[thelist] Professional Philosopy

spinhead evolt at spinhead.com
Thu Aug 30 11:30:35 CDT 2001


Can I do both? (have the passion, and work because I need to) I have to work
(four kids demanding to be fed frequently) otherwise, quite seriously, I'd
probably be a hobo. But at least, I get to do something I love, which is the
only reason I can make a decent living - because when I was doing work I
hated, no matter how hard I worked; no matter how many hours I put in, I
never got anywhere. One day, I quit my dead end job and announced to my wife
that if we were going to live in poverty, I was at least going to do
something I enjoyed, and she agreed.

Within three months I'd tripled my income with virtually no effort
whatsoever. I'm back to working in an office again (they made me an offer I
couldn't refuse) but I'm doing what I love, and when I stop loving it, I'm
going home again.

I wasted 25 years in the working world thinking that I had to choose between
the paycheck and the payoff. Don't do it. Mediocrity is pain.

The company I work for is inventing a way to give you wireless
video/audio/whatever in your home. It's going to impact a lot of people all
over the world when it takes off. It's thrilling to be part of something
that I think really is the Next Big Thing. However, we're growing so fast
that sometimes folks find themselves running beside their bicycle because
they don't have time to stop and get on. My whole raison d'être is to make
sure they have all the info they need, in a format they need, without
unnecessary effort on their part. I absolutely love making technology
accessible to folks who otherwise wouldn't use it. [Side note: world class
engineers with PhDs don't automatically know about computers, databases, or
the web.]

My mentors are my co-workers. These folks strive for perfection, and they
deliver. If it's any hint re: my success at acheiving my goals, they
consider me an equal. Being equal to giants is pretty awesome.

spinhead


----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank" <framar at interlog.com>
To: <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 5:33 PM
Subject: [thelist] Professional Philosopy


>
> Overtime as I interact with members of different yet related
> professions I find that people generally fall into two classes: those
> for whom their profession is merely a means of sustenance, and those
> whose profession is a passion, and is an important soul feeding
> activity.
>
> We've got some awfully high class people on this list, ranging from
> novices to utterly advanced pros. I sure would like to know about
> your own, personal work philosophy. Why do you do what you do? What's
> important about that? What are the values that you reach for? How do
> you measure whether you've fulfilled them or not? Who are mentors or
> peers for whom you have a great respect, and why?
>
> --
>
> I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at
once.
>
> Frank Marion                      Framar Studios
> frank at framarstudios.com           http://www.framarstudios.com
>
> ---------------------------------------
> For unsubscribe and other options, including
> the Tip Harvester and archive of TheList go to:
> http://lists.evolt.org Workers of the Web, evolt !
>





More information about the thelist mailing list