Dom Kureen returns. Guest opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Ed
Is there someone for every job? If you trekked the globe would there be one brave individual that would take pleasure in unblocking the toilets of a dive bar in Hull?
I remember a friend of my Dad’s telling me that he loved being a Kitchen Porter and had quit a highly paid role within a law firm in order to take his position in the scullery of a two-star hotel. At the time it bewildered me.
Happy people
In general people work better when they care and feel motivated about their job, something illustrated by the likes of footballer Espen Baardsen, an abundantly talented 25 year-old goalkeeper, who played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and at international level for Norway.
Deciding that he had lost interest in the game, Baardsen promptly reneged on his £15,000 per week contract, retired and went travelling for a year. He went on to become a partner in an Asset Management company, something that he says finally made him feel fulfilled in life.
It’s your life
From my point of view, time is far more precious than money. I’m aware that the latter provides an array of opportunities that are otherwise unavailable, yet the idea of going back to working in TV Production, which was financially lucrative, but patently insincere, leaves me cold.
It seemed like a world in which everyone was attempting to trample on each other’s toes, as glorified minions on each rung of an endless ladder took their frustrations out on those directly below them, creating a vicious cycle from which nobody benefited.
I enjoy writing, but thus far haven’t been able to find a viable way of making it my full time career, ditto acting. These both feel like things I should be doing though, like my time is valuable again.
Find out what works for you
It’s not about setting your sights low, or becoming impoverished by avoiding a necessary role within the daily grind. There are times when the ends justify the means, where guzzling a tall glass of Lambrini right now can result in sipping the nectar of the Gods in the future.
There must be a way to do something of value to society, whilst simultaneously avoiding staring out your watch like a hypnotized chimp. The word ‘work’ has such stigma attached to it, from the violent beep of the alarm interrupting a beautiful slumber, to the perceived hours and years lost in order to justify and fund our existence.
King Richard
Richard Branson seems to have it right, looking relaxed and chirpy at all times; although he didn’t just transform from hippy to billionaire at the drop of a hat, working his tail off and finding loop holes in laws which allowed him to make small amounts of money before he really had two brass farthings to rub together, also selling LPs from a church under the ‘Virgin’ moniker.
Where Branson was astute is the various end goals put in place from the get-go, creating exit strategies for each business when they were at the embryonic stages.
Each link important
To me the KP drying dishes and the man unblocking toilets for the benefit of dingy and debauched deadbeats are every bit as valuable as the revered fat cats at the top of the chain.
Whatever level of career someone has, they are a pivotal spoke in the wheel… and if they love what they do then that’s an added bonus.
