I think this is potentially a lot longer post. I’m not entirely sure when it would be written or how long it should be. Maybe a book? Maybe just Medium. For now, I want to lay out the broad strokes of a career. How I look at mine, its progress, and in general, how I think most careers go. So it may not be all that interesting, just obvious. At which point, it doesn’t need to be any longer. The only question then left to answer is how much time it takes each point to play out:
- First, learn how to do the work.
- Then, what to do the work for.
- Next, who to do the work with.
- Then, why to do the work in the first place.
I am currently moving into and most concerned with the third point. That’s not to say the first two are completely resolved, #3 is just the leading one as of now. As a set, let’s say it takes 40 years. In the end you want to have all four locked in. And maybe that’s how you measure the success of a career. No awards, no fame. Just that you, in your own unique, individual capacity, figured out the thing people spend a good amount of their time doing—the Work.
