This, That, and the Other

What do you do when you don't know what to do? Everything, as it turns out. 

I used to have an employee named Olga. She was in her early 50's, was a cancer survivor, and had a zest for life that was unmatched by her teenage coworkers. She worked for me in the mornings, waiting tables, and did some promotions for a winery at night and on weekends. I asked her about her work ethic, and she told me a story about her father who lived in East Germany during the Soviet occupation. "Olga," he would tell her, "the money is lying in the streets. You just have to bend down and pick it up." 

I ponder this bit of Cold War wisdom from time to time. Changing careers is rough, and it's easy to blame the economy for difficulties in the job hunt, but really it's just hard to take off the blinders and move beyond the preconceived ideas of what makes a career. The money is lying in the streets, but can we bend down far enough to see it?

My parents generation seems to have had it easy: college degrees seemed to get you jobs in those days, and open positions were apparently posted publicly. My dad and my friends' parents have mostly held the same job for most of their adult life, or at least stayed with the same company. My grandparents, on the other hand, changed jobs multiple times. Grandad Daniels, for example, was at various times an auctioneer, the owner of a bowling alley, and a floor manager at a factory. I wish he were here to give me some advice, because I relate to his life more than ever.

Right now I'm interviewing for two part-time or freelance positions. If I can get them both I'll be working five different career angles at the same time. And I'm certainly not the only one; several of my friends are renaissance workers. Carly is a waiter, editor, florist, and pet-sitter. Maya is a bartender, actress, writer, inventor, and makeup artist. Micha is a film producer, county arts manager, hat maker, standardized patient, and retail salesperson. If it all works out I'll be a bartender, personal assistant, copywriter, video editor, producer, screenwriter, and novelist.

The money is in the streets, indeed.