When I first met Pam Slim at an author's conference last year, I was jealous. But not for the reasons you might think. I was jealous of her name, or, more specifically, her last name.
I've always been extraordinarily tall and skinny, and when I was a kid, I wore Toughskins and they came in three sizes: husky, regular and slim. I wore slim. I am slim. So why didn't I get such a perfect last name?
But my jealousy faded, and was replaced with interest, when she told me about her book, Escape from Cubicle Nation. I was interested for three reasons. First, my Freak Factor readers and seminar participants regularly ask, "Are you saying that I have to quit my job, since it doesn't allow me to flaunt my weaknesses?" Second, the most common goal of my graduate students is to start their own business. Third, I've been running my own business, in addition to teaching management, for the last five years. However, I've never had much guidance on how to be an entrepreneur. I've just been figuring it out as I go along.
Six months after meeting Pam, I downloaded her book to my brand new Kindle and read it on the plane during a business trip. I was hoping to discover useful information and I was not disappointed. As I read, I pasted huge copies of text to the Notes feature on the Kindle.
Next Thursday, August 13, I'll be attending Pam's workshop in Charlotte, NC. Over the next seven days leading up to the seminar, I want to share seven lessons from her book that demonstrate the importance of freaking out, whether you decide to stay employed or to make your escape and start a business.
Lesson One: Find the Right Fit
Do you have to quit your job? Maybe. Pam argues that "you aren't meant to have a boss" and she uses a blog post from Paul Graham to support this belief. Here is Paul's story:
"I was in Africa last year and saw a lot of animals in the wild that I'd only seen in zoos before. It was remarkable how different they seemed. Particularly lions. Lions in the wild seem about ten times more alive. They're like different animals.
I suspect that working for oneself feels better to humans in much the same way that living in the wild must feel better to a wide-ranging predator like a lion. Life in a zoo is easier, but it isn't the life they were designed for."
Have you ever been frustrated with your work and said, "this place is a zoo." Maybe it is a zoo and maybe you are unhappy in your job because you weren't designed to be caged. Maybe there is nothing wrong with you. You are just in the wrong environment.
Pam goes on to say that "each of us has natural, organic preferences for how we feel most alive, relaxed, happy, and passionate at work." We feel alive when we find an environment that fits these preferences. Our desires are natural and organic, we don't need to change them. We need to acknowledge them and adapt our lives to them. A lion doesn't need to learn how to live in the zoo. He needs to find the open plains and live the life he was made for.
When we resist the urge to accept our natural preferences and fail to find the right fit, it can be tremendously painful. Pam helps us understand that pain with another graphic illustration.
"I liken it to wearing a shoe two sizes too small. Your ideal situation is like wearing a pair of size eight wide shoes of a stylish, comfortable brand that feels custom-made for your foot and looks sexy too. Your current situation is like wearing a pair of size six narrow shoes, in an unflattering material, with a heel that is both ungainly and unattractive. So why in the world do we try to jam our foot into an unattractive, uncomfortable shoe, otherwise known as our day job?"
If your shoes didn't fit, would you find new ones or would you repeatedly jam your foot inside them, hoping to someday adapt? Would you blame yourself or blame your shoes? Would you change yourself or change your shoes?
Should you quit your job? Maybe, if it doesn't fit. The alternative is even more painful.
Consider this brutal example from Cinderella (not the Disney version). "Cinderella's step-mother instructs her daughters: 'Listen,' said the mother secretly. 'Take this knife, and if the slipper is too tight, just cut off part of your foot. It will hurt a little, but what harm is that? The pain will soon pass, and then one of you will be queen.'"
I've experienced firsthand the pain of trying to fit in and the joy of finding the right fit. Nearly all of my apparent weaknesses were transformed when I left my job as a manager and became a college professor and public speaker. I've felt the freedom of leaving the zoo. I've felt the comfort of finding the right shoes.
- I'm a bad team player but now I work by myself.
- I'm not a good listener but now I get paid to talk.
- I'm not detail-oriented but now I help businesses to improve their vision and strategy.
- I'm bad at taking orders but now I run my own business.
Leaving the wrong environment for the right one worked for me, but before you decide to quit your job, you need to answer these two questions:
First, does your job allow you to do what you were designed to do or does it require you to deny your true self? In other words, are you a lion on the open plains of the Serengeti or are you trapped in a zoo?
Second, does it match your natural preferences or rub you the wrong way? Are your shoes the right size or are you cutting off a part of yourself in order to fit in?
If the answers to these questions fill you with anxiety, don't worry. Pam anticipated this because she coaches budding entrepreneurs and understands their fears. Think of her book as a form of therapy. Tomorrow she'll show you how you can get started on your journey to find the right fit, without leaving your current job.
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Can you show day 0?
Posted by: celebrity tube | December 25, 2009 at 08:17 AM