Are You Going to Make It? The Importance of Being Jobless
Source: http://www.wimsblog.com
When people ask me what I want to do for a living, I say that I want to be a writer. This always sounds a bit false, a bit pretentious, as if I’m trying to seem more refined than those who aspire to be lawyers, or bankers, or whatever. And with Britain fighting the growing problem of joblessness, I almost feel guilty, as though I’m turning my nose up at whatever jobs are left. But, regardless of what people think of my desire to write, the conversation always seems to lead to the following question: ‘do you think you’ll make it?’
Well, do you? It’s not just writers that have to face this daunting, unanswerable problem – aspiring sportsmen, actors, musicians, comedians and others are all subject to this question. The simple fact is that if you want to be one of the select few who can make their living from a creative talent, of whatever kind, you have to face the prospect of failure. There’s no half-way house, really. You’re either a famous comedian, or you’re not a comedian at all. If you can’t make your money from it then you’re not worth bothering with.
Since I’m asked whether I think I’ll ‘make it’ all the time, I end up thinking about its presumptions. Why do we feel the need to divide creative talents into the haves and the have-nots? Money and fame are obviously important – if you make money from your talent, then presumably it’s good. Of course there are exceptions, but as a rule of thumb it makes sense. And if you make money from it, then people will know who you are. It’s this aspect of employment that I want to focus on.
When considered materially, the question of why people seek employment is a simple one. But when we consider it psychologically, the answers are much more complex, much more interesting. There’s a social element to employment that people rarely acknowledge. Employment gives you more than just a job. It gives you more than a pay-check. Ideally, employment gives people social validation. It gives them the confidence, the belief that they’re somebody, somebody important. I’m not just Mr. Johnson – I’m the C.E.O. of an international brand. The familiarity of the brand, coupled with its importance, is what gives certain jobs their glamour. Ultimately, employment satisfies (to wildly varying degrees) the very human hunger for recognition.
Source: newcommbiz.com
What motivation can a man have for spending the best years of his life climbing the corporate ladder? Money, of course. But once security is met, once a safe minimum standard of living is safely within your grasp, money begins to change. It is no longer used for security, but for social status. People purchase expensive cars because they want the social status. They want recognition from those around them. They want their hard-work, their livelihood, to be respected and validated. If a man wants to seem smooth, suave, and businesslike, he might buy a top-of-the-range Mercedes. It exudes rationality, power and ultimately success. The product, however, is not enough. It has to be part of a lifestyle, an ethos. If an employee on a factory shop-floor wore a Rolex to work, it would fail to produce the right effect – he’d look as though he were showing off, trying to look more successful than he actually was. This is why employment is another tool through which we construct our social selves.
Your company can add great prestige to your lifestyle. I work for Bank of America, for the BBC, for Exxon. These names are familiar to millions, their power unquestionable. And, as a part of that company, you gain a share of that glamour, as though the business is an exclusive club. Even small firms talk about their company in the third person – “at Sydenham Roofing and Tiling, we respect our customers”. Employees are assimilated into the greater whole of the company, becoming greater than the sum of their parts. What is McDonald’s? If every one of the fast food chain’s employees quit tomorrow, and all the restaurants were closed, it would effectively cease to exist. But corporations are more than that – they are more than their employees, their premises, their C.E.O. Corporations aspire to be ideals, to be fixed cultural entities that thrive in our collective consciousness, embraced by all as part of the fabric of the world we live in.
It’s almost as though people are afraid that without recognition from society around them, they don’t exist. People want to ‘make it’ because they want the validation of the world they live in. They want to be told by society that their art is good, that their life is worthwhile, as though the only way to ‘be’ something is to sell your labour for it. In Britain, half the people want to be famous, and the other half want to be successful. There is an underlying, unspoken belief that people who are well-known, or who are useful to the state in some way, are somehow more ‘real’ than someone who is not. A writer with a Wikipedia entry is more real to us than a writer without one. Actors on the television become more real to us than our next door neighbours.
