經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)是追逐職業(yè)夢(mèng)想的良機(jī)嗎？

Ｐａｍｅｌａ　Ｓｌｉｍ

For a long time, I thought it was totally normal to hear people's deepest creative desires within five minutes of meeting them. Having picked up a prescription at our local grocery store, I told my husband that our new pharmacist longed to be a poet. 'How in the world do you find these things out?' he asked. 'I don't know; I just sense they have a story to tell.'

長(zhǎng)久以來,我認(rèn)為在見面的前五分鐘就可以聽到人們心靈深處充滿想象力的愿望。去地方一家小賣部拿了處方回來后,我告訴丈夫說,新來的藥劑師希望成為一名詩人?！澳阍趺磿?huì)知道?”他問。“我不知道;我只是感覺他們有故事要講?！?/p>

Interest in people, and my curiosity about what keeps them from realizing their dreams, drove me to become a business coach 13 years ago. I love hearing people's stories, and helping the creatively oppressed come alive. Crumbling markets, huge layoffs and widespread financial panic have unleashed a giant wave of creative yearnings. People from all walks of life are realizing the best time to reinvent their careers is now.

13年前,由于對(duì)人感興趣,且好奇于什么讓他們實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的夢(mèng)想,我成了一個(gè)商業(yè)教練。我喜歡聆聽人們的故事,幫助他們喚醒被壓制的創(chuàng)造力。市場(chǎng)分崩離析,大規(guī)模的裁員,金融恐慌四處蔓延,創(chuàng)造渴望卻因此得到釋放。各行各業(yè)的人都意識(shí)到,經(jīng)濟(jì)動(dòng)蕩時(shí)刻成了再造職業(yè)的絕佳機(jī)會(huì)。

I asked a random sampling of my Twitter followers in 'stable' work situations, what they fantasized about doing for a living. One of them said, 'I'm an online education program administrator and I want to start a church.' Perhaps my favorite was the successful entrepreneur who fantasized about being a United Parcel Service driver. Besides the brown shorts, what made him want to pursue that? 'Order, consistency, time to think, exercise, fresh air: basically everything I pine for lost in my agency's mayhem.'

我在Twitter我的好友中隨意抽取了一些工作“穩(wěn)定”的人,問他們對(duì)于工作有什么幻想。

其中一人說:“我是一名網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育項(xiàng)目的負(fù)責(zé)人,我想創(chuàng)辦一座教堂?！蔽易钕矚g的可能要數(shù)一名成功的企業(yè)家,他夢(mèng)想成為UPS快遞公司的一名司機(jī)。除了粗茶淡飯,是什么使他想這樣做呢?“工作有條不紊,有時(shí)間思考、鍛煉,可以呼吸新鮮空氣,這些都是我在深淵般的辦公室里所渴望得到的。”

So why do so many of us perceive ourselves as being so terribly mis aligned with our profession? Upbringing can have something to do with it. A client once confessed: 'My father told me I had three career options. I could be a doctor, an engineer or a failure.' I imagine that when the Grammy-winning singer John Legend broke the news that he wanted to quit his job as a management consultant to pursue music full time, some of his relatives were concerned. Obviously, he made the right choice. Many stories don't turn out that way.

為什么我們當(dāng)中有這么多人覺得自己與正確的工作嚴(yán)重錯(cuò)位呢?這可能跟家庭教育有點(diǎn)關(guān)系。一名客戶曾經(jīng)承認(rèn):“我父親說我有三種職業(yè)選擇。我可以是醫(yī)生、工程師,或者一事無成?！蔽也孪?當(dāng)格萊美獎(jiǎng)獲得者、歌手約翰?萊金透露自己想辭去波士頓咨詢公司業(yè)務(wù)顧問的工作,全職從事音樂時(shí),他的一些親戚會(huì)對(duì)此表示憂慮。顯然,他做出了正確的選擇。但許多故事的結(jié)局卻并非如此。

What separates crazy dreams from viable business ideas? I don't think it has anything to do with the idea, or the profession, or the market itself. It has to do with the person. Jonathan Fields, a high-powered Wall Street lawyer, quit his job more than a decade ago to do personal training sessions in Central Park for $15 an hour. He turned his passion into one of the most profitable fitness centers in New York. He then founded a flourishing yoga studio, which he sold after getting a deal from a major publishing house to write a career guide. Real creative urges, those we are meant to express, don't go away. If ignored, they bother us, affect our health, fester and eventually turn us into the living dead.

