Here’s a story of a guy I know.
Mike is in his mid-30s, a largely self-educated, highly successful mid- to senior-level manager in the business world, having spent 12 years or so rising through the ranks of various media firms, just outside of New York City. Mike has shown great skill and natural acumen at managing both people, and processes, and achieved great results in companies that had previously had less-than-optimal working situations, start-up environments, and established firms alike.
Exhibiting strong creativity, leadership and professionalism throughout his career, he received hefty praise and accolades from nearly every supervisor, co-worker or subordinate he has worked with, or for, demonstrating particular success as part of the management team that turned a raggity Long Island bi-weekly entertainment rag newspaper into an award-winning weekly journalistic powerhouse, the Long Island Press, which at the time was the fourth largest weekly paper in the nation. Even while handling production management, directing new media efforts, and participating in business development, he found time to write several articles for the paper, and was at one time, a featured co-columnist.
He is also one of the proudest dads you will ever meet, after weathering, and winning, a lengthy, drawn-out custody battle (are there ever any other kind?). The fact the he did so while serving as his own counsel, displays the kind of intellectual ability Mike possesses, his skill at learning and mastering a previously unknown discipline, and also gives a good example of how he walks his own path, despite the lessons taught by conventional wisdom.
For the past year and a half, Mike has been employed as operations manager of a marketing and technology firm which services independent financial advisers, and again, achieved tangible results improving operations, procedures, morale and profitability. In fact, it can be argued that this company was in such a tumultuous state upon his arrival, that Mike is a huge reason the company has not faltered as much as it would have without him being there. In business, Mike is a well-respected, well-liked boss, who inspires those around him, and also brings his intelligence, eclectic experiences and strong ethics to the workplace. Any business should be eager to have him, as this one is. He is well-liked, they pay him well, and in fact, just recently promoted him.
So it would seem odd that Mike just resigned.
Call it a third-life crisis, but Mike believes he can do more. His personal interests are in entertainment, marketing, PR, journalism, and while he would be perfectly happy continuing to perform operational management duties, he wants to do it where it’s more his ‘thing’.
In the past, Mike has been involved in many “side” projects, many of the also successful. From event planning and promotions, to co-hosting a radio show, to full-fledged management of a rapidly rising comic talent, Forrest Hobbs. In fact, in little less than a year, Hobbs went from begging for minutes on hole-in-the-wall comic club stages, to being invited to the Tom Joyner radio show, and BET’s Comic View. While Hobbs’ talent was incredible, it was the calculated, well-executed marketing techniques Mike devised which propelled Hobbs to that kind of “about-to-blow” status. He has written bios, designed marketing materials, developed websites, edited audio, arranged press interviews, and generally been a one-man PR and marketing force, all “on the side”. And all with a budget of nearly zero!
Now, without telling the story of what happened to interrupt the success he and Forrest Hobbs were enjoying, let’s just say things happened, and Mike fell back into the safe arms of the 9-5 grind, perhaps jaded toward the other things he could be doing. It’s a shame, because helping an artist like Forrest Hobbs certainly showcases many abilities, but more importantly, showed character.
See, Mike is also a fairly talented musician himself. As a hip-hop/R&B producer and remixer, he has used his own promotional and marketing abilities and taken himself from the depths of obscurity to the point where now, he has music playing on BDS and top-40 stations across the nation, an international fan base, achieved on- and off-line press mentions, and has received nearly 2 million downloads of his work. He has become known among DJ, radio and industry personnel, and received personal accolades from the likes of Akon, Mary J. Blige and T-Pain. But he hasn’t gotten ‘there’ yet. He is a guy that will generally focus on the needs of others before spending that time working for himself.
Admirable. But if Mike had dedicated the amount of time, effort and creativity into publicizing his own musical endeavors, he might well have succeeded in his own right. The thing is, he truly seems to be able to make things happen the most when he exhibits selflessness, when what he is doing helps others, either in business (leading staff), with side ventures (making Forrest the star), or in everyday life (fighting for what was in his childrens’ best interest).
I really hope Mike finds what he is looking for. Maybe he will settle down into another 9-5 management role, but one at a company as dynamic as he is, where his creativity, experience and leadership will be valued and valuable, perhaps in entertainment, or music, where his personal interests and side-hustle experience and connections could be most beneficial. Perhaps he will take on project or consultative work (he is self-incorporated and runs Bannus Media, Inc. for just such endeavors). Maybe someone reading this will have an opportunity or two, and would be interested in viewing his resume, or his LinkedIn profile.
I just hope it works out soon. This “necessity-is-the-mother-of-figuring-stuff-out” mentality that led Mike to learn so much about so many things, has made him an enormously eclectic, and given him the potential to become a monumentally successful generalist. But this economy does not provide much room to gamble on one’s livelihood, so I want to see this work out fast.
I almost think he shouldn’t have done it.
But when you are not happy because you are not doing what you like to do, and you like to do so many things, and are great at many of them, I can understand really wanting to find a place where you can feel free to be yourself. Is there such a perfect place waiting? A close-enough-to-perfect? Where can someone who has this need be happy? Is he expecting too much? What should he be looking for? Anything? Everything? One thing? Many things? Nothing?
Both of us really want to know. See, in the words of the illustrious Snoop Dogg (and Hova, subsequently), since “he is I, and I am him.”
So the both of us really need to know. The sooner, the better.