Things Discovered Upon Quitting That Cushy Gig
"What?! What was he thinking? Are they going to be OK?"
The reaction to my choice to walk away from the Senior Copywriting job keeping me in streaming and rent is touching but unnecessary. I left the gig because the requirements of the assignment changed from writing marketing collateral to coding an AI program designed to replace copywriters. I don't write code. The CEO and I talked and decided that, as opposed to me grinding away at a series of projects obviously outside of my wheelhouse, I'd move on and he'd hire someone who codes AI.
No ill will, no dissatisfaction on either side of the equation. A shift in priorities for the organization and a reluctance on my part to spend my days engaged in something as alien to me as repairing microchips.
We'll be fine. We have savings and our expenses are minimal.
I'll look for work, the wife will continue to work. All good.
"...the Great Resignation is not a complete rejection of work. For many, it’s about redefining themselves as people first instead of workers. As Americans discern that their job title isn’t the most central part of their identity, Kossek said, “smart employers will realize they need to give more space to employees to develop other parts of [themselves], and develop other parts of their lives that they’ve been sacrificing for so long.” It may be hard to imagine a shift this dramatic in this country’s labor-centric culture, but two years ago it probably seemed unimaginable that millions would quit their jobs amid a global pandemic, too. The people who have found new fulfillment outside their career remind us that tectonic change in American society begins with individuals realigning their life to reflect their deepest values."
I'm finding this sentiment to be true.
For much of my life, I've defined myself in terms of the jobs I've had. My bio was effectively a list of the many jobs I've worked—
Don Hall is a writer, teacher, and storyteller.
In the past thirty years, Don has worn many hats - Senior Copywriter, Off-Strip casino manager in Vegas, Chicago public school music teacher, story slam host, Off Loop theatrical producer/director, the Director of Events for WBEZ 91.5 FM, Front of House Manager for Millennium Park, retired professional trumpet player, and one-time homeless busker. Like each random gig is a chapter in a truly strange novel written by a lunatic.
He lives in Las Vegas with his brilliant poet/musician wife, Dana Jerman. Go to his website donhall.vegas for more info and to the digital magazine he co-edits and to which he contributes regularly www.literateape.com.
His latest book, More Spock, Less Kirk can be purchased on Amazon.
As I've started reimagining who I want to be in my next decade, I realize that a job title is not what I'm shooting for. Not to say that those who so strongly identify with their employment as a personal badge are wrong. Not at all. I'm just less wired like that despite my desire to show people the myriad jobs I've held.
"You'll have a hard time finding work because of all the provocative things you write." Doing the math, I've been writing provocative things for most of my adult life and I've only been without meaningful employment of some sort for around eleven months total. Not a bad track record and writing provocative things has been the default throughout.
I'm enjoying the time to explore and I owe a huge measure of gratitude to my wife for carrying the burden of daily finances for a while as I do it. I'm digging writing about freakin' anything and everything my mind can conceive of. I'm well-versed at this point writing opinion pieces and personal shit. I've written a book (not a compilation of essays as one can see on my Amazon Author page) that starts and finishes as a whole cloth piece. I'm working on a roundabout memoir except using a semi-fictional device to get there. Jumping into a bit of fiction (I find I really like short stories but need some seasoning on the practice).
Of the things discovered upon leaving a solid source of income from working on blogs, VSL scripts, outbound sales email campaigns, and white papers about lead generation via intent data, among them are the fact that I simply enjoy working for myself more than for others.
The trade-off is that, man, I'll never be wealthy. Not in any sort of framework. I'll never retire because I'll never have that fat equity nest egg. I knew all that already.
Another thing discovered (and this through seeking out writing opportunities as well as digging for grant cash for Literate Ape Press) is that the tides are, indeed, shifting when it comes to the ease of being a white guy in America. I think that's for the better in general despite the fact that out of every ten writing opps or grants I find, my whiteness, maleness, and 50+ness prevents me from even bothering to apply. The identity-based opportunities abound and we old white dudes are finding less available.
As I said, I think that is for the overall good. I'm very cool with having to scramble a bit to make a buck writing as long as others who have not been afforded the advantage be given a bit more.
Yet another lesson is one learned over the course my zig zag through the exchange of my labor for cash—I'll be fine. It feels strange not making money in any real sense but it feels fantastic staring off into the horizon of possibilities and charting new courses to pursue. Given my goal has never been opulence or wealth but sustainability, this isn't difficult and is a huge source of fun. I'm an optimistic fucker, so that fits in quite well.
The easy road is to accept that age is a prison. You become obsolete over time. Just resign yourself to that obsolescence and retire to a corner, whittling stick figures and rocking in that chair. I've never been one to take the easy path and I'm not starting now. Like Dylan with his "go not gently" poetic horseshit, I'm determined to continue gathering up experiences and knowledge until I can truly say that I am wise.
Wisdom is the goal. That's the defining element of my specific version of success. It only comes with practice and patience and ungodly tenacity. It's also that Buddhist mantra of the journey being more important than the end of things.
So I endeavor to keep in shape and drop a few pounds. I work toward being a better writer in order to present any wisdom garnered in a way that can benefit those who can read. I try to be the best spousal partner for my wife.
The most essential aspect to gather up in my arms and hug the shit out of is the time to reflect. To plan. To comprehend. To examine. To act.
It's truly easy to get sucked into routine and be comforted by the security that routine offers. It's harder to shake things up, reassess, and forge new paths.
It's a redefining of purpose.
My bio online and in life is more broad and less specific. It is more honest.
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” — Kerouac
From teaching public school music to creating unusual events for public radio, the lessons of decades in both the private sector and nonprofit world synthesize into a writing style that is focused, pragmatic, and persuasive under a patina of aggressive creativity.
I write about culture, left-of-center political thought, and the world around me from the lense of a GenX storyteller.
My hope is that you find something in my sentences that mean something, perhaps cause you to re-think something, and laugh some.
