Crossroads
It's kind of funny how it all comes down to this. I'm at a point in my career where I really need to make a decision if I want to put all of my energy into staying in a job that is draining me or just give up (a dangerous precident to set) and move on.
Here's the funny part - instead of seeing signs that I should fight it out (like a smaller sale here or a satisfied customer there), I'm getting reminders that Night Ranger will be playing at Cornfest (by the beer garden, no less), my old pal Tom is actually quitting his job to go on tour with his band (U.S. and European dates), and then I read an interesting article on two guys who quit their jobs to do a documentary about what it's like to ride a Segway across the country.
I wish I had a deep-seated passion about something. It would be so great to know that making a movie or touring with my band would be way better than staying in this job. I have a ton of different interests in all different directions - none of which are all-consuming and necessary. Add slightly lazy to the mix and here I am, deciding if I should pull the plug on a difficult job or try to stay here. It seems like an obvious choice, but I like the people I work with and it's interesting work if you take out all the bureaucratic bullshit, TPS reports and the like. Plus, I can't imagine I'd get paid this well anywhere else (including here, the way things are going.)
When I've had jobs that I liked, I was far from lazy, for the record. If I'm being paid a square wage for a square day's work, I'm the ideal employee. I guess I was skeptical of sales before I ever took a sales job and that's possibly my problem now. (My skepticism is founded, though - sales is where the money, and therefore the risk, is.) I'm not into risk.
Maybe that answers why I'm not on tour or riding 10 MPH across the country. I like stasis. And beer.
Posts
6 comments:
Chris, you said it yourself - beer. When I think of you, I think of beer. BEER is your passion. Whatever you do, it must be beer related. You write - so, write about beer. You work hard - so, work with beer. You drink hard - so, drink beer. This is the perfect time in your life to make a strong career move in a beer direction.
Roger that.
Old Dog is right, per usual.
DO this little exercise: Imagine you've just quit your job. Do you feel regret, sadness, worry, etc? Or do you feel intense RELIEF (with some of the above thrown in, but largely, relief).
I'm the wrong person to ask--or the exactly the right person, depending how you look at it--having literally walked out of the paralegal job. Which I've NEVER done. It was that bad.
My gut feeling for you? QUIT!
Oh and let me add: Quitting was the best thing I could have done. It didn't set the stage for a pattern of failures--which I worried about--but led me to my current job--which is SO MUCH BETTER! (AND I'm making more money to boot!)
Of course, all of the beer and writing is secondary to what your true calling is...ASS KICKING DRUM PARTS IN A ROCK STAR BAND!
Yep, the Old Dog is on the money. Luckily, the company has made the decision for me. I was given an ultimatum in July and I came up just a bit sort of the target. The irony is that I'll have made the two biggest commission checks I've made all year for July and August. I'm getting the ax for spending too much time selling big projects, not telemarketing (which wasn't the job originally).
I'm sure I'll end up in a better situation, but it's just a different type of stress in the meantime.
And no, Old Dog, I won't go to the office for one last day with no pants. I might not shower, though. ;)
Post a Comment