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Authors: Stephen M. Pollan, Mark Levine
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answer.
“I Work for Respect”
Having the respect of others is somewhat important to almost everyone. There are very few people whose egos are so secure (or large) that they truly don’t care what others think of them. But if you wrote that you work for respect, clearly it’s essential to you. My next question is: Whose respect do you want? Think about it for a few moments and then write the answer down on your pad.
Julius Jackson, that client of mine who first said he worked for power but then determined he really worked for respect, told me he wanted “the respect of his peers.” I asked him whom he meant by peers. He thought about it for a few moments and then said, “The African American community.” Julius grew up in a poor household, and put himself through the City University of New York by working as a doorman at night. He became involved with the doormen’s union, and after finally graduating college was hired by the union as an organizer. After more than two decades he had moved up to the executive level of the union.
“I Work for Security”
Security is a very general term. If you wrote that you work for security, you need to expand your answer by getting more specific. Define what you mean by security. Are you referring to financial security — say, having a large nest egg? Or do you mean physical security — maybe living in a low-crime area? Similarly, whose security are you concerned with? Is it just your own, and maybe your life partner’s security, or are you concerned with children, parents, and siblings too? Write your more specific answer under the phrase “I work for security.”
Andy Welessa was quick to tell me he worked for security. A thirty-nine-year-old product manager with a consumer electronics manufacturer, Andy was married with three children and a fourth on the way. He and his wife rented an apartment in a middle-class area of Queens — in fact, the same neighborhood in which he grew up. While he was concerned with financial security — putting four kids through college was quite a task — Andy’s real motivation was physical security. He told me he wanted his children to grow up in as safe a community as possible.
“I Work to Travel”
It’s only in recent years that I learned how important travel is to many people. I think that’s because increasing numbers of young people are coming to see me. By young, I mean people between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, many of whom just recently received their bachelor’s or master’s degrees, and most of whom are still single. I’m not suggesting that the desire to travel is in any way immature, only that it may be more pressing for individuals who haven’t taken on a great many other personal responsibilities.
To successfully kill your career you’ll need to be more specific about your desire to travel. Where are you interested in going and why? Perhaps you want to travel to Europe’s capitals to tour art museums, or maybe you’d like to tour the Caribbean going from beach to beach. Is it the act of traveling that matters most, or what you do when you’re in a different place? In other words, is it quantity or quality you’re after? Write down your answers.
Travel certainly was a pressing need for twenty-six-year-old Nicole Cohen, who told me she had specifically chosen trade-magazine journalism over public relations because it offered more of a chance to travel widely. In the five years she’d worked for a gaming-industry magazine she had, in fact, been all over the world. She’d attended industry events in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Cologne, and she was a regular visitor to Las Vegas and to Native American casinos all around the United States. When I asked her to expand on her travel dreams she talked about how she loved experiencing different cultures firsthand and touring sites of natural beauty.
“I Work to Serve”
Historically, the drive to serve has been powerful, leading people to forgo
“I Work for Respect”
Having the respect of others is somewhat important to almost everyone. There are very few people whose egos are so secure (or large) that they truly don’t care what others think of them. But if you wrote that you work for respect, clearly it’s essential to you. My next question is: Whose respect do you want? Think about it for a few moments and then write the answer down on your pad.
Julius Jackson, that client of mine who first said he worked for power but then determined he really worked for respect, told me he wanted “the respect of his peers.” I asked him whom he meant by peers. He thought about it for a few moments and then said, “The African American community.” Julius grew up in a poor household, and put himself through the City University of New York by working as a doorman at night. He became involved with the doormen’s union, and after finally graduating college was hired by the union as an organizer. After more than two decades he had moved up to the executive level of the union.
“I Work for Security”
Security is a very general term. If you wrote that you work for security, you need to expand your answer by getting more specific. Define what you mean by security. Are you referring to financial security — say, having a large nest egg? Or do you mean physical security — maybe living in a low-crime area? Similarly, whose security are you concerned with? Is it just your own, and maybe your life partner’s security, or are you concerned with children, parents, and siblings too? Write your more specific answer under the phrase “I work for security.”
Andy Welessa was quick to tell me he worked for security. A thirty-nine-year-old product manager with a consumer electronics manufacturer, Andy was married with three children and a fourth on the way. He and his wife rented an apartment in a middle-class area of Queens — in fact, the same neighborhood in which he grew up. While he was concerned with financial security — putting four kids through college was quite a task — Andy’s real motivation was physical security. He told me he wanted his children to grow up in as safe a community as possible.
“I Work to Travel”
It’s only in recent years that I learned how important travel is to many people. I think that’s because increasing numbers of young people are coming to see me. By young, I mean people between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, many of whom just recently received their bachelor’s or master’s degrees, and most of whom are still single. I’m not suggesting that the desire to travel is in any way immature, only that it may be more pressing for individuals who haven’t taken on a great many other personal responsibilities.
To successfully kill your career you’ll need to be more specific about your desire to travel. Where are you interested in going and why? Perhaps you want to travel to Europe’s capitals to tour art museums, or maybe you’d like to tour the Caribbean going from beach to beach. Is it the act of traveling that matters most, or what you do when you’re in a different place? In other words, is it quantity or quality you’re after? Write down your answers.
Travel certainly was a pressing need for twenty-six-year-old Nicole Cohen, who told me she had specifically chosen trade-magazine journalism over public relations because it offered more of a chance to travel widely. In the five years she’d worked for a gaming-industry magazine she had, in fact, been all over the world. She’d attended industry events in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Cologne, and she was a regular visitor to Las Vegas and to Native American casinos all around the United States. When I asked her to expand on her travel dreams she talked about how she loved experiencing different cultures firsthand and touring sites of natural beauty.
“I Work to Serve”
Historically, the drive to serve has been powerful, leading people to forgo
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