More than a living

When Toby and I started scribbling the ideas that became More than a living, we were trying to find a way to describe the business ennui in which we both found ourselves seemingly irrevocably ensconced.

Part of that cathartic process was giving our goal a name. That concept was “more than a living.” That’s what we were seeking. We knew that we needed a paycheck, but we also knew that there had to be something more.

And this idea resonated with almost everyone to whom we introduced it. Everyone was feeling it. And that’s why we eventually started the More than a living blog. To start capturing those ideas and to help foster a bit of that like-minded community.

Well, that’s not the whole story. There was also a slightly more cynical thread to that discussion. Something that was scratched in pencil on that same page. Right next to “more than a living.”

That concept? “The only constant is you.”

And that’s been coming through, loud and clear, as of late. In the quotes that we’ve posted. In the conversations we’ve been having. In what we’ve been reading.

The only constant is you.

You are responsible. Not the business. Not your peers. Not your boss. Certainly not HR. You. You have to take responsibility for your career. For your growth. And for your advancement.

The only constant is you.

It’s not one of the postulates. But it is the very foundation of each of the postulates. The foundation of More than a living.

You see, we no longer live in the days of the two-page resume. The days where we could start at the bottom and claw our way up to middle management, year after year after year.

Working for a single company. Once. Maybe twice. Spending decades at the same establishment. Getting our cost of living increase and our Christmas bonuses. Only to retire with a fat pension. And be seemingly happy with the whole process.

The two-page resume is a thing of the past. Most of us have had more jobs-and even careers-before 30 than our parents had their entire lives.

But the system has not adapted. The only constant is you, but the systems that are supposed support you are owned by the corporation. Human resources. The performance reviews. Benefits. The assessments. The permanent file.

How many of you actually have the performance reports from your focal reviews at your last job? How about the job before that? How many of you think to ask for a copy of your employee file before you leave a gig? How many of you have ever even seen your employee file?

The only constant is you. But the system doesn’t support that. It supports the company as the constant. The equation is flawed.

That has to change.

You have to start taking responsibility.

In the same way you would refuse to let the company manage your bank account or your family life or your time outside of work. You need to take responsibility for your career and your growth. And how people provide that feedback for your growth.

You create content on your blog. Or YouTube. Or del.icio.us. Or Digg. Or LinkedIn. Or Second Life. Or MySpace. Or Flickr. Or any other multitude of social networking sites.

You manage your social activities in a more stringent fashion than you manage your work and your performance. You need to take a little of that thinking into your career. Into your work. Because, as I’ve said before, work-life balance isn’t going to get you there from here.

The only constant is you.

But that doesn’t mean you’re alone.

We want to help. Join us, won’t you?