Haven’t posted in a while. I am going to make a point to try and make one post a day from now on, on something interesting in the news, a reaction to something I hear, or whatever randomly makes its way into the spongy stuff between my ears. The actual reason I have not posted in a while is because I have chosen to focus my time on a side project of mine. And through that, it’s given me insight into the kind of person I am, and my goals for the future, in career and life in general.
In the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers. Surprisingly, given my adversity to any kind of advertising that tries to associate a commercial product with a motivating slogan, that line has had a profound resonance in me for many years. No, I don’t walk around all day thinking of buying a VW. Instead, it has provided me a mechanism for distinguishing people, and defining myself. Of course, I could also use the title of the Bad Religion song “Leaders and Followers”
Walking down the halls of my office and listening in on conversations between coworkers, you encounter many different people. However, everyone seems to fit in two distinct categories.
Passengers/Followers – Simply put, along for the ride. They work 9 to 5, then go home and watch TV or play games. They talk in excess about what it takes to get promoted in the organization, and will do what’s needed in order to get a bigger paycheck. They do what they are told/hired to do. They’ll stay at the job they happened to land until the second they are eligible to retire.
Drivers/Leaders – The do-ers. They will do what’s needed to get the job done, and get it done well. If they see a need, they’ll fill it. When bored, will find something more. Always pushing. Always growing. (Sorry to put Dwight from the Office in there, I just felt it had to be someone from the same show!)
And I’m not ragging on the company I work for (I love it), because I have noticed this in every other place I have worked, be it a university lab, government agency, or private company. Maybe that didn’t make sense to you. It does to me. My co-workers have become obsessed with World of Warcraft, not only because of the playability but because of the infinite playability of it. They play after work, weekends, during their lunch hour. I buckled to peer pressure and played the ten day trial and had a pretty good time playing, but quit eventually. I didn’t quit because it wasn’t fun, I quit because it was a waste. I could not fathom personally how people could spend all their free time playing a game. Now I don’t mean to insult them – these are all responsible people, most of them with families and such. But to me, if you have copious amounts of free time and focus, you should be doing. I’ll try and flesh out more on this subject eventually.
Tell me do you know your place
In the big parade?
ThoughtFog – A whole two posts up. Dammit I need someone to use it before I try really marketing it!
