“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.” – Oriah Mountain Dreamer
I’ve seen this quote before, but when Jess shared it last week it really hit home.
I don’t care how much money you make.
I’m not going to judge you based on your job title.
I have friends who are teachers, marketing professionals, engineers, actors, still finishing school, physician’s assistants, physical therapists, IT consultants, personal trainers and so much more. Do I like certain friends more because their job title?
Absolutely not.
I care about the things that make up you – what do you love doing? where is the coolest place you traveled? the funniest thing you’ve ever done? your biggest triumph? your biggest failure? what do you believe? what do you support?
So often I get asked what I do and truth be told, I hate talking about it. I would much rather say I teach workout classes and run a blog than talk about my marketing degree, or the current job I have.
I think people base so much of their worth off a job. WHO the eff cares. I get it, we all need to survive and make money, but don’t you dare think you’re better than the Starbucks barista you see every day because you make cheap generic medications four times the amount they do.
I think a lot of society (at least in the United States) focuses on letting your work position define you – which couldn’t be further from the truth for some people
I’ve held a lot of positions in my working “career.” In the past almost 10+ years I have worked as:
a fitness instructor
a tutor
a volleyball & swimming coach
a sales associate at the GAP
a babysitter + nanny
a lifeguard
a gym supervisor
a physical therapy assistant
a digital marketing intern
a sales development representative
a regional marketing specialist
a blogger
Heck, at 12 my best friend and I convinced a local shop to agree to sell our handmade glass beaded bracelets and divide the profits. We even had business cards.
Would you think of me differently if I introduced myself as a fitness instructor instead of a marketing specialist?
As a nanny instead of a salesperson?
None of these positions change who I am at my core, but they all hold different connotations.
Your job title doesn’t make you. How you treat others, and yourself, what you believe, what you stand up for, what you work hard for…those are the things that make you.
Thanks to Casey for snapping these in STL last month! And have a great week!
xo, Maddy
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more about me
What a great post! I am going to be 100% honest – my husband is an attorney and a lot of times I feel a little less important because I am not something like that. I am a graphic designer. He doesn’t make me feel that way. It is just internal. That may sound stupid, but it is true. So I totally relate to this post!
Nikki
thefashionablewife.com
I completely understand what you mean, and I think how our society views jobs can lead to that self-inflicted internal insecurity. I’m hoping the tides start changing with that, even just slightly.
And graphic designer sounds way more enjoyable than an attorney to me 🙂
i’m often told that being in the social work realm means i know that i won’t ever make much money. to me, that is something that has to change. why should people doing such important work understand that they won’t be making real money. how insane. can’t that change? can’t the shift happen where instead of an understanding that thank god my husband’s an engineer or else i’d barely make ends meet shift to wow, that’s important, and therefore worth a lot more?!
ugh.
i met someone at a wedding a while back who said to me “so what do you do when you aren’t working?” what a wonderful conversation starter, and more accurate a reflection of me than my job!
first off – I love that way to start a conversation!
Secondly, things do need to change – we can’t keep requiring students to go into debt for a degree where we don’t pay them enough to pay off that debt. Especially since they are HELPING PEOPLE.
This is so true! Once I realized that it didn’t matter what I did or what my title was or what company I worked for, I was able to really focus on starting my own gig. Now, I’m not there yet, but it’s easier to give that all up when you realize it DOESN’T matter!
I am excited for future conversations with people from my hometown when I tell them I work for myself (SOOOOOOON) and they’re like, “but really … what’s your title?” <— It'll be fun. 😉
yes, it will be so funny! but hey, you can make up whatever title you want – get crazy with it haha
Beautiful quote. What we do indeed doesn’t define us. What’s important is that we don’t do any bad things and our heart. Love your skirt!
Madame X
The Flower Duet
exactly. Thank you for stopping by! xo
I totally agree with this post! 100%
http://www.paddlinginstilettos.com/
Thank you Ann!
Great post! I hate when people judge other people because of their chosen jobs. For me, as long as it’s not illegal or taking other people, why the f*** do they care? Anyway, I love your look especially your shoes 🙂
STYLE VANITY
YES! glad to hear you agree. and Thank you 🙂
I love this, but especially this part:
So often I get asked what I do and truth be told, I hate talking about it. I would much rather say I teach workout classes and run a blog than talk about my marketing degree, or the current job I have.
SAME. In fact, now, I catch myself saying “I teach barre and write. Oh, and I’m in marketing by day.” Honestly, I identify more with my coaching and my writing gigs than I do with my marketing job. I like it well enough. I’m good at it. But I know its the job that “pays the bills” while I grow the other “things” to a point that they will pay the bills. 🙂
Yes, 150%. I hope to one day use the skills from my marketing degree & jobs to make my own way to pay the bills. Keep up the hustle lady 🙂
This is such a great post! In the last 10-15 years, I’ve had all sorts of job titles too. I think I’ve always let them define me, so there’s been times where I’ve been a bit embarrassed about my titles. It’s definitely silly, when you think about it.
Anyhow – I will be sharing this post in my reads, eats and buys this week because I think it’s a great read! 🙂
Jackie
Something About That
Thanks so much Jackie! And yes, we are so much more than our titles 🙂
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