This Fourth of July was a first for my husband and I, flying over fireworks en route to our cross-country job relocations. Since the Declaration of Independence, Americans have always placed the highest value on personal freedom. And our move east is no different.
Regardless of the industry or title we call our own, most of us would agree that we are in the lifelong pursuit of a career that offers the promise of the highest degree of self-determination. In fact, when most Boomers are surveyed about their goals for the future, precious few say “retirement.” The majority yearn, instead, for freedom of choice. We get to an age and stage in life where we hope we have at last earned the right to determine what we do, when and where we do it, at least some of the time.
I know that this has been my lifelong quest…and I’ve worked long, hard and mightily for every taste of freedom that I continue to believe, to this day, is my birthright. In fact, one would think that with all this striving, I would have achieved this worthy goal by now. But the truth is, neither I nor anybody I know has as much freedom of choice as we’d like.
For instance, when I graduated college and embarked upon making a living, I sought to incorporate as much choice into my career plan as possible. With the gutsiness of youth, I started my own public relations firm. I would decide what time to come to work every day; which accounts to handle; who to hire.
That lasted about two weeks. As soon as I landed my first client, I realized that I was accountable to not only the CEO, but his staff. If they wanted a 6 a.m. phone call, or for me to work on Christmas day (really!) I had two choices: I could say yes (and surrender my freedom of choice) or say no and be fired (which was perhaps more freedom than I’d hoped for, and certainly not my choice.)
Matters went downhill from there when I got big enough to hire my first employee. Yes, I chose who I wanted. But I worried more that the company support her in the style to which she was accustomed than whether she was working up to my standards. I vividly remember the day when I asked her if I could bring her a cup of Starbucks, just to keep her motivated enough to get a major mailing out on time.
After ten years of this, having grown to 23 employees and even further away from the elusive goal of freedom, I had a brainstorm. Perhaps freedom lies in working for somebody else? I thought I’d give it a try. Let my boss worry about overhead and pleasing me for a change. I would choose to concentrate only on delivering superior work and find the freedom our Constitution promises.
Then I discovered what it’s like to be on the other side of time-sheets, annual performance reviews and ultimately pink slips.
You’d think I’d give up on freedom…but no. My heart still pounds mightily whether over or under fireworks as I contemplate the most perfect of all worlds: self-determination, utilization of my talents to the fullest and, of course, a sense of security.
With every pop and flicker, I await eagerly the no-holds-barred display the fireworks shows promise to deliver in the end.
Maybe this next move? Just the anticipation of it gives me a thrill!