Whose Portrait is on Your Paycheck?
By Barbara Poole
How often have you been introduced to someone, and the first question you’re asked is, “What do you do?” Probably more than a few times. It’s a fact of life: people judge others by where they work, and what they earn. In certain circles, people are judged by how many letters of the alphabet they have after their name.
What happens when you let your work define how others perceive you, and in fact, how you perceive yourself? It’s a double edged sword. When people are highly successful, they often lose themselves in the role of, for example, a lawyer, stock trader, banker, or internet guru. Some would say that they get so wrapped up in their role, that it becomes their reality. That may be troubling, but it pays the mortgage.
What happens when, on the dull edge of the sword, people find themselves in a position of working to live? The relentless pressure to make ends meet can slowly begin to lower peoples’ expectations for their present and future. That’s the paradox examined by Oprah Winfrey this month. Early in life, she worked in demeaning jobs that paid far less than her worth, until she started in the $100.00 a week broadcasting job that changed everything. Although her lifestyle has improved a thousand fold, Oprah knows for sure that throughout her life, in good times and those devastating early years. “I let money serve its purpose. But I don’t live to serve money.”
When you are in a job that you don’t love, or when you find that you are working to pay the bills, you are the only force that can change the situation you’re in. Change comes slowly sometimes, but it comes to those who can paint a different portrait than the one they’ve created for themselves. How will you climb to the top of your career expectations – with a step stool or an extension ladder?
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