How to feed the beast
The Raptors played beautifully last night. I loved watching them, Leonard is like poetry in motion. It helped that Durant and Thompson were not in the game. It helped that Green kept landing 3 pointers. It helped that Lowry did too. Curry carried his team, scoring 47 points and breaking his own 3 -point field goal record in a play off game. The Raptors still won. I can't wait until Friday.
I spend a lot of time thinking about money. Or at least what money can do for me. I have always been driven by the accumulation of money. It represented security to me. It also represented a certain amount of control that I didn't feel I had in my youth. The accumulation of money drove me to start working when I was 11 years old as a babysitter. I've never stopped. I worked at McDonald's, I worked in summer camps, I worked as a bilingual temp throughout university and I worked as a security guard. Today I work for a big corporation. I have spent years of my life in cubicles and "open concept" office spaces. Quite honestly, I think "open concept" is an example of the shaky foundation cubicle life is built upon. From an early age I understood that work was a means to an end. I knew intrinsically that I wasn't going to like having my time controlled therefore I needed to make as much money as I could so I could figure out how to stop working.
I've achieved a certain level of professional stability and I work in a niche industry. I don't like the corporate world. I find it sterile and sharp edged. I think it steals from people and is essentially indentured servitude with a glossy finish. I understand how it works. I understand that capitalism is driven by greed and that work provides structure and provides people with a sense of security. I comfortably navigate the paradoxical contradictions inherent in corporate culture and I've carved out a good place for myself. I avoid being micro managed and I am trusted. These are key goals that motivate one beyond the paycheck. I always keep one eye open when I spend time in the corporate world. It is merciless. In order for me to keep the beast fed I have to keep coming up with new ways to stay one step ahead of it's bottomless appetite. ROI is it's favourite meal and it will stop at nothing to achieve it's goal.
I could have followed a different path. I could have been a teacher or worked in the more ethically minded world of public service. I don't know if I would have been happier. I always had my eye on a goal that I thought would take me to freedom. I was not interested in building a career, I was interested in how to avoid being trapped. I think I thought that security was connected to money. And that's true, money does allow for more choices but there is a great deal of joy to be found in creating a career that intrinsically motivates you. The concept of following a passion was lost on me because I didn't have enough passion about anything other than achieving a level of security for myself. I could have been more focused on on the bigger picture. Post graduate studies might have helped but that's hindsight. Now, my focus is directed on how to walk away from the beast and be independent. Now I understand the system is rigged to benefit those at the top. Now I understand social and economic equality is compromised by corporations. Now is when I take all the years of work and education that I've invested to manipulate the system to my advantage.
As a Canadian I have an inherent respect for social equality. We have a national health care system, a secure central Bank and a social network that provides welfare to those in need. We pay high taxes to try and equally distribute wealth. There are checks and balances in my country. I take this way of life for granted. I look at the US as a failed experiment. I think it's a country of excesses and contradictions. It's exciting to have so much opportunity but like the market economy there is always the looming threat of hitting rock bottom. Canada's social welfare system has more heart. It recognizes that people are fragile and no person is an island. It takes a village to succeed and Canada has persevered in providing quality of life for it's citizens.
So here's my inherent contradiction. I am driven by dollars but I want something different for my kids. I tell my kids to do what makes them happy and the rest will fall in place. I've worked hard to provide them with enough security and stability so that they know they are safe enough to follow their passion. Failure is always an option for them. What I've learned is that it would be better to love as many moments of your life as you can because time is fleeting. I don't love what I do but I love the life I've created. Now I want my kids to love what they do too.
There is no rush to grow up, time is the gift I can give them. I think this economy is not as easy to navigate for our youth. I think social inequality is gradually creeping into Canada. I see the difference between the haves and the have nots. I think my kids will struggle in ways I never had to and I recognize the obstacles they will face. I no longer believe that money provides control. I think the road ahead will be about connection and community. Technology has completely altered the landscape. There is opportunity for change and revolutionary thinking because of the shifts in the economy. I did what I wanted to do with the opportunities that came my way. The longer you live the more you understand the contradictions and moral inequalities we all face in a world that is unpredictable. What I've also come to understand is the search for security will never make you happy. It's what you create along the way that ultimately provides you with security. Those experiences can never be taken away.
