You Are What You Think About in Your Spare Time

George works for a brand-name, multinational information publishing company. He’s good at what he does. He rose from entry-level to executive-manager level in record time. But he tells me he feels like his career is stalled. He feels like his boss doesn’t appreciate the good work he does. We talked about it…

Me: How do you feel about your job?

George: Bored. Frustrated.

Me: How do you describe your profession when people ask you what you do?

George: I tell them the truth. I’m a social media manager. And I tell them who I work for.

Me: What do you like to think about in your spare time?

George: What do you mean?

Me: I mean in your spare moments. When your mind drifts off.

George: I don’t know.

Me: What were you thinking about on your commute to work this morning?

George: My windshield wipers weren’t working. I was thinking about that.

Me: Anything else? Anything fun?

George: I guess I was thinking about this comedy routine I’m working on. I sometimes do stand-up on weekends.

I had no idea George did stand-up. I tell him what a brave and noble profession I think it is. He lights up. He talks about it animatedly for nearly half an hour.

Me: Well, George, maybe that’s the problem. You are a stand-up comic working as a social media manager.

He smiles. Then he frowns. He doesn’t agree.

What I Believe: Life is fluid. Our minds and hearts are fluid. We respond to circumstances. We make decisions. We take on roles. Things change. The outside things are easy to identify. The inside things sometimes not.

The trouble George is having is not his job, but his commitment to his job. During his early career, he was fully committed. Now he’s not. His core ambition – whether he admits it to himself or not – is comedy. That could change. In a year. In a month. In a week. But until that does change, he will not be a great social media manager. To be great at anything, you have to spend your spare time thinking about it.

About the Whoopi Goldberg “Issue”… 

I get that her comments were uninformed.

I can understand why some people were upset. Click here.

But I don’t think she should have been “punished” for making them. “The View” is a talk show. (An amazingly dumb talk show.) Free speech should be the standard. I agree with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity on this…

Great Places to Visit: Santa Barbara 

K and I are finishing a week in Santa Barbara. This is the second time we’ve been here and the second time I’ve had this thought: This is one of the most beautiful small cities in the USA.

Reasons to visit…

* Head-smackingly beautiful setting, between the San Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Coast

* Mediterranean climate

* Great wine country

* Spanish colonial architecture

Sites to see…

* Santa Barbara Harbor and Stearns Wharf

* Botanical Gardens

* Marco Lucchesi’s Section Wines Winery

* Shops and restaurants on State Street