Dropping Keys

The other day I was having drinks with some friends/former co-workers, and after the obligatory round of workplace gossip, the subject of what I am up to now inevitably came up.

A friend (who I am sure will read this) said “People have been asking me what you are up to so I told them about DocumentSnap. They weren’t impressed.”

My initial beaten-into-me-by-14-years-in-the-workplace reaction was to be upset and offended, but then I started to think about what a huge mindshift it is going from corporate life to self-employment.

In corporate life it is about who has what title, where they sit, how much they make, and (real or manufactured) status.

In self-employment life it is about doing what interests and inspires you, and of course making a living from that.

While it is entirely possible that my days of working with the largest companies in the world are behind me, I didn’t get a huge amount of feedback like this in my former job:

This isn’t about a particular post, and I hope my gushing doesn’t embarrass Brooks. I assure you, his readers, that my only relationship with him is as a subscriber. I just want to say that I so appreciate the way Brooks goes about his business here in the blog and in his educational materials: with humility and modesty, humor and incredible clarity; without condescension (and therefore with respect for us); without being insider-y; with the softest of soft sells when he mentions his availability as a consultant or how buying a scanner via clicking on a link here will “buy me a drink” (but how you have other, valid options!); and just with a generally earnest, trying-to-be-helpful outlook. He deserves kudos written better than this, but better this than nuthin’, I hope. What I read between the lines is a really good person; I sure wish his traits were more common. Thanks much, Brooks, and best of luck with all your continuing and new endeavors (or even, out of respect for Canada, endeavours!).

So there you go. I’m pretty cool with the way things are now, impressive or otherwise. :)

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Photo: phoenixdailyphoto