Bad Ideas  |
Our Society  |
A Calling?  |
E.T.'s Career  |
Family
Our families frequently influence our career choices by the subtle -- and sometimes not so subtle -- pressure they can bring to bear on us with regard to how we live our lives. Sometimes this means "following in their footsteps"; sometimes it means either pursuing a preferred (by them) career path or avoiding a path that they find objectionable.
Naturally, this kind of pressure can leave us in an awkward position. Do we give up on our own dreams in order to please someone who is important to us? Do we follow our own heart and risk antagonizing someone that we care about?
Perhaps even more complicated, what if they are right? After all, by definition they have been on the planet a generation longer than we have -- maybe they know something we don't. But at the same time, it is all too easy to imagine that they do have an agenda so perhaps they are not being entirely objective either.
Kids?
One enormous, life-changing decision that almost always affects our flexibility where work, income, and career are concerned is the decision to start a family. If there was ever a time to give serious thought to a decision – to the point of playing “devil’s advocate” with yourself (and partner) – this is it. Not only is it one of the biggest in terms of overall impact on everyone involved, it is also one of very few completely irreversible decisions. read more »
I Hated Every Minute Of It
He leaned over and said something to the effect that "I walked this dock, ran this business pretty much every day for the last 40 years -- and I hated every minute of it!" read more »
Wish I’d Listened to Mom
Years later, I realized just how much of an opportunity I had missed by allowing my blind spots with regard to my family to influence my thinking.
The simple fact is, regardless of my history with my mother or stepfather or anyone else, I could have made a substantial amount of money in a short time which would have helped considerably in some of my ongoing attempts to improve my career situation. read more »
Careers are Like Marriages
Like marriages, careers are frequently launched with great fanfare, enthusiasm, and high hopes. read more »
Ambitious Stepfather
Here is something from my own experience that definitely got in my way when it came time to decide what to do with my life: my stepfather became an entrepreneur when I was a young boy, right about the time he and I were developing what seemed to be a good relationship. read more »
