“What will you do with your Freedom?”
This question was posed to me by a great coach I was working with, named Susan Cannon.
We were having a conversation about life after advertising.
I was still in advertising at the time with no plans to stop.
But…
This is one of the great things coaches do. They help you see what you’re not looking at.
She explained to me that your career works in stages.
At the time, I was at “Success.” That sounded like the pinnacle.
But wait, there’s more.
There’s a level beyond which I wasn’t thinking about, which I’m living now. And that level is “Freedom.” A time to do the things that bring you joy.
Seems so obvious and intuitive — but it’s not. Almost everyone I talk to thinks they’ll “work forever.”
Maybe.
Once I heard about the stages, my thinking changed.
See what you think.
The ladder and your career begin with “Discovery.” As Cat Stevens once sang, “You’re on the road to find out.” What are some things you are attracted to? What do you think you could be good at?
Once you find something you like, you commit to it. You start to focus. You learn as much as you can about a given field and start doing it. That’s “Commitment.”
Now, once you commit and start to gain your sea legs, you start to get good, and you start to produce and deliver. Over and over until you become a master, and that rung is appropriately called “Mastery.”
At Mastery, you truly know your stuff. People rely on you. People come to you. You may even have earned a degree of fame in your industry. Not too shabby.
That leads to “Success.” After all, once you’re really good, people will start to pay you for your talent, skill, experience and reputation. At this point, you may have elevated to the point where you have many people in your charge. Or you own your own business. You have notoriety, influence, some money in the bank and some equity. Congratulations!
And then, one day, you might get asked, “So, what’s next?”
Success forever?
Hardly.
There’s this other thing called “Freedom.” The chance to do what you want to do. And, well, Freedom is a pretty nice place to be. Exceptional, really.
But then there’s a little thing. A little something. A little…nagging? A longing? A calling? Something. Something that reaches out to you and says, “We need you.”
This is called “Purpose.”
It might be an endeavor, or a person, or even just a feeling that somehow giving back or giving to something will make you feel whole. Of course, you needn’t look for it. It’s there. Or it’s not. It’s your call. After all, you’ve earned your Freedom.
So…
After hearing all of this, I have one question for you: where are you now?
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.
Header image by Mohamed Nohassi for Unsplash+. Other imagery courtesy of the author.
