Monday, November 09, 2009

You define yourself by the work you do

A recent post at Seth's blog (http://feeds.feedburner.com/sethgodin)
stuck a chord with me.

Have a read...

"Like bending a sapling a hundred years before the tree is fully grown
and mature, the gigs you take early will almost certainly impact the
way your career looks later on. If you want to build a law practice in
the music industry, you'll need to take on musicians as clients, even
if the early ones can't pay enough. If you want to do work for Fortune
500 companies, you'll need to do work for Fortune 500 companies,
sooner better than later.

The definition of "can get" is essential. Maybe it seems like this gig
or that gig is the best you can get because that's all you're exposing
yourself to. Almost always, the best gig I could get is shorthand for
the easiest gig I could get.


Surviving is succeeding, no doubt about it. Doing the work is better
than not doing the work. Waiting for perfect is never as smart as
making progress. But, and it's a huge but, you define yourself by the
work you do, and perhaps you need to redefine what you're willing to
take and where you're looking for it."


I fully agree and hope that AeSI students do remember these words when
they come out of AeSI. Don't take the first thing that you are
presented with. Don't just jump into the next bus that's coming your
way.

Decide on a destination and then board that bus. Otherwise you will
just spend the initial years of your work life meandering.

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