“Adam lives in theory, trying to turn stone into bread, masquerading like he’s got it all figured out…” –Lauryn Hill
If I was a bigger spender, I would soo snatch this to commemorate this post...but I think I'll just link it for now and maybe someone will send me one in the future. lol.
I love Toto. Yeah Toto. You know the dog who galloped the yellow brick road with the Murder/Escapist/Hero [R.I.P Wicked East Witch who fell prey to Dorothy's house], the loveable Crash Dummy [straw for brains], the Social climber [who needed a heart], and the Muscle Head with something to prove.
I love Toto, because at the end of the day everyone else pretends to want meet the real wizard, but Toto’s the only one ballsey enough to looks behind the curtain. I’m Toto-ish in life. I keep looking behind the curtain messing up the story line for the other characters.
Social media space is scary for young professionals. Like most, I fear some stray word, comment, or mis-step will ruin the unknown unforeseen future career opportunity that might theoretically be the one thing that I want to potentially do for the rest of my life….which has an unknown length.
The theoretical thing I am planning to do sometimes has me a little “social-media shook”/afraid of OZ. And, for a lot of reasons. Here are a few of the big ones:
- Status…- I Wish “Kansas” could see me now
I’m doing pretty well in my career most would argue. I’m just a few notches away from the top of my organization in my mid-twenties. I’ve got a great boss and team that are committed to innovation. And, I am connecting to, I believe, the next wave of game changers in my line of work. I by no means plan to do what I’m doing now forever (for some not-so-unique reasons I’ll tackle in a future post), but all in all it’s been a great career step and with it has come a bit of status.Status has its benefits, but they’re paired with this feeling of responsibility to appreciate where you are and sometimes a guilt (of sorts) for wanting more. After all, some work their whole lives to get where I am…
- Security… – Please don’t kick me out of OZ
I like having a job. The student loan companies like that I like having a job. I like my car and where I live that are a result of the fact that I like having a job. I am fortunate enough to say, in a rough economy my job is actually in the field that I planned my career. I like this. This is valuable.As an inner-city youth from an urban area and single-parent household, from my background’s socio-economic outlook where I am now looks “secure.”
Yes, I am aware that it is mostly an illusion, but factually I’ve carved a niche and am an asset to my employer. I like being an asset. Social media space has the potential to not only impair my value, but comes with this allure of honesty and false impression that your words don’t have consequences because after all….we’re all just talking right?
- What I’ve Seen… -I don’t want to MEET, I want to BE the wizard
I’m at my 4th “real” job and I’ve sat around enough board tables to realize “all that succeeds is not smart or seemly.” Yup. I looked behind the curtain.And when I did I realized 1)I aimed too low in my career, 2) Titles/credentials don’t mean as much as they used to, 3)Personas/personae are hired more often than people, and 4) the Wizard might not be what I expected….but…uh…. he’s still the Wizard.
I’m not alone. Social media scares a lot of young professionals who have looked behind the curtain.
They may not like what they see, but they can’t help but respect the people who produced and run the OZ they work in. Hopes of status and security scare us “youngins” out of the social space because we’ve stared at the production in front of the curtains for too long and been made to feel like we need to put on our own production to succeed. A production which we’ve been taught requires a barrier.
This results in us working to become personas and not people. Real equitable engagement on- and off-line requires the opposite.
Equitable engagement, to me, is the connecting that’s helping you grow. And how do you do that from behind the curtain? How do you do that when you’re being a persona who knows it all and not a growing, eating, breathing, needy person?
The new generation of professionals and thinkers (they are not one and the same) sometimes miss out because they’ve seen the Wizard. The Wizard looks successful, and failure is scary. So, they hide behind curtains “masquerading like they’ve got it all figured out” feeling like they can’t be human.
I think we need to stop trying so hard to become personas and be human. That’s sort of why I wrote this because I’m just as scared as the next career climber, but my friend Micah told me once…
“Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s moving in spite of it…”
Toto had to be nervous, and I am too…but here we go…(next post in a few days)
