Why I Write

“Follow your bliss,” as one of my favorite authors, Joseph Campbell, once said.

Much digital ink has been spilled about what Campbell meant by this (HERE, HERE, and HERE). I’ve always loved this phrase and for me it means to live the life you were meant to live, or, do what you were meant to do. 

Some people know very early in life what it is that they were meant to do. For a late bloomer like myself, that question wasn’t answered until last year at the age of 28.

At that time, I was going through a “career transition.” I left a job that paid really well but didn’t fit my interests. I’ve always been of the mindset that if I’m going to spend most of my life working, I want to be doing something that I have a passion for.

I asked myself the question, “What is it I really love to do?”

Once you’ve reached your late twenties like I have, you have a pretty solid idea of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. What did I really love to do, and did well, and could make money doing it? After taking some time for self-reflection, I had my answer.

Writing.

So I prepared my portfolio of work from college to the present day and began job searching. Less than a month after I left my old job I landed a position working as a copywriter in the marketing communications department for the largest manufacturer of latex balloons worldwide, which is where I am today. It wasn’t easy to leave my old job, either, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I left a job that I had no passion for so that I could pursue a career where I could make money doing what I loved to do.

I can already hear the naysayers shouting from the peanut gallery.

“That’s easy for you to say, straight white male with a college degree. You didn’t have to face the hardships other people have to get where you are today.”

“Bliss!? *Pfff* Screw that. I live in the ‘real world.’ Do something that makes lots of money. Who cares if you hate what you do? Lots of people hate their jobs.”

I will address each of these criticisms in order.

To the first criticism, yes, I understand that there are a lot of people out there who were dealt a really bad deck of cards in life from the get go. That’s unfortunate and I can definitely empathize. Does environment matter? Sure it does. Does individual will trump circumstances beyond one’s control? I think so, and these people prove it (HERE, HERE, and HERE). Also, I went through a lot of professional and personal failure in my twenties to get to where I am today. I’m sure I’ll experience more in the future. Life is struggle, period.  

To the second criticism, if money is your highest value in life, then pursue that by all means. Legally, I hope. Do I think money is important? Of course, very. That said, money is not – and never has been – my highest value. If it’s yours, great. But from personal experience, never, never, never ever take a job because it pays well, even though you don’t actually find the work rewarding or interesting. It’s a great way to become chronically unhappy and dissatisfied with life, and no amount of money is going to change that.

I’m only given so much time on this earth, and I want to spend that time doing something that matters to me and hopefully matters to other people, too. And I hope to inspire others to do the same.   

If being an engineer, or a ballet dancer, or trash picker, or a YouTube celebrity is what matters to you, gets you out of bed, and keeps a roof over your head, that’s fan-tastic. For me, it’s writing.

I write because it’s what I’m good at. It’s what I love to do. It’s a way for an introvert such as myself to express my thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and who I am in general. It’s a way to communicate and connect with those who I never thought I could connect with. It’s a way to create something that will outlast me long after I’m gone.

I created this blog to write about current marketing trends from a macro-analytical approach while weaving in other interests of mine that may be relevant, which include but are not limited to food, music, movies, Japanese language and culture, philosophy, history, politics, and many others that would bore you to tears if I listed them all here.

In the end, I want whoever reads my blog to learn something, and in turn, I want to learn from my readers.

Welcome, and enjoy.