The non-traditional career path can be terrifying, and rather unconventional at times. It might not even be taken seriously. It may have no financial security to lean on, and the statistics of making it stick could be paper thin. Either way you spin it, these should not be treated as healthy deterrents.
You’ll Discover Your True Passion
It is often remarked as immature to follow the non-traditional path, especially if it has no monetary reward. But, what if money was no object? As materialists, our careers or successes have been measured by our pay check. Pursuing the unconventional career path however, is often driven by our passion. It’s usually the honest answer to those real questions; what gets you going? What situation can you see yourself living in?
We all have our dreams, but these questions are never taken seriously. If it doesn’t make money, what’s the purpose? Well, so we don’t have to carry on doing things we don’t like. A lot of us can’t see ourselves in cubicles, and if we were to work in one, we’d probably be miserable.
You Take The Leap
The problem with the ‘life is like a journey’ simile is that we’re always trying to get somewhere. Especially somewhere that is not here and now; so, we procrastinate. The unconventional career is more effective with the ‘life is like a song’ approach. You don’t dance to a song just so it can end. You enjoy each step, each movement. That’s the point.
Life has always been undermined by the mechanical ‘A-B’ template. You go to school, then university, gain your degree and get a job. This particular formula is always moving you towards something else (which of course is great.) But you’re not really moving with what’s in front of you.
An aspiring musician, for instance, will can be faced with a structure that is often counteractive to the nature of the industry. Questions about money making, level of talent and overall direction are often fired out at once.
The End Result Won’t Overshadow The Moments Getting There
So, to prove any validation, it’s often we have to produce results fast, by going from ‘A-B’. Then after completing the more traditional methods, ‘B-C’ and ‘C-D’ follow swiftly after. Unfortunately, sometimes the moments in-between have no substance, as they’re overshadowed by that ‘final goal’. The present moments can seem like failures, just because the end result hasn’t been met yet. Always fumbling towards the next note or story, but never enjoying what we’ve been producing.
Motivation often heralds, “keep going with it, you’ll get there in the end”. Well, if that’s any indication, we shouldn’t wait to enjoy something that hasn’t happened yet. After all, as Alan Watts puts it, “one doesn’t make the end of the composition, the point of the composition”. So, if you love it, play the shit out of it.