the invention of you
(commenting on this opinion piece by Thomas Friedman in the NYT)
there’s little comfort in the idea that the job i’m going to have doesn’t exist yet. but it’s a reality of which i’m convinced; scary, but challenging, even thrilling.
it can start with throwing a bunch of stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks—being your own editor, finding a voice that’s truthful and resonant. the social technologies of today provide the channels for anyone to be a content creator and an artist in his or her own rite; it’s an unprecedented opportunity to find an audience, gather feedback from a cloud of peers and iterate until something sticks.
but using these technologies begs the question: are ‘likes’, ‘retweets’ and now ‘+1’s measuring the right thing, the thing that matters most? and can we, in an endless mess of distractions and noise, filter down to meaningful content, staying true to our own passion and core values (existential bias present here, but there’s good supporting evidence that ‘following your passion’ pays off).
the previous question could, should and will be explored in depth. mistakes will be made, unauthentic attempts will be revealed. but those with a willingness to adapt, work in radically diverse environments, and embrace the reality that their future job probably doesn’t exist yet, they will be the ones to rewrite the books on what it means to invent the self.
