Here’s some good food for thought from Edith Yeung (whom I found via sports blog WithMalice: she’s listed 99 things she’s learned by leaving the corporate life. Bear with the typos (god knows we’ve all made typso!) because there’s real wisdom here under an imperfect facade. Actually, the time it takes to sit down and tease out 99 distinct lessons is a lesson in itself; a lesson in taking the time to comb our thoughts out and see what they really look like. Some of these may resonate with you, whether or not you’re corporateering; human wisdom is gloriously portable, I find. It works in many different situations, if it’s real wisdom.
Here is a snippet of the list:
3. You stop being a whiner when you start doing what you love.
4. You start getting up early when you start doing what you love.
5. You start exercising everyday when you start doing what you love.
6. You know who your real friend is and who is not.
7. Some people will give you strange look, but who cares?
8. Everything in life is a choice.
9. The only opinion of you that matters, is your own.
10. Do what you love and you will never have to work for the rest of your life.
11. Life is a buffet. There are some many choices along the way. In order to get to one dish, I got to stay in line and make sure I choose the right line.
12. Life is not about winning, it is about how I am going to play the game.
13. Software and high-tech is not the only industry in the world. People become billionaires and millionaires making ketchup, selling hairagami or making dumpling.
14. For anything to change, I must change.
15. Hoping I am going to succeed is not the answer.
16. Got to make my unique idea somehow stuck with someone.
17. Becoming an entrepreneur is about solving problem. It is never about me and it is never about money.
18. You are who you believe or say you are.
19. Do something even you are not sure about the outcome.
20. Everyone who is now in front of the line started at the back of the line.
and no, I don’t know what hairagami is, although I imagine it looks something like those elaborate Geisha updos.
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
raincoaster media 
Herman Najoli
July 2, 2007
Here’s what I think. Corporate life sometimes feels like a battle – a daily battle against the forces of change, greed, competition, organizational development, budgets, etc. Life was never meant to be a battle. Life is supposed to be a dance. Larry D’Anges said, “If you don’t learn to dance with life, life will pass you by and get another partner“. Many are lost in the battlefield and life ends up passing them by. So, I say this: “If you don’t learn how to dance today, you won’t shine on the dance floor tomorrow“.
raincoaster
July 2, 2007
But is life a dance? The Manicheans wouldn’t say so; they do believe it’s meant to be a battle (and thus, they tend to do well in corporate settings).
I think that the diversity of human roles exists because of the diversity of human nature, and that there are people who are happiest in a corporate environment. There are those who are happiest in a bureaucratic environment. There are also those who are happiest being entrepreneurs, but that is by no means all, nor is it the path to freedom if you are not one of those people.
Dance is just a type of motion, not a direction. Where are you headed?
QuoinMonkey
July 2, 2007
Diversity. That’s the nail on the head. And perspective. I left a corporate job after 9 years to pursue my writing and photography. I honed valuable skills in the corporate world that I now use as an entrepreneur. But there are days when I miss the easy and predictable structure of corporate life.
Maybe it all comes down to #’s 3 & 8 – make sure you choose what you love:
3. You stop being a whiner when you start doing what you love.
8. Everything in life is a choice.
withmalice
July 4, 2007
Hey there! Great to hear someone’s reading my blog! And I really like Edith’s style too… I wish I had the courage to do some of the stuff she outlines…
raincoaster
July 5, 2007
You can’t live anyone else’s path: just take what works for you. I know so many people who did what they thought was brave and ended up in places that weren’t right for them. Think of Edith’s blog as a sushi smorgasbord (how’s that for multiculturalism?) and take what appeals to you.
Edith
July 5, 2007
It took me almost a year to decide and leave corporate America. It was the best choice I have ever made for my life. Life is short. We all owe it to ourselves to live to the fullest. I like the picture. =)
raincoaster
July 5, 2007
Thanks for dropping by, Edith. That was a great list, very inspiring. The pic (you can click on it to go to the source) is from an article by a lawyer discussing why so many Harvard Law School graduates end up doing things other than law.
Best advice I ever heard was in the movie Dead Again, of all places. Robin Williams’ character is discussing smoking with Kenneth Branagh’s, and he says “either you’re a smoker or you’re a non-smoker. Find out what you are and be that.”
withmalice
July 6, 2007
Surreal reference rain, but oh-so-appropriate. It’s funny how looking back at Robin Williams movies, you see some pretty good ideas for ‘living’.
raincoaster
July 6, 2007
Robin Williams is a sweetheart. Can’t count the number of open mic nights at comedy clubs around Vancouver where he’ll just pop up and do a routine, and he’s always really encouraging of the other comics.