Man on a mission

If you catch a music video on TV, more often than not you will find that a high-maintenance lifestyle is in the spotlight. The singer portrays the "good life", and fans aspire to get into the same spotlight and life of luxury. There is nothing wrong with expensive jewelry and customised cars. There is also nothing wrong with life in the spotlight (after all someone has to be in the spotlight!) The challenge i show such videos and films affect our understanding of ambition. More often than not, if you ask a young person how they see themselves in future, they will talk about how many zeroes they want on their paycheck. Fair enough, press further. When you ask what they want to DO that will earn them that paycheck, they will blurt out some foggy idea that will sound something like winning the lottery or being paid for looking good in an executive office chair. In other words, they aspire to a life of high spending but do not aspire to productivity.

Okay, this pearl of wisdom did not hit me all at once. I am coming from a generation that looked at careers like fashions - what is everyone going for, which has the guaranteed paycheck? And I am not saying that these considerations are not important. But we need to start looking at our competences. What am I skilled at doing? What sort of things can I do, which always bring people back asking for more? Before we consider the upper class living, we must consider the productivity aspect. 

I knew a man who spent between 15 and 20 years playing the lottery, waiting for that big bread. He would spend Sunday afternoon listening to the radio, each day believing that "This is the day they call out my winning number!" The years came and went. They never called his number. Perhaps we need to focus more on our purpose, on apprenticeship, on small steps rather than big leaps. If a big break comes along, well and good. But until then, we must sharpen our skills and be the best we can be, at what we are supposed to do.

I wish our music videos could focus more on our mission, our task as citizens, as co-workers, as employees and friends. If we rewarded character and skill, rather than bootlicking and nepotism, maybe, just maybe, we will all be better off. Just some thoughts! We should prefer to be the man on a mission, rather than the man waiting for that lucky break. If nothing else, we will be able to say "What a ride!" And we will have served and helped a lot of people along the way.