What is the ideal job or career? This is something that every business school applicant has to think about as he/she writes essays and goes through interviews. For me, it was a deeply soul-searching process. What do I want to do for the rest of my life?
On some days, I thought about how meaningful it would be if I could start a business in the developing world and create jobs for hundreds of people.
On other days (especially after looking at Stern’s website or brochures about their EMT specialization), I thought about how cool it would be to help artists successfully market their creative genius or to figure out innovative means of experiencing music or film.
I went back and forth between the two but now I’ve realized that it was silly to think that I could only do one or the other, which leads me to the point of this blog entry. I think our ideal career or job is one which balances 1) expressing our unique God-given traits and talents and 2) doing something beneficial to society.
1) Expressing our unique God-given traits and talents
I think some pure capitalists may argue that society is inherently most greatly benefitted when everyone act in their own self-interest. While I would probably accept that view more than one which suggests people should always act in the interests of others, I find it to be philosophically and morally “empty”. Do we really want to live in a world where people just think of themselves? I’ve found that people need other people in order to be happy in life, regardless of what they’ve accomplished on their own.
2) Doing something beneficial to society
I think if everyone always acted primarily in the interests of others, we’d live in a very unhappy world. However, I believe we often underestimate how the things we do for what we believe are for pure self-interest do benefit others. For example, someone like Norah Jones probably sings because she loves to sing. But I hope that she knows that millions of people enjoy life a little bit more because they have her music to accompany their lives.
Anyways, all this to say that I think if we really wanted to, we could each find some way to integrate the things that inherently interest us with the things in this world that need fixing. I think what will bring most of us the most joy is when we can fully be ourselves but at the same time, feel like our existence on this planet matters. For those people who tend to think only about themselves—consider what you can do to help others; I think you will find that it gives you more meaning in life. For those people who tend to think mostly about others—do not discount how special and unique you are as an individual; discover who you truly are and do not be ashamed of expressing it.
Peter,
Aye, lots to chew on here. I still reflect on this whole process, considering how I’ve discovered what my true passion is: ultimately, it IS serving others! I believe that our happiness or joy is a byproduct of knowing we’re serving God and man through our gifts, hence bringing them joy in the process.
It’s funny, though, how our passions change with wisdom and time; when I was 12, my goal wasn’t to start a non-profit focused on African poverty issues — I wanted to be an astronaut. Go figure.
Hi,
I’v gone thru more or less similar predicaments but the truth is that we and our goals will forever keep shifting. Hopefully somewhere in a lifetime we will all find a way to be more productive for society without necessarily compromising on all our ’self interested’ goals.
Kudos though, haven’t found too many MBA applicants doing a lot of soul searching.
Best of luck with your endevours. Go rock the world!
m@: I appreciate your comments. But I still think there is more to life than simply serving others. I believe that we are most happy when we *glorify* God, not necessarily just “serve” God. I believe that we glorify God when we live our lives in a manner which expresses all that God made us to be.
Since God made us in His image and God is love, I believe we glorify God when we love others by serving them. That is my philosophy on business: that profit is not an end, but a means to providing meaningful employment for people and creating goods and services that improve people’s lives.
On the other hand, I believe that God is inherently creative and made each of us to be creative. I believe there is a reason why He created each of us so uniquely. I sincerely believe that God is also glorified when we fully express ourselves in the unique way that God created us. When when don’t do that or deny that part of ourselves, we are denying God (and the world) of the glorious expression of His creation. Therefore, in my opinion, “being ourselves” does not have to be a completely self-centered act; in fact, it can be a “God-glorifying” act.