Learning, Earning, or Fun
“I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said ‘Sit down’ I stood up.”
- Growin’ Up, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (The Boss)
When considering a new project or new job, here’s a helpful question to consider.
Does it optimize for learning, earning, or fun?
Every once in a while, a job will optimize all three. But that’s rare. There are usually tradeoffs.
The highest paying job I ever had wasn’t particularly fun. Interesting? Sometimes. Fun? Not really.
And my most fun jobs didn’t pay very well. Being a summer camp counselor was fun. So was selling beer at minor league baseball games. But neither of those jobs helped me save for retirement.
It’s rational to trade earning for fun, and vice versa. But we should always try to optimize for learning.
The first half of Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography makes some things abundantly clear:
He had no natural ability to play the guitar. In fact, after his first lessons, he quit, unable to play a note.
He had no singing talent. Every group he was part of needed a lead singer, and it wasn’t him.
And just about everyone dismissed him. Audiences walked out, his first agent simply stopped returning his calls and bandmates gave up and moved on.
He didn’t even know how to drive a car. Not only wasn’t he dating in high school, he wasn’t even cruising around town. [….]
Showing up is something almost every creative leader has in common. In business, in the arts, in society. Consistently shipping the work, despite the world’s reaction, despite the nascent nature of our skill, despite the doubts. [….]
First, you have to commit to the journey.
- Seth Godin, Born to Run (Things)
Talent is helpful. But overrated. Skills can be acquired if you commit to the journey.
Most of us won’t ever be rock stars, but that’s not the only job that optimizes learning, earning, and fun.
If we’re consistently optimizing for learning, we increase the likelihood we’ll someday find our own opportunity that optimizes all three.
