Hey, friends.
The gloves (and jackets) are coming off this week in Berlin. It's been hot and muggy, and there's a public transportation strike happening, so half the town is feeling really vibey, transitional, contemplative, and sweaty. The other half is racing around all over the place going to #BerlinWebWeek events and conferences -- yours truly included. Trivia fact for you: I moved to Berlin 368 days ago, purposefully for the start of #BerlinWebWeek 2014. So, I'm a little reflective on this fine Wednesday.
As I flit from conference to talk to dinner to meeting this week, I've been reminded again about how many incredible entrepreneurs I get to see on a day-to-day basis. They're all doing cool stuff. I'm talking fashiontech. Gesture-based interfaces. Artisan mobile coffee shops. Uber for adult entertainment (yes, really). My friends do excellent, weird, exciting things with their days.
Which brings me today today's #entrylevelboss lesson:
Working a job you love is hard....
but working a job you hate is so much harder.
Now, we all know starting a company is hard, and that it takes a lot of work, and blah, blah, blah. But for some reason, there's still also this idea out there that "if you do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Which I've decided is absolute bollocks.
Doing something you love takes a lot of energy and a ton of discipline. I can make it sound all romantic when I say I'm hanging out at tech conferences, and going to Italy to meet with clients. And it really is pretty great. But I am also have to handle potential clients turning me down, press passes getting declined, third-round interviews that never came.
How do you think I got so good at emails? It's because I've sent thousands of them that nobody ever answered.
We like the idea of 'doing what you love' because it's like that nice feel-good wedding scene at the end of a romantic comedy. You get to hear about the happy ending with a dream job (soulmate) without having to learn about what comes next.
I don't think what I'm saying comes as any surprise to most of you. But this is why I so passionately advocate for finding a career that you legitimately enjoy. Because when you're dedicating all that time, and discipline, and drama, and heart to a job: man-oh-man, it better be something you really believe is worth the effort.
I'm not suggesting you all go found a wacky consumer startup (in fact, I would actively advise you consider not doing so), but I am suggesting you take some time to think about what actually interests you enough to get you out of bed in the morning.
I've been lucky to work on a lot more projects that I love than hate so far, but I still suffer from flashbacks to some of those darker, sadder work experiences. Meaning I'm here to tell you firsthand: there's a big ole' dose of morale and stamina waiting for you on the other side.
That's all for today.
Cheers,
Alexa
PS: Speaking of projects I love, I have proudly not missed a day yet for #the100dayproject. I'm shooting the album Kickstarter video next week with Cristopher Santos, who is a barrel of warmth and sunshine and talent.
PPS: Have a topic you want to see covered on #entrylevelboss? Just hit reply to this email, or Tweet me with the hashtag.