CEO
Lawyer
Engineer
Boss
Trainee
What do they amount to?
No, I mean it. What do they amount to?
A life wasted trying to climb one greasy pole after another.
Did I change?
No, not really.
Sure, I increased my knowledge and skills but there was precious little shadow work. Mostly, if not exclusively, it was about pandering to my ego. You know, that sense of importance we feel in doing a good job, being seen and (hopefully) recognised by a cohort of people who we seem always to want to please.
Who the bloody hell knows…
Sure, I’m a lawyer. Likewise a coach. But I don’t parade said titles about nor rely on them when serving my clients or helping others to understand who or what they truly are.
If I’m honest, I’d rather not label myself at all.
(I still like the recommendation I got from my former training principal when I was a trainee solicitor. She said: “Good bloke”. Seems apt even after all these years. But what I do really know?)
What about you?
How much does or has a title come to define you?
Not that you’re going to change but my advice is to be careful what you wish for because, in the end, believe it or not, you’re not your job and your job is not you. You’re much, much more than that, i.e. a human being.