What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?
Perhaps cynicism has morphed into nihilism but the idea of a career in the post 2020 world is harder to define. At least for me.
All of this brings up a question I’ve identified and have been pondering for well over a year now: “What stage is there to chase now?”
The thinking comes in helping my daughter I’m finding direction. Her mother and I have nurtured pretty much every interest that has come into view. It’s been great in her building quit the skill stack of obscure things. From sewing and drawing to music and taxidermy. The last is more about learning more so than doing. Before you cringe at the thought, I hope you realize that taxidermy is actually a great expression of conservation and preservation of animals.
Moving on…
One thing that I do know is that before helping another, one must help one’s self. For me that’s been a lot of self reflection, mindfulness and deep dives into what I’ve done over the span of my professional life that started in 1990. Here’s what I’ve deduced so far:
At my core, I’ve identified that my Spark is that of A.) storyteller and B.) creator. Let’s break those down:
A.) Storyteller. When focused, I can break things down and disseminate information in a way in which it helps others get a different look at a particular topic or subject that they may not have been able to grasp before. Applies to both fiction and non fiction.
B.) Creator. The multitude of ways in which to package said information. From pen to page and then all paths available (audio, video, physical item), I’ve built a skill stack that is more massive than I realized. Each useful and valuable but when so plentiful in options, things can get cluttered and overflowing to the point where the options are too many.
All that said, for me it’s a matter of instead of focusing on one, I feel I MUST use all. That becomes noise and clutter but worse, it has led me to boredom, frustration and then overwhelm and exhaustion. I’ll convert all of that into one simple word: Multitasking.
Or put even better; “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
As such, the idea of a “career” is problematic for me. I’ve evolved into a storyteller that has a hard time JUST being any one thing by title:
JUST a copywriter.
JUST a scriptwriter.
JUST an audio producer/ engineer/ editor etc…
JUST a video producer/ engineer/ editor etc…
JUST a salesman.
JUST a marketer.
JUST a promoter.
JUST a manager.
JUST a trainer.
JUST a teacher.
JUST a consultant.
Etc, etc, etc…
All THAT said, it’s nearly impossible for me to simply BE one thing or serve one role. My biggest asset (curiosity) has become my bigger liability (unfocused). So what do I do to contend?
I stepped back and stripped them all down to one focal point: a book.
So now add “JUST an author”.
Shit.
But that’s okay. Thanks to that book and role, I see far clearer what I can do and do for others.
But what exactly is that “career”?
Best I’ve got so far is , like I said; Storyteller and Creator.
The best stage I can chase in this is right here, right now and what I’ve been sharing with you for the last 263 days straight and intend to the tens of thousand of days to come.
Whatever they may bring.
Now, Go Play!
Jim 10/24/2025