work hard and care – the dz rant
Let's be clear. In part, I have what I would consider to be one of several "dream jobs". I'm not travelling the world eating and writing, yet. I'm not the NFL commissioner or a winery owner, yet. But I get to work in the video game industry. I get to set my own hours. Work from any where in the world, mostly. I'm given near complete autonomy, no baby sitting, no micromanagement. I have a wonderful boss that trusts me. I get to work with designers. And producers. And engineers. The lot of which are immensely passionate, enthusiastic, good people. I work with people I enjoy and get this, some are even friends, even outside of work far from the bowels and clutches of the working office. I'm spoiled. I'm rotten. I'm that miserable bastard of a kid that gets to slag one of his passions and get paid well for it.
So, this is in no way a reflection of my current job, my current employer, my current co-workers or otherwise. Nor is this a reflection of the majority of people I've worked with in past roles. What this is, is an observation I've made in the ten or so years of working in corporate America. I ask this of you my occupational work force friends.
Does no one want to work hard any more?
When did lackadaisical become acceptable? The apathy and resignment to complacency is simply stunning. Too many cherish the job where a few hours work is good enough. Content to sit and surf, idle time spent web surfing and messaging and tweeting and water-cooling. Pilfering away the day like it's acceptable, even normal. Parked in a chair content to collect money for virtual grabass with a pension built on the back of sinister mediocrity and complacency. I don't get it.
I want to work. I want to work so hard my head explodes and my eyes bleed. I want to Learn. I want to Grow. I want to be taught by those that came before me. I want to help. I want to dominate shit and get shit done. And I want to be humble when I do so. I'm amazed at how little of this I've seen. It's the exception, not the rule.
No matter what you do, whether you clean teeth, write books, scrub urinals, or fly planes - work hard and care. In the end, those that do, win. And they win daily.