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Tag: career choices

Jul12011

Grey is 18%?

Black. I get it. White. I get it. Grey? Well…

Black is 100% black. White is 100% white. There is no question. Ah, if life’s choices and answers were but black and white!

Grey, for some reason is 18%  (I know this from the camera department).

But where did 18% come from? I mean, why isn’t it 100% grey? Or even 50% (half way between black and white)? Now, THAT I could understand. But then again, if it were, then grey would be a black-and-white kind of grey, wouldn’t it? And when it comes to grey, it’s… well… grey, isn’t it? And a whole bunch of new questions tend to come with “grey” answers, don’t they?

So, why not 18% after all?

Best wishes with whatever is “grey” for you today!

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

Feb112011

Inspiration at the Movies: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Soon we must all face the choice between what is is right and what is easy.”
– Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005)

These words ring so true when I think of eating: choosing between what is healthy and what is fast-n-easy. Whoah… that’s a hard one!

Yet, I’m not sure that our choices are always “easy” vs “right.” Indeed, doing the right thing in many cases takes enormous effort. When faced with a difficult choice such as “easy” vs “right” we need to find the belief in ourselves – the bravery – to choose the right path.

Step one is recognizing the choice and listening to the inner voice to know which path is the right one. That choice may not be clearly visible until you’ve taken time to consider the situation. “Easy” choices tend to be about “doing nothing,” “doing what you’re told,” “doing what’s expected of you.” And yet, I cannot say that’s even true all the time. If you’ve ever watched a chicken hatch from an egg: it appears to be an impossibly hard task, and yet you cannot and should not help. If you do, the baby chick will not be strong enough to survive in the world. You must do the right thing by “doing nothing” and let the baby chick work it out.

Step two is then finding the bravery to then act on the right choice (for even “doing nothing” is taking action!). Call it inner confidence if you must, but I prefer to call it bravery. For in bravery there is fear and uncertainty… yet you act anyway. And typically, that’s how I feel inside when taking the right-but-not-easy path. Don’t you?

Step three is having faith as the events roll out. Tense times, but they pass and eventually you will see the outcome of your choices, helping you to make more educated choices in the future (notice I didn’t say “better”?). And new choices will indeed present themselves soon enough, won’t they?

Cheers… to the bravery in you and me,
Deb

Dec312010

Stoplight Career Choice

I love this light. Every time I see it I can’t help but think about the career choices we are faced with in this industry.

You are choosing between this job or that job, each with different pros and cons.

Job #1 is a relatively long contract, so you won’t have to look for another freelance job for a good year. How nice. Of course that could also mean that you’ll be out of freelance circulation so long that your contacts forget to call you when new opportunities come up. You’re not the type of person to take a job, and then quit it as soon as something better comes along; you’re going to commit to this job for the long haul. The pay, of course, is lower than what you’re used to, but it’s decent enough. The steadiness of the pay cheque will probably even out over the course of the contract to the feast-n-famine freelance lifestyle  of other jobs anyway. The project itself is inline enough with your career goals, but you are only mildly interested in the creative material. You have the ability to do a great job  and there will be sufficient challenge to keep you interested and striving to do your best.

Job #2 pays better but is a very short term contract of 3 weeks. The creative material really excites you, but you’ve been having more famine than feast of late, and don’t look forward to working hard on production knowing that you’ll need another job again very soon in order to cover the bills. You have the ability to do a great job here too, though some of the challenges are like walking into unknown territory and that scares you a little.

Which job do you choose?

You have a mortgage and family… now which job do you choose?

You are instead choosing between job #1 and no job at all (just the potential for finding another one)… which do you choose?

Who knows what lies down each of these paths! You can only learn about one of them. You may be able to see a part of the way down the road (to influence your decision) but not all the way. From this perspective, then, they are equal choices; they just take you down different roads… each one forward in its own way.

Does the choice bring you another step closer to your ultimate career goal? Can you make a certain choice at this moment in your life? You – by making your selection – are the one who brands the choice as “right”.

Best wishes in making your choices

Cheers & prosperous 2011 to you,
Deb

P.S. I took the short term job to the surprise of my closest friends who thought I would be more tempted by the steady nature of the first one. It was a tough choice at the time, but inside I knew it was right for me at that moment in my life… you know what I mean?

Dec32010

Inspiration at the Movies: The Polar Express

“The thing about trains… it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”
– The Conductor (The Polar Express, 2004)

These words make me think about making decisions. Getting on – the choosing to act – is certainly a decision… an active decision. And yet not getting on – the choosing not to act – is also a decision… a more passive decision. How many passive decisions do we make in our career, really? The Conductor sagely reminds us that it’s all about getting onboard. Though you may not know exactly where you are going, or end up wher you originally planned to go, you’re bound to have an adventure and really live life if you make the choice actively.

Festive cheer to you & active production decisions,
Deb