We need to admit that this is not true. The precariousness of existence is not subdued by fame or by success – we are all bound by the same laws, we all live under the same sky. A poet is a poet, whether or not his society appreciates him. Whether your office is in the Canary Wharf or in Cornwall, it doesn’t matter. Your employment doesn’t have to define who you are, who you must be. It is harder than ever to follow your dream, your passion, in a world where success is measured numerically. It takes a great deal of bravery to forge your own path and refuse to work just for the money, but it is a much more authentic way of living. And so, when I’m next asked whether I think I’ll make it or not, my reply will be – it doesn’t matter.
Thanks for interesting article, Chris. It made me think about the many years I spent trying "to make it" as a write, and wondering what made other people's words worth so much, and mine....uh, not so much. Like many writers starting out, I didn't have much to say that anyone wanted to hear. On those rare occasions when I did get published, it was always because of what I had to say, not how I said it. Then there is the element of what I -- not being a Holy man -- will call destiny. I didn't publish a novel until I was 59, and a non-fiction book until this year, even though I never wanted to "be" anything other than a writer. I think it was because I was needed on a different path, where I was more useful to humanity. Don't give up the dream. But leave yourself open to the possibility that the path to success could take an unanticipated route, and lead to a life that is actually more satisfying than toiling away in the garret.
I think what you do (one does) is often an extension of your personality - both this and whether or not it is quantitatively successful IS interesting to others. There's nothing wrong with that. It allows a more complete knowledge of your authenticity - do you really pursue what you believe or do you sell razor blades to kids on the side. A poet is not a poet if (s)he writes poems in a vacuum or worse keeps them in her head. Therefore part of any work is sharing your art, beliefs and vision with others or should be; and when shared, those who have 'success' from it have obviously captivated others' imaginations, or have addressed some basic need - these people pique my interest certainly. Whilst I agree that "you are not the car you drive, you are not the money in your wallet" etc, many people - myself included - would be interested whether one is able to subsist on one's creativity. Not only does that make you pretty unique amid the many authors (et al) out there, but it also sets you apart from the people who prefer remain in denial calling themselves an actor instead of a waiter and escape doing something with their lives. Personally I am interested in knowing that about someone. Whether I admire that person or not has nothing to do with it. Saying success shouldn't matter is a pretty much a refusal to look at all facets of mankind in the mirror. Humanity is more than a spiritual quest to be true to oneself. It's also about interacting with others and living in this material society and taking lessons from everyday situations - the challenge of earning your living from something is a big one - an achievement in this game we have invented and it does matter.
I know that I listened to those "older and wiser" and subsisted on my ever-growing skill sets for many years, fitting into that little spot on the social hierarchy that was carved out for me. The most appalling fact was that it wasn't even a loose fit to who I wanted to be. So, I kept chipping away at myself to fit while recoiling inwardly. And I can guarantee that while I met some great people, I lost touch with my true center. I didn't know who I was anymore as I kept at an endless cycle of more. Until I finally cracked and embraced my spirit once again. Thank goodness I figured this out before I was dead. Seems like many others feel the same, judging by the social response to this article. It's pretty hard to be authentic when you have no clue what that even means for you. Suppression of a person's true self doesn't lead to happiness, partly because the little work wheel spins too ruthlessly for us to catch a glimpse of what we're missing. How many successful people do you hear of everyday who give up their monetary trappings simply because they became too heavy to wear? I'm positive that I was never asked of what I thought about entering the rat race. Hmmm, appropriate name, isn't it? Perhaps he's suggesting, like so many of us are, that those old paradigms are meant to finally shift towards what WE all want for this world (and not from just a few select elite). A place where we can be who we want to be, without hearing admonishments that we're not playing the game correctly. After all, life is much more than some game like Monopoly. Success is different for everyone, because everyone has a different set of values. And everyone's uniqueness is what our society desperately needs so that it can re-balance itself in a healthy way once again. Standing up for yourself is not something to be scoffed at. I just hope that Chris decided to follow his dreams much sooner than I did.
Great article! I will always remember the day I quit my office job, it was then when I realized what I really wanted to do with my life. I've been dealing with this whole "and where do you work? but what exactly do you do for a living? and why did you quit your previous job?" for the last couple of years and I don't mind. People do believe they only exist as a part of a bigger organization (call it corporation, university, political party) so it might take a while before they realize their existence is not subjected to job title or university degree.
Thanks for putting your words out there on this subject. You're staying true to yourself, and helping others to do the same. It's not easy, but boy is it worth the dedication. Awesome!
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