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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

In the Air: Sick of your Job? Tired of Corporate Life?


Working under a corporate setting for almost 3 years now has nearly caught up to me as I’m beginning to feel my spark fade like a star in a far away galaxy.  I realize that I only need to stick in there for a few more months but like every other highly anticipated event (ie: the day I quit my job), time always tends to slow down.

From 8:30AM to 5:00PM (Monday to Friday), I am literally sitting at my cubicle in front of a computer responding to e-mail requests, phone calls and such for about 90% of the time.  The remaining 10% of my time at work actually involves visiting prospective and existing clients around the city.  But for the most part, I have what some call a desk monkey job.  This is a position that allows one to test the boundaries of ergonomic law through rigorous hours in front of a computer. 

Like every other business, I have a fair mix of clients.  Some are a pleasure to work with and others are stricken with what I call the “one way” listening disease.  Those are the clients who are always right and although they may ask for your advice, seem to counteract your efforts with selfish decisions.  Thinking back, I could have saved quite a bit of money for my clients if they had listened to me.  But like I said, they’ve placed an exit sign in one ear and a second exit sign in the other.   

Minor complaints aside, I’m on an airplane to the Sin City that I funded through my hard earned hours at work.  So in reality, my desk monkey job actually does have some advantages.



But in the grand scheme of things I’m really not doing what I want to do anymore. 

I think most people begin to feel a false sense of security when they think about quitting their job.  But let’s face it, when you’ve reached the point of learning everything you possibly can in your position, it’s time to move on.  Push yourself to be involved in new ventures and don’t be afraid to add a twist of uncertainty to your life.  After all, a boring routine will only suck the life out of you.

Anyone who knows me well enough understands that I rarely tend to stay in one place for a long period of time.  Most people criticize my inability to maintain stability because I’m always moving around.  Well, unfortunately I live off change and staying in motion helps me build momentum for bigger and better things.

I remember when I returned to Canada from South Korea, I was doing a bunch of odd jobs trying to make ends meet.  One of the local placement agencies offered me a couple short dead end jobs, one of which included counting cars at Ottawa University for a nominal hourly wage.  It was so bad that after my first day of running up and down stairs, my knees gave out and I couldn't walk.  I was ready to exit off the site and quit until I was interrupted by a phone call by someone asking me to come in for an interview for a job I applied to off Monster.com.

After three interviews and with very little experience behind my back, I managed to get a decent job in what many labelled as a lousy job market.

The moral of the story is that although I had no idea what I was doing with my life when I got back from Korea, things worked out fine.

Try to look uncertainty in the eye and follow your true aspirations.  Figure out what attracts and gives you energy in life.  Don’t be afraid to embrace change and really push yourself to try something different.  You may be confronted with people who will try to sway you from making what they believe are irrational thoughts, but don’t let them influence your real desires.  Because at the end of the day, you are who you are.

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