ON CAREERS || People Who are Motivated and Challenged in Their Careers Never Stop Asking Themselves This Question
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
We’ve all been asked this question before, mostly by our parents or aunts and uncles when we were little. Over time, this question faded into distant memory because we think we’re all grown up and lose that sparkle in our eyes to dare to dream.
Don’t rob yourself of the joy of dreaming. You can and should evolve your aspirations and goals in different phases of your life. The ones who stay motivated and embrace the uncertainty that lies ahead with their careers continue to ask themselves what they want to be when they grow up. Each day brings new learnings, and we are growing because of it.
What do you want to be when you grow up? While it’s unlikely that every day will be perfect, your career should give you moments where you want to laugh like the child above.
What I’ve learned from past experience is that we gain more clarity as we grow up about what we want and what we don’t want in our careers. I’m not talking about wanting to retire early or wanting to have a 4-day work week; I’m talking about the career we aspire to build for ourselves. For example, I started in FinTech back before it was called FinTech, and then transitioned into fashion before founding my own marketing agency and Pendulum Magazine.
I’ll let you in on a little secret — when I was a kid my dream was to become a fashion designer. I had binders upon binders of my sketched designs; from coats to skirts to dresses, I envisioned designs that I would one day want to produce. I had even come up with a variety of hairstyles to match the designs.
In university, I learned about logistics and inventory costs, and decided that an online business would be a lot more lucrative; it was at this point in time that my university business ventures team came up with the idea of an online peer-to-peer currency exchange. Deep within I knew I wasn’t cut out for an office job — I wanted to create and build something where I could take full responsibility for it, and that was what I did. I became an entrepreneur back in 2007.
After a few years in FinTech, a prominent figure in my life passed away, and it made me rethink whether I wanted to stay in Finance forever. I’m good at numbers, but I didn’t want to do it forever, so I got out. I gravitated towards what I’ve always wanted to do — fashion. I went back to my childhood dream but in a slightly different format, I started producing fashion shows.
Three years into my fashion career I was presented with another opportunity, to handle social media for a multi-national company. I realized then that what I loved about the fashion event production career was the marketing component — the ability to dream up ideas to promote our events guerilla-style, and garner support from international brands, fashion designers and event attendees as a result.
So I transitioned again, this time into a solo career as a marketing consultant, and it took 2 years before I had a stable client base to bring on contractors. Another 5 years to get to where I am now with a small team of 10. Throughout my other 2 careers, I figured out that I’m good with numbers, I love to create and test new marketing concepts and ideas, and I love to sell. I’ve combined these passions and skills to utilize them in my current business to build an innovative boutique marketing agency (tests new marketing channels and ideas) that focuses on results (the numbers!)
We always seem to think we’re running out of time. Nowadays, it’s not ‘cool’ unless you’ve already made it in your career in your early 20s. It’s leading to more people being depressed and anxious about their lives. In reality, things take time and it’s okay to change and try things out at your own pace.
Now, I am living the life I started dreaming about 5 years ago. It takes time to make your dreams a reality. Not every business is a unicorn and it doesn’t have to in order for it to be fulfilling for you. Of course, there are all the stressful components that come with the job of running a marketing agency, but I get to create every day.
I am also building towards my lifelong goal, the one I’ve whispered to friends and mentors, the one where I could see myself working on for the rest of my life. It is this. It is Pendulum. I’ve always loved paper, and in particular, I’ve loved the stories conveyed on paper because it just gives it a more personal touch. I know I can always pick up a kindle, but the beauty of print — the paper stock, the finish of the paper, whether it’s a matte or gloss finish, is part of the storytelling, and I’ve always been fascinated and drawn by it.
I am inspired by the stories of the people I meet through this venture, and it helps me maintain a zest for life, and a curiosity to explore new things. It is through these stories that I will stay curious and inspired — this is the state I could revel in for the rest of my life.
New businesses are being started by people who are well into their 50s and 60s. Even though I’m already in my fourth “career”, I still ask myself what I want to be when I grow up. It’s not a question reserved just for children, because our aspirations change with our life experiences and that’s okay. Of course, if you’re changing your path every 6 months then it’s likely too much and you haven’t given yourself a real chance to figure out if something is suited to your career path.
Remember to ask yourself what you want to be when you grow up throughout your career because growing up is what we’re doing every day as we accumulate new experiences.
Reflect on your learnings to understand what you bring to the table so you can map out how you’re going to achieve your dream. Get it down on paper and put action behind your words.
It’s never too late to dream another dream.
