Living a Professional Life of Purpose, When Receivables are Less Than Stellar

A few days before Christmas I surfed podcasts on YouTube, which is something that has become a regular activity during rare moments of downtime. I find that doing this, learning about other people’s [life] experiences that is, contributes to a better understanding of not just the subject or topic discussed, but my own self awareness with respect to the individuals and their lives. While I watch these programs I am often flooded with questions, like "What is life like for other women living in other parts of the world?” for example. On the day in question I watched while listening intently, as a famous black actress disclosed she was contemplating leaving professional acting, due to high expenses incurred per project exceeded actual earnings per film acting role. Actors and actresses are expected to "look" camera ready or the very best they can while filming. The actress claimed that although a more successful, big-name pro can earn on average anywhere between five-hundred-thousand and four million per acting role, after paying the various members of one's entourage (hair-stylists, agents, dermatologists, fashion designers, nutritionists and dieticians, fitness trainers, etc.) the actual take-home is not that impressive. Her narrative intrigued me. I don't know of many professional actors willing to walk away from such a glamorous and from the viewpoint of many, privileged existence. Then I thought of my own narrative and compared it to hers; which is why I find humanities subjects so crucial to one's self-awareness, personage, and personhood development. I found some similarities between her professional journey and my own, and felt inspired to write on the article's title/ topic: [How to Live] "a Professional Life of Purpose, When Receivables are Less Than Stellar." Before I began the rough draft process I first needed more inspiration; because of writer's block, initially. Additionally, I did not want to write about the topic unless I truly believed I had something insightful to contribute. Something socially and culturally relevant pertaining to this business forum and its clientele. Over the holiday break I found that inspiration in a Frank Capra holiday classic from 1946 called It's a Wonderful Life. Most people have watched this film at least once in their life, usually during Christmas and/ or The New Year holidays. I watched the film with new eyes and George Bailey (James Stewart) and the other cast members helped me understand why seeing a black professional reduced to tears on television over professional trials bothered me so....internally. I was disturbed. So much I had trouble sleeping that night, as I recalled visions, flashbacks of myself sitting at my desk [at work] crying. Or sometimes I would excuse myself and go to the bathroom and cry. Before deciding to leave the banking industry altogether however, I planned for it! As you can see I made some tough and in-convenient decisions. It is important to say on this matter, that whether the professional problems I endured were the result of my own folly or other factors is subjective. Still, I needed to take ownership of mitigating the emotional and psychological effects of whatever the root(s) of the problems were. I owned them regardless, meaning I took command of the outcome. This behavioral response is the article’s thesis; capiche? Career crisis is my middle name and it was George Bailey's too! Capra’s family drama is beset amidst a little town called Bedford Falls. “Pa” Bailey is the founder of a modest building and loan company. He gave his eldest son, George his blessing when he expressed a desire to leave their sleepy little town and go away to college. And then....

Life happens while we hope, dream, and plan for our ideal future. When our plans do not unfold as we would desire, the feeling can be indescribable, but the word failure comes to the mind's forefront. George Bailey reminded me and everyone else, that a person's true purpose can best be exemplified by just one individual attended to by him/ her. Thus, the famous quote by Clarence Odbody, Bailey's Guardian Angel in the film: "Remember no person is a failure who has friends and family" (1946). Sometimes people focus so much on deferred dreams, they miss the whole point of being alive in the first place! When people reach the end of their power or capacity to endure life's difficulties without complaint, they often suffer from the same despondency as the unhappy starlet; who was born to shine! Born to twinkle! Yet with each passing day, month, year, and so on…the light grows dimmer until something happens, and consequential decisions must be made before "lights out!" One of my former colleagues from my health insurance days that could be described by most as a cheerful and jovial guy, had to grapple with his unfulfilled professional expectations. Because of a mortgage, car payment, wife, and two children, like most adult persons he did what he had to do to take care of his responsibilities. So he woke up each day and went to work [along with the rest of us] selling general health and life insurance. Upon first walking into the business office he would greet all of us and then say, "Just another day of living the dream!" Everyone would laugh because of his sarcasm and discontentment mixed with whimsical optimism. You see, as long as there is a little light left there is still hope and expectancy; but not without careful contemplation of one's life as it stands. When the light no longer shines what's the point of living? This was the tough lesson George Bailey, myself, and all others whose eyes were opened post mid to late-in-life crises learned. Real life crises rarely occur during youth years, when individuals are typically busy planning for adulthood. More often, I find people alter their prospects constructed during child and young-adulthood out of necessity. It is common that rare unforeseeable events warrant placing stratagem on reserve, and most assuredly life in general will initiate dream deferment. I don't know why it is so.....it just is. None of us, no matter how prepared, educated, wealthy, or talented can avoid some type of path derailment. Even if born in a small town in which everyone knows everyone else like Bailey's Bedford Falls. Where every aspect of one's time that is to come has been carefully mapped out. From spouse to location of residence, like George Bailey.

