In the beginning...

There was a job. And because it was the beginning...there was just ONE job for just ONE person. And the person and the job were perfect together.

Flash forward thousands of years. Imagine that you envisioned the perfect job for you how would you go about getting it or even making it known that this "perfect job" exists? Could you write your perfect job description (and oh don't get me started on job descriptions)? What about after performing this perfect job for a while it's no longer a good fit? How do you make that adjustment? Do you turn this job over to someone who is now the perfect fit and you write a new one for yourself or do you re-write the job to fit you better?

I don't think many of us have this luxury. I think that some of us manage to wedge ourselves into a job that appears "okay" to us and to the HR person sifting through piles of resume. Some of us don't even know what a perfect job would be so any ol' job that is reasonably inoffensive and pays the bills does just fine. I question what would be the perfect job for me. It seems attractive to work from home but I don't know if that would wear thin sometime around week four after I hadn't showered for several successive days and was starting to think I was cutting a fine figure in flannel jammie pants and a tattered flannel shirt. I've always thought that working in animal rescue full-time (this is assuming that the money for this would come from somewhere) would be rewarding and desirable but then I think of the heartbreak that would accompany it and I wonder how long it would be before the heartbreak would become unbearable.

I think that we all want to do a lot of different things. I do. I want to do a lot of different things and reap financial rewards for doing them. I want to write for a living but not all of the time. I want to be a public speaker, imparting words of wisdom humorously and with passion...but not all the time. I want to do animal rescue including speaking and educating people about the need to spay/neuter your pet, get them vaccinated and feed them appopriately, but again, not all the time.

I want a portion of these jobs. Maybe the animal rescue job includes giving talks to PTA meetings about the need to spay/neuter but it also includes the heartbreak of deciding if a dog is vicious and needs to be put down. Guess what? I want the public speaking part. But remember a lot of people would HATE the public speaking part, they have what it takes to handle the tough decisions but they'll never be coaxed up in front of an audience, no way, no chance, no how.

In consulting companies I know there are a number of people compiling the facts and figures and loving it but they don't want to get up in front of an audience and defend those numbers, but I'd like that.

Writing, hmmm, that one's a bit tougher. That one I want to do for fun, for money, for recognition. But how do I write that job description and then FILL IT? Tough challenge but others have done it before me. Some seem to do it with ease; maybe they're fearless. Maybe they don't worry all the time about money, maybe they laugh rejection in the face and keep moving, fast and furiously.

This blog feels like I'm rationalizing writing by writing. Hmmmm. I'm not tackling topics (well I am but not really moving forward) but writing about business beefs (of which there are many, I'll admit). Writing is exercising our observation skills and then some; and I observe, oh yes I do. I observe all sorts of things that I could and SHOULD convert to something more but instead I'm tickling the keyboard here pondering the vast confusion of corporate life.

To be honest...corporate life kinda sucks. It does. Now if I ever get any readers some of you may want to dispute this point with me and I'm good with that. Go ahead, dispute away, someone better be able to defend corporate life because if not we've got more people than I could've imagined working at jobs they either hate or find completely meaningless.

America used to be a manufacturing society. We MADE THINGS. MADE IN THE USA! Now, we don't make things. Near where I live there used to be several factories, now there are NONE. It's unimaginable. The loss of factories seems to have taken the middle class with it. In the past a factory job could provide a very nice salary, some good benefits and job security. There was shift work which kept other things in the local economy going; things like 24 hour diners. You might get out of work at 7AM and go for some bacon and eggs with a few co-workers before heading home and sleeping off a night of work. Now, even the diners aren't open 24 hours anymore.

Factory work provided a sense of satisfaction at having a hand in making something as well as the satisfaction of providing for your family without bringing your work home with you. Corporate workers talk about work/life balance all the time but then expect everyone to tote around a blackberry and start the day by answering e-mails before leaving the house. The real work/life balance would come by being able to walk out the door after 8 hours and not have to give another thought to your job until you walked back in the door the next day. What a joy that would be. Wow! No e-mails to check or meetings to worry about.

We need to make things again. We need to give people the option to earn a living without sacrificing their soul to corporate life. What does corporate America make? It makes "decisions" I suppose but decisions are often flawed and biased, imperfect as the humans that we are.

Imagine going to a meeting and deciding NOT to play the game. To let go of YOUR agenda and really listen to everyone else's and then side with the one that sounds the best, REALLY THE BEST and despite whatever consequences you might experience for speaking up you do it. You say, "s/he's RIGHT...I want to do THAT!" Could be really liberating or maybe it would get you fired...

Make something today. Make a cake. Make a story. Make love. Make a mess. Make art. For heaven's sake make a FRIEND if that's the only thing you can make.