妄想與可行的商業(yè)想法區(qū)別之處在哪里呢?我覺得與想法、職業(yè)、市場(chǎng)都無關(guān),而是在于個(gè)人。華爾街大律師喬納森?菲爾茲十幾年前辭職,在中央公園開展個(gè)人培訓(xùn),每小時(shí)收費(fèi)15美元。之后他又投入飽滿的激情創(chuàng)辦了紐約最賺錢的健身中心之一。后來,他還開辦了一家瑜伽會(huì)館,生意興隆。在得到一家大出版社的合同,寫一本有關(guān)職業(yè)指導(dǎo)的書之后,他又將瑜伽會(huì)館出售。我們想表達(dá)出來的真正的創(chuàng)造愿望不會(huì)消失。如果被忽視,它們會(huì)攪擾我們,影響我們的健康,令我們煩惱,最終將我們變成行尸走肉。

There are many ways though to deal with our creative aspirations, as I learned from Anne Nelson. Ms. Nelson left a successful career as a pharmaceutical sales representative when, she said, she realized that her job selling animal antibiotics conflicted with her values. She started down a path of 'self-accuratizing', her term for finding a career that would make her happy. Her first stop was a decorative wall-finishing business, a nod to her study of art in college. Three years later, after spending three days perched on scaffolding painting a living room, she realized that she didn't want to be doing that when she was 55, and quit the business.

對(duì)待我們創(chuàng)造志向的方法很多,這是安妮?尼爾森教會(huì)我的。尼爾森曾經(jīng)是一名成功的藥品銷售代表,她表示,自己后來意識(shí)到銷售動(dòng)物抗生素與其個(gè)人價(jià)值相抵觸。于是她開始了“尋找個(gè)人潛能”之路,尋找一種令她快樂的職業(yè)。她首先做起了墻壁裝修生意,這正與自己大學(xué)的藝術(shù)專業(yè)對(duì)口。三年后,她為了粉刷一間客廳而在腳手架上呆了三天,之后她意識(shí)到,自己不愿在55歲的時(shí)候還這樣,因此她放棄了做這個(gè)。

In Mexico she spent time, 'learning through simple, conscious living, what joy really feels like.' She took up ballroom dancing. She completed an M.B.A. in sustainability. Now she uses visual mapping to help businesses with their conceptual planning; combining her interests: Experience in art, business and using her hands. 'Some people may call me flaky, but I don't really care. I have never been happier,' she said. 'If a situation does not work for me anymore, I leave. My energy is high, I wake up with joy, and I feel alive.'

她呆在墨西哥,“在簡(jiǎn)單而清醒的生活中,理解快樂究竟是什么感覺。”她學(xué)會(huì)了交際舞。完成了可持續(xù)發(fā)展MBA學(xué)位?，F(xiàn)在她使用虛擬制圖給公司做概念規(guī)劃;結(jié)合了她的興趣:既有從事藝術(shù)和經(jīng)商的經(jīng)驗(yàn),還可以動(dòng)手?！翱赡軙?huì)有人說我怪異,但我真的不在乎。我從未如此快樂過,”她說。“如果我不再喜歡這樣的狀況了,我就離開。我精力充沛,每天在快樂中醒來,感到朝氣蓬勃?！?/p>

In this time of economic chaos, people may be inspired by Ms. Nelson's story. Whilst already living with uncertainty, and working like crazy to secure their livelihoods, they might as well pursue something they care deeply about. We may start new businesses and find successful new careers. We will certainly have failed plans, disappointments and broken dreams. But mostly, we will all benefit from the huge blast of creative energy unleashed by people finally pursuing the work that is the best fit for them.

值此經(jīng)濟(jì)動(dòng)蕩時(shí)期,人們可能會(huì)受到尼爾森故事的激勵(lì)。生活已經(jīng)充滿不確定因素,與其說瘋狂地工作以保住飯碗,不如做些自己最想做的事。我們可以創(chuàng)業(yè),重新找到成功的職業(yè)。我們肯定會(huì)遭遇到計(jì)劃失敗,失落,夢(mèng)想破碎。但最重要的是,我們?cè)谧非笞钸m合自己的工作時(shí)所釋放出來的巨大能量將使我們受益匪淺。