creative maverick

Many years back when I had my last job as a computer programmer, I knew I wanted something else but couldn’t work out what it was.

I realised the only way I was really going to work out what I wanted to do was to imagine that I could have anything I wanted in the world of work.

And what I wanted was not to work.

I didn’t want to sit on the sofa all day doing nothing, I wanted to play - to do whatever creative, fun stuff I love doing. And still get paid. So my new career goal became “To play all day and get paid”.

Of course this is impossible right? But it wasn’t long after this realisation that I got exactly what I wanted. The company announced a chance for voluntary redundancies and I jumped at it. I got paid several months of wages - to do whatever I liked. Some other staff bought sports cars. I didn’t. I played.

I created music, did some writing and made an exhibit of myself in a museum. And I started on my first forays into the world of self-employment. This time of play led me into the most exciting and fun job in my career. But it was still a job.

When I later got into stand up comedy, I put this into my routine:

I worry I’m in the wrong job, in fact I worry I don’t suit jobs. The money’s OK, it’s the working I have a problem with.

And sometimes I think my life is just too full to fit a job in. I’m too busy doing stuff that’s actually fun and that work thing just gets in the way.

My career goal is to be paid for just being me, living my life; I’m very busy, I’m putting in the hours, I should get compensated.

“Name of role… being John Williams”. I’d wake up in the morning and my boss would come in and go ‘well done John, another great week, here’s your wage packet’.

In reality this is exactly what I want; to be able to do whatever I want to do. To play all day and get paid. To get paid to be me.

This blog is my attempt to see if I can do it.

Would you like to join me?