The Raptors played beautifully last night. I loved watching them, Leonard is like poetry in motion. It helped that Durant and Thompson were not in the game. It helped that Green kept landing 3 pointers. It helped that Lowry did too. Curry carried his team, scoring 47 points and breaking his own 3 -point field goal record in a play off game. The Raptors still won. I can't wait until Friday.
I spend a lot of time thinking about money. Or at least what money can do for me. I have always been driven by the accumulation of money. It represented security to me. It also represented a certain amount of control that I didn't feel I had in my youth. The accumulation of money drove me to start working when I was 11 years old as a babysitter. I've never stopped. I worked at McDonald's, I worked in summer camps, I worked as a bilingual temp throughout university and I worked as a security guard. Today I work for a big corporation. I have spent years of my life in cubicles and "open concept" office spaces. Quite honestly, I think "open concept" is an example of the shaky foundation cubicle life is built upon. From an early age I understood that work was a means to an end. I knew intrinsically that I wasn't going to like having my time controlled therefore I needed to make as much money as I could so I could figure out how to stop working.
I've achieved a certain level of professional stability and I work in a niche industry. I don't like the corporate world. I find it sterile and sharp edged. I think it steals from people and is essentially indentured servitude with a glossy finish. I understand how it works. I understand that capitalism is driven by greed and that work provides structure and provides people with a sense of security. I comfortably navigate the paradoxical contradictions inherent in corporate culture and I've carved out a good place for myself. I avoid being micro managed and I am trusted. These are key goals that motivate one beyond the paycheck. I always keep one eye open when I spend time in the corporate world. It is merciless. In order for me to keep the beast fed I have to keep coming up with new ways to stay one step ahead of it's bottomless appetite. ROI is it's favourite meal and it will stop at nothing to achieve it's goal.
I could have followed a different path. I could have been a teacher or worked in the more ethically minded world of public service. I don't know if I would have been happier. I always had my eye on a goal that I thought would take me to freedom. I was not interested in building a career, I was interested in how to avoid being trapped. I think I thought that security was connected to money. And that's true, money does allow for more choices but there is a great deal of joy to be found in creating a career that intrinsically motivates you. The concept of following a passion was lost on me because I didn't have enough passion about anything other than achieving a level of security for myself. I could have been more focused on on the bigger picture. Post graduate studies might have helped but that's hindsight. Now, my focus is directed on how to walk away from the beast and be independent. Now I understand the system is rigged to benefit those at the top. Now I understand social and economic equality is compromised by corporations. Now is when I take all the years of work and education that I've invested to manipulate the system to my advantage.
As a Canadian I have an inherent respect for social equality. We have a national health care system, a secure central Bank and a social network that provides welfare to those in need. We pay high taxes to try and equally distribute wealth. There are checks and balances in my country. I take this way of life for granted. I look at the US as a failed experiment. I think it's a country of excesses and contradictions. It's exciting to have so much opportunity but like the market economy there is always the looming threat of hitting rock bottom. Canada's social welfare system has more heart. It recognizes that people are fragile and no person is an island. It takes a village to succeed and Canada has persevered in providing quality of life for it's citizens.
So here's my inherent contradiction. I am driven by dollars but I want something different for my kids. I tell my kids to do what makes them happy and the rest will fall in place. I've worked hard to provide them with enough security and stability so that they know they are safe enough to follow their passion. Failure is always an option for them. What I've learned is that it would be better to love as many moments of your life as you can because time is fleeting. I don't love what I do but I love the life I've created. Now I want my kids to love what they do too.
There is no rush to grow up, time is the gift I can give them. I think this economy is not as easy to navigate for our youth. I think social inequality is gradually creeping into Canada. I see the difference between the haves and the have nots. I think my kids will struggle in ways I never had to and I recognize the obstacles they will face. I no longer believe that money provides control. I think the road ahead will be about connection and community. Technology has completely altered the landscape. There is opportunity for change and revolutionary thinking because of the shifts in the economy. I did what I wanted to do with the opportunities that came my way. The longer you live the more you understand the contradictions and moral inequalities we all face in a world that is unpredictable. What I've also come to understand is the search for security will never make you happy. It's what you create along the way that ultimately provides you with security. Those experiences can never be taken away.
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