For generations now we’ve been teaching our youngsters that the key to success, the holy grail of the modern world, was to, above all else, get a good job with a big company. It’s become such an important story for recent generations that the state of Ohio has written it into the high school curriculum.
It’s gotten to the point that this message has become a mantra, an almost religious directive. We dare not question it because, like other religious dogma, if we do, we are told we’re promised an (after)life of suffering in the fiery pits of purgatory, where those who ignore their elders’ warnings and succumb to the temptation cast on them by the devil are left to rot for eternity.
But what does our lived experience tell us about our ability to survive, let alone thrive, when we are employed by a large corporation? If recent history is any indication, it tells us that such a working arrangement is it’s own special kind of hell. One where we were fooled into believing that all of our troubles would fall away if we just followed the rules.
Got a black magic woman
Got a black magic woman
Could it be that the devil we’ve learned to be terrified of is actually right here on earth? In our endless office complexes, anonymous cubicles, and windowless conference rooms? Sitting in the passenger seat with us while we weave our way through rush-hour traffic, all the while encouraging us to continue to struggle in a system that leaves us with few resources to live on and even fewer options for escape?
I’ve got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I can’t see
That she’s a black magic woman
She’s tryin’ to make a devil out of me
Maybe, just maybe this story we’ve been hearing all our lives is just that … a story. One designed to scare us into submission, to convince us to do the bidding of the wealthiest among us.
Yes, don’t turn your back on me baby
Stop messin’ around with your tricks
Don’t turn your back on me baby
You just might pick up my magic sticks
What would happen if we decided to step away from the temptation of the corner office? The promise of the big bonus? The near guarantee of a life of luxury and, instead, decided to build something more … real … more genuine. Something that gives us peace of mind, the ability to support our families and the time to enjoy our lives?
Yes you got your spell on me baby
Turning my heart into stone
I need you so bad – magic woman
I can’t leave you alone
Who (or what) is the real “black magic woman” in our modern world? And what are we doing to extricate ourselves from her grasp?
If you’re ready to do something entirely different, to find a purpose, a career, a job that fills you up instead of tearing it all down, I want to work with you. Let’s find your Career Nirvana. And then let’s make a plan to go out there and get it.
A little inspiration: https://youtu.be/FF1gbewg6Y4?si=OCHzHC0vGZuzS_wp
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