Mark Twain famously said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” While there’s a nugget of wisdom in there, it’s also a bit of nonsense. Mark Twain made an enormous amount of money from his work, and he worked alone. That’s not the norm in this day and age.
Let’s say you are a musician and you love being one. You might grab your guitar any chance you get and it brings you joy every time you play. Yet you still have to deal with booking gigs, collecting payments, doing your taxes. These mundane tasks are necessary parts of the “job you enjoy doing” and are unavoidable whether or not your job is your passion. It’s all work.
But what if we switched this to “Find people you enjoy being with….” In my mind, that’s far more important. Twain’s original message doesn’t take into account people – the human beings you interact with every single day. My role in this company is one of many hats. I’m a project manager, an account director, a bookkeeper, sometimes a chooser of fonts; it’s a lot of admin with a tiny splash of creative. Does anyone dream of endless spreadsheets and Gantt charts? Probably not (though I secretly like a good spreadsheet). Don’t get me wrong, there’s something very satisfying about making project schedules, and tasks like invoicing can be somewhat enjoyable because they are easy to check off a to-do list. That all said, I have a piano and a drum kit about 15 feet away from my desk tempting me daily. If I had to choose how to spend the next hour, I might not pick invoicing over drumming. If we go back to our musician: no matter how much you enjoy your guitar, as soon as there is personal drama in the band things get unenjoyable very quickly. Your next practice becomes a huge chore. Finding the gigs is a pain and isn’t worth the money. You need to like your bandmates or at the very least, be able to work nicely alongside them. Whatever you’re doing, your days are so much better if you vibe with the people around you.
This is why I am grateful for the day that these two guys asked me to partner with them in Ranger. I had worked with them both off and on for a number of years so it seemed like a natural fit given our skillsets. Aside from the initial logistical challenges of “how are we supposed to make this happen?” one of my more immediate thoughts was “can I work with them at this level every single day?” The answer was and still is a resounding yes. We vibe. We can all be kooky together (I laugh a LOT with these two around and may or may not have referred to them at times as Statler and Waldorf), but we all know when to buckle up and get serious. We respect each other and take care of each other while taking care of business. This dynamic might not be your jam, but it’s ours and it works.
Find your people if you can. It might only take seconds, or it may take years. But when you find them you’ll know it. And it’s beautiful.
By Angela Wiens