It took me many years to figure out what type of work I was best suited for.
I’m not talking about what industry I’m best suited for, but what type or style of work.
Where I could contribute in a meaningful way while still enjoying myself and applying my inherent talents.
As it turns out, I’m a builder. A creator. A start-up guy. You do not want to hire me to run your 10 year old business and manage it over time. I’d rather die.
But I was 45 before I figured this out about myself.
I left my last startup, Stoked, almost 5 years ago. When I announced my departure to our team, my long time friend and co-worker Brent Taylor said, in a very nonchalant Brent Taylor kind of way, “Yeah, I’m not surprised. You’ve already surpassed your 5 year mark.”
At first I was a little taken aback, like it was some kind of insult that I couldn’t hack it.
But that wasn’t it. Brent had been working with me for ~15 years at that point and could see my working rhythms in a way that I couldn’t.
So not only did I discover at this point that I was a builder, but I also started to understand why I’d felt so inadequate in other areas for so long!
For instance, I’ve never been one for details. I’m better suited to broad strokes. But for the first half of my working life, I wasn’t aware of that. I felt like there was something wrong with me. Like I had a learning disability.
So I’d say it’s worth having a great understanding of where you really come alive at work and, conversely, what tasks make you want to crawl out of your skin.
Chances are, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re probably on the right bus, but you might be in the wrong seat.
If that’s the case, you can stop beating yourself up for not gravitating towards and excelling at certain tasks.
Figure out what parts of your job feel like swimming downstream and which ones feel like swimming upstream.
Spend more of your time in those downstream tasks and watch as your life, as well as the quality of your work, get better!