RandomCrates

How do we define success? Success is money. Success is power. Success is the big house in the fancy neighborhood and expensive vacations. Or is it?

I define success as doing what you love. If you aren’t evangelizing you aren’t successful.

If you’re a teacher and want to spread the word, want to inspire kids, and want everyone to understand the importance and the benefit, you’re successful.

If you work for a book publisher and love talking about the art and science of creating a book and want to change the world through books, you’re successful.

When I say Evangelist, I’m not talking the religious zealots on late night television that come off more as swindlers than true believers. I’m talking the definition made famous by Guy Kawasaki. Loving what you do and spreading the word because of your passion.

If you aren’t doing something you care to evangelize you aren’t going to be happy. Having a sports car and a trophy wife/husband isn’t going to make you happy. Material success is a numbing agent and only dulls your feeling of dissatisfaction. Like any drug it’s going to take an increased dosage to get the same high. Focus on doing something you love. Want to be a fireman? Put out fires. Want to create video games? Learn art, or programming. Want to start a business? Start a business, any business. Want to work on an assembly line creating M&Ms? Great. But, for the love of all things Holy, do not do something you hate. Focus on determining what will make you happy, and do something about it.

As long as you’re passionate and love what you do, you are successful and most importantly satisfied.

How’s that for a title with alliteration! I’ve been working in a corporate environment for the past 14 years, and one

Corporate Cruelty Crushes Creativity

thing that I’ve learned above all else, is that corporate culture crushes creativity.  It’s probably not a conscious decision, but it is definitely a bi-product of control. Corporations are all about control. Trying to set policies and procedures that the worker bees can’t deviate from. There is too much ego, too much posturing, too much control, and not enough trust.

How many jobs ask the employee to leave their brain at the door? I’ve been in meetings where the managers actually say, “We don’t pay our people to think.” If I didn’t care about keeping my job, I would reply, “Well the CEO pays you to think, and if you actually did, you’d realize that you are an idiot!” This mindset is brought about by managers thinking the employees are just going to F things up. When in reality, it is the manager’s poor management that causes the issues.

More… »