How To Be Successful Without Selling Your Soul: Tips from a Pro
Often, I’m told that it must have been scary to leave a corporate job for a career of uncertainty and an almost guaranteed drop in income. I’ve unexpectedly become one of the quasi-Millennial spokespeople for hopping off the corporate hamster wheel and into an entrepreneurial, creative pursuit.
Working is an incredibly misunderstood activity. When it comes to being successful most people spend a tireless amount of time and energy focusing on a talent or job-specific skill set. These things are immensely important and I don’t want to undersell them, but success requires salesmanship. By no means does this mean you have to become a painter or a bakery owner that acts like a car dealer on a used car lot. Without giving it all away at once, let’s dig deeper.
“I came to New York incredibly unsure of how life would unfold and clueless of the things I would try…”
Several years ago I left Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst trading equities and some fixed income products. There was an itch inside me, and a mentor helped plant the seed that would later scratch that very itch and propel me towards photography. I’m now four years into my profession and I’ve had the opportunity to work on many other related things such as creative strategy, ecommerce consulting, and content creation.
This year, I finally felt like I found my footing in who I am. I’m a southerner that loves video games and shooting guns. I came to New York in 2008 incredibly unsure of how life would unfold and clueless of the things I would try that would actually stick. Almost ten years later I find myself regressing to childhood loves, and yearning for a simpler and slower life to mix with the fast-pace of my city hustle. I’m rambling a little bit, but the point is that listening to yourself is the first step to becoming successful with integrity.
“…but the point is that listening to yourself is the first step to becoming successful with integrity.”
Recently, I was having a conversation with a buddy and things started to come full circle. It was a bit of a third person experience when I heard myself say, “I feel like I served my time in New York and it’s time to hand off this wonderful opportunity to people still searching for themselves in this city.” Whoa, I never thought that would escape my lips. He had only asked me what I was working on! I had explained that besides photography, I was working on plans to build a small partnership with a friend for creative services, snap up a bed-and-breakfast, and developing a plan to open a gun range in my hometown – Atlanta. I always have a lot on my brain, but the key is listening to yourself and following the leads that provide a return on your happiness. Don’t chase money.
The secret sauce is simply this – success tends to gather around those that can merge great curiosity with hunger and excitement (read: passion). Curiosity, hustle, and passion wrapped in a sales toolkit prepare you to aim at targets that get your blood going, and lead to you landing more of those opportunities than others. This is not to say that this formula will work for everyone, and we won’t always get to accomplish success with absolute purity or without weaving in and out of the path we draw for ourselves. However, if you can combine these three things under the hood, you vaccinate yourself from saying yes to too many opportunities that chip away at your soul and your sense of self.
Success requires drive, and it’s hard to keep gas in the tank if you’re constantly spinning your wheels on jobs that don’t help you go anywhere. And here’s the disclaimer that should have come above the fold: I consciously take some jobs for the money. It is completely acceptable to do that as long as you operate a balanced and healthy work and life diet. We all weren’t made to be NBA-level performers getting rained on with numerous contracts for numerous opportunities that are all entirely aligned with products and activities that we love.
Reality requires us to participate in things that suck. Success isn’t completely unbundled from soul-selling. It’s all about how we use our passion, curiosity, and hunger to minimize selling our souls and maximize the alignment of work with the things that truly interest and challenge us on the road to happiness and success.
Words by Justin Bridges.
Justin is a talented fashion and lifestyle photographer based in NYC. See his work here. He is also the mind behind Freelance Kills, visit that here.
If you liked this story, check out more in our Urban Transplants issue.