Life can be truly wonderful! Each person's life has the potential to be wonderful! Sometimes the experiences (major and minor) are what teach us what it truly means to live a beautiful life! The emotional starlet [and all others of the like], like George, I surmise will have to identify the ways and means of coping with professional challenges. Notice I did not say "chosen" profession. My shepherd always says, "Where people end up and/ or what they become is where and what they are supposed to be, for the sake of all those to be served by them." Servant: Attendant; steward; helper; flunkey. The latter descriptive is a joke many reading this will find ironic! My shepherd’s statement suggests that while people cast future designs some greater purpose is at work slowly pulling them into its orbit. Now, having stated that last part, the grass will always reflect its greenest hue in/ at the location, place, or point it receives the most water; attention to all details pertaining. It is the details pertaining to where, what, and with/ for whom that can make one's experiences at work either pleasant or frustrating. It is up to every professional to figure out how to orchestrate the ideal work/ job situation based on one's purpose. For example, some film actors find acting in plays or the theater quite refreshing compared to the rigors of movie-making. They work for lower pay most likely but experience less overhead costs minus the entourage. In other words, thespians usually apply their own stage make-up and create their own characters' personage concepts, including wigs/ hair styles and costumes or stage dress. Or perhaps stepping into writer, director, or producers' shoes for a term, could offer perspective to a disillusioned acting professional ready to leave for what are perceived greener pastures; that require water.

By the end of Capra's cinematic depiction George Bailey realized what life in Bedford Falls would be like if he had never been born! The lives he impacted in a positive way prior to his Guardian Angel granting his wish of non-existence failed to materialize, and he could see the sequential consequences of his persona none. Bailey decided his professional problems, although often a source of contention did not come close to outweighing the benefits and/ or rewards of him staying put, opting to persevere for just a little longer. To serve other's [where he lived] whose dreams have been deferred. Adults in general dedicate so much of their time, energy, and sometimes resources toward jobs, careers, and professional aspirations. No person would ideally want to come up short, accounts in-the-red reflecting after investing much. Seeing the evidence in some form of yield or harvest is what can make one's sacrifices worthwhile. See my article from September 16, 2020 titled: “Staying Productive During Fall & Winter;” in it are some pointers on what people can do when there is no harvest post planting. Or when the harvest is meager and insignificant. A young George Bailey, overwhelmed by family obligations and a sense of responsibility toward his community, felt tied down by a company he never had an interest in, with job responsibilities and obligations affecting his life in ways that were unappealing. As he aged, he saw his youth, dreams, and opportunities pass him by. George is met by his guardian angel [Clarence Odbody] as he contemplated ending his life.

I will end with this final thought, though I will not elaborate on it too much; because it is the subject of an entirely new article. Here it is in the form of two questions: Were the unexpected happenings that led to dreams placed on-hold avoidable? If so, how? The answers could be the second film installment or It’s a Wonderful Life II, in which George Bailey develops ways and means of coping with problems/ issue associated with his “accepted” vocation; whether it was chosen outright during youth or the result of misadventure. Life happens while people forecast objectives, and the ideal modus should be to plan for the worst and hope for the best outcomes. Plans may occasionally have to be altered and it is not rebounding from the unpredictable that makes a person or their life a failure. Failing to have a plan is what can lead to failure! Nun, bitte achten Sie gut auf den Lehrer, ok? Wenn eine Frau backt, was eine exakte Wissenschaft ist, wurde das Rezept von ihr oder jemand anderem kreiert, verstehen Sie? Wenn das Ergebnis im Widerspruch zum Rezept steht, das ?perfekt“ war, hat der B?cker einen Fehler gemacht. Sie wird es noch einmal versuchen müssen, ja? Sie muss sich genau an das Rezept halten, da es bereits perfektioniert ist. Improvisation beim Backen sollte vermieden werden; Nur ein erfahrener B?cker sollte versuchen zu improvisieren.

Frohes Neues Jahr an euch alle! Schwingen Sie weiter!

It's a Wonderful Life. (1946). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm.