You Had One Job...
Everybody deserves a good listening to...
I’m writing today, having woken up, shellshocked, like all of us, in the wake of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr’s disastrous performance at the US Presidential Debate last night; just how could the 81 year old 46th President of the United States have missed the goal in such a spectacular fashion; or should we ask how or why is he finding himself even in the race to start with?
The reality is tough to accept; a renewed contest for arguably the most important role model of the western world will be battled out for a second term, between somebody who has been found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, and another gentleman who seemingly cannot string together a coherent sentence?
The thought of what may happen on bonfire night 2024 literally fills me with dread (never mind the small matter of our own beauty parade next Thursday, nearer home)
Anyhow, we are not here to talk politics, he had one job, and it was standing on a stage in Atlanta, USA, not platform 2 at Thirsk station, North Yorkshire, waiting for the 0859 Trans Pennine Express to whisk him to Manchester Victoria, to meet some old friends; just like the old days.
Like Joe , I once had one job, but it was a long time ago; today I’m returning to the scene of the crime; literally a restaurant around the corner from when I last worked in the advertising world.
But unlike Joe, I’m looking forward to it because I know that the one job I had back then is over; and the new chapters that have unfolded since it’s demise are proving to be equally rewarding and surprising in equal measure; in fact I’m probably on chapter six or seven to be honest, and hopefully part two of the Haynes Manual for the 1963 Chris Broadbent 2.0 GL is a better read than its predecessor, the 1.0 L, and thats the point here.
Does anybody have just one job these days?
I don’t think so.
My grown-up kids tell me things have changed since the days of Mad Men, Granada TV and Coronation Street filming at Quay Street Manchester, its not 1984 and I am not amongst the chain smoking individuals inhabiting the 3rd floor of Astley House; the hallowed corridors of the J. Walter Thompson media department.
As I revisit discarded flat whites and pastries at some of my favourite people watching hi-stool perches of yesteryear, I think they’re possibly right; in that things have changed so much for the better, the way that they can now adapt and mould their careers and lives to be what is best for them as individuals, rather than to bend to the tune of what was best for whatever the corporation or organisation my friends and I (used to) flog ourselves to death for.
Coming back to last night and Joe; well he had one job and it would appear he spectacularly failed in convincing people that he was a potential credible candidate to be the next, re-elected President of the United States.
Thinking of the characters I’m meeting today; we have all now, in various states of our advancing years (but still 15-20 years younger than ur US friend), had many more than one job each. Instead of looking backwards (who cares?) I’m looking forward to hearing how they are flourishing and still growing their lives after advertising; perhaps Joe could learn something if he was even to join us?
You don’t need to get to 80 to stop and sniff the flowers, you can do anything, and whatever your age, you can do it now.
Afterthought.
For the greater part of yesterday I was undergoing training with a generous bunch of beautiful people who like myself will become companions to individuals in the UK Advertising Sector, who may not be OK and need somebody to talk to about their Mental Health.
I’m really looking forward to actively listening and helping people (probably much younger than me) who maybe struggling with their one job in what I know from personal experience, can be an extremely brutal and competitive sector that requires more than a huge dollop of resilience.
Thanks so much to Poppy Barnes, Paul Rowlinson and Nick Brown for their fantastic initiative ImNotOK
As life flies by and our careers are built, re-built, supercharged, re-purposed, dismantled and sometimes even destroyed, we can’t ever lose sight of the fact that we are people, not numbers.
We all deserve a good listening to, coaching and support from a strong network of people around us to help us take the right course.
Joe had one job but that does not mean you have to only have one too.
You can have two, three or as many jobs as you like; in fact, you can reinvent yourself if you want to. You can become whatever you want to be.
You can do anything.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks for reading ‘You can do Anything’; it means a lot to me - come and join the unconventional flock; the fun is just beginning.
No one cares!
There that got your attention.
I don’t mean no one cares about you Broady, or what you say or what you are doing or how you are trying to help. Lots of people care about that. Me included.
What I mean is no (or very few) bosses really care what their people are going through or if they are not ok. What they care about is people’s ability to do their job well. At the point they can’t then they care, kind of, but it remains purely selfish. “If people can’t do their job, my company (team etc blah) can’t succeed and if they can’t succeed I won’t succeed. Fuck I need to care! I really care about you, until you seem ok and now I don’t care again.”
And repeat
Hey , It was great to see you and the other misfits around the table! You my friend are a great story of all too familiar blind ambition for a place you felt you needed to get to to be successful, rather than a somewhere you wanted to be and be happy. We all did it! Yet with age comes wisdom and the sobering reality that whilst the money and the people were great , little else populated anyone’s thoughts on being happy. I love the idea that young people today seem to sense the danger , are more demanding , questioning and frankly braver than we might have been. For 5 years Ive been a volunteer boxing coach dealing with some vulnerable people. Ive enjoyed more happiness reward and feeling of self worth in those 5 years than I ever had in well paid corporate life. Best of luck Chris in spreading the wisdom. Oh and the gym is always open to you my friend !