“When we retire…”

My wife and I were talking the other day about what we’d do after all the work was done and the tot was in college learning his thing. What would we do when we had some real choices? My wife mentioned her PhD in history and I suggested that we should throw ourselves into charity work – putting in as much into a cause we believe in as we did to the corporations on our resumes.

I then figured that why should we defer such choices? Should we not look to do what we really want to now rather than later? Sometimes it’s just for the love of something and not necessarily for the money or prestige.

Conference Day 1 – It ain’t so bad

After a 5am start, a bus ride for an hour and a half, and a crude breakfast served in a brown paper bag, the conference isn’t as excruciating as I imagined.

The director opened proceedings and shot from the hip, no punches pulled. There were no bonuses because as a corporation we didn’t hit our numbers – simple. He agreed that everyone did the best they could and that even though external/non-controllable factors were a greater influence on the poor profitability, the rules are the rules. I respect the honesty. If anything, I have a newfound respect for the company. When truths are laid out like that, it eliminates the mistrust and suspicion, creating a desire to move on.

This could be an interesting conference, after all.

Finding the Spark

I’ve struggled with motivation lately. This isn’t because I’m intrinsically unhappy. I have a good life, particularly outside of work. Somehow, I lack the va-voom to climb corporate mountains or to tackle oppressive managerial beasts these last few months.

This pains me because I don’t want to remain a corporate nobody. Like a lot of people, I’d like to leave my mark somehow. It’s just that when that burning fire inside cools to a tiny ember, the goal seems so far away and reviving it seems a tedious chore.

Is it my age? Have I been at this too long? Or do I just need a moment to recharge?