If you know me, you know I am laser-focused on my career and love my job (to a fault. Work is the only thing I can think about sometimes, when I’m not skiing. More on that later in this letter). That’s because my mindset is, if you’re spending most of your life at work, you should probably be doing something you love and doing it well.
The problem is, I don’t know if this is a common mindset. Not everyone likes work. Actually, most people don’t like work. And how many of us actually try to do something about it and think bigger for ourselves? There are obviously a ton of factors, but I have a personal theory that we don’t talk enough about liking work, so people accept that we just generally shouldn’t like work and it’s a normal thing to not like work.
So let’s talk about liking work. What can we all do to have careers that we can take pride in, and share with others, and enjoy at least 80% of the time? Below I’m sharing a few of the things that have helped me along the way.
Be the better crab.
When crabs are caught in a net, and one crab manages to escape, the other crabs will actually try to pull it back into the net. They are literally bringing each other down. This is called “crab mentality” and I love using it to explain human behavior.
People are complainers and love to complain about work. They are the crabs. It’s not a bad thing to like work. Don’t let crabs drag you back down if you are happy with what you’re doing and want to tell the world. Working hard is DOPE. It is a GOOD THING to have ambitions and do big things. Be the crab that gets away.
Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash. Is this not the happiest crab you’ve ever seen? Definitely happier than the other stock photos of crabs I saw that were on dinner plates.
Make moves.
Take risks. Studies show women are more risk-averse and people will try to say that’s why there aren’t as many of them in risky, fast-paced professions like tech and cannabis. I call bullshit on that one. Men and women both: Don’t let anyone tell you that you should stay in the slow lane.
Also, go for the job, even if you don’t think you can get it. Another gender-related roadblock: LinkedIn found that women apply to fewer jobs than men — but are more likely to get the job. We take ourselves out of the running because we think we’re under-qualified, while men are more likely to just go for it. You have nothing to lose by applying.
Play smart, not dumb.
Never downplay your achievements or competence. Research shows women undersell themselves at work, and I’m sure men do it too. Whenever you present an idea or make a killer argument, avoid saying things like “But I could be wrong.” Everyone already knows you could be wrong, because no one is a genius with the perfect solution every time. You can be humble without constantly diminishing yourself.
Also, don’t automatically apologize. Coming from someone who says “sorry” to a stranger who bumps into me on the sidewalk when it was 100% their fault, I have to actively make sure I’m not just saying sorry out of habit when sending emails.
Figure out what makes you happy — not your passion.
For most of us, it’s unrealistic to “turn your passion into your career.” I will most likely not be the choreographer for the Super Bowl halftime, which would have been my first choice. But I can do public relations, which is also pretty fun.
Instead of focusing too hard on finding THE thing, instead focus on the smaller day-to-day things you’re good at, because we tend to enjoy things when we’re good at them. Narrow down which aspects of your job/life you like, and which aspects you don’t like. At my first internships I would do a task (like write a press release) and think “hey, I liked that” or go shopping at an Ulta and think “hey, I really like beauty” and try to do more of those things (to this day I still write press releases for beauty launches in cannabis).
I also know I hate math, which has been a successful rule of thumb for keeping me on the right path.
Find your power vest.
By this I mean find things that give you confidence when you walk into a room. For instance, the Patagonia vest. I call it the Power Vest because as many people in Silicon Valley (or has watched the show Silicon Valley) know, the vest is the new power symbol. I think it started because vests look nice, offices are cold, and tech billionaires tend to wear vests because they hate suits. Either way, I always see dudes wearing the Patagonia Power Vest and rarely see a woman in the office with one, and I’ve always wondered, why not? I can rock a vest just as well as a VC can. My boyfriend’s parents generously got me a Patagonia vest for Christmas and I already know it’s going to be my new power uniform at work. I don’t care how bro-y I look.
Find your power vest, and if it’s a literal vest, so be it.
Don’t let work become your whole identity.
When you’re career-focused, it’s easy to let that become a personality. Work starts to seep into everything, especially as jobs reward longer hours and more commitment. You start to want to “keep your eye on the prize” and see things outside work as a “distraction” and the line blurs between your work identity and your personal identity. Psychologists apparently call this blurred line “enmeshment.”
Work should not be your whole life. Find the other things that make you happy and figure out what comes first — family, friends, significant others, hobbies you love. This is the most important advice I can give and the hardest advice to take myself, and something I’ll be working on in the New Year.
On to the news part of the newsletter:
Snow machines and fleece blankets: inside the ski industry’s battle with climate change (The Guardian). Among the victims of climate change: Ski season. Get it together, world!
What a 5,700-Year-Old Piece of Gum Reveals About Its Chewer: Scientists investigated DNA from ancient gum (they had gum?) and found out more than they should from a piece of ABC gum. (WIRED)
Not news, but SNL had an incredibly accurate children’s clothing ad over the holidays. What a nightmare.
Retailers are developing stricter return policies and it’s all our fault. From Bloomberg: Retailers Gave You Free Returns and You Ruined It
Chicken wars: Popeyes is trolling Chick-fil-A by specifically recruiting sandwich makers to work on Sundays. (Business Insider). Also, the Boyfriend once read that Raising Cane’s (another chicken fast-food restaurant) has a strategy where they don’t do any market research, but instead just open locations wherever they see a Chick-fil-A. He doesn’t know if it’s true but I hope it is because it’s hilarious.
This startup just raised $7 million, led by Google, to authenticate people based on their typing style: Typing biometrics is apparently a thing. They can track the precise timing of your typing as a way to identify the unique person at the keyboard. One of those tech advancements where you’re not sure if it’s cool or scary. (TechCrunch)
Hop take: Craft beer pick of the week
Modelo
Okay, maybe it’s not craft beer, but Modelo wins 2019 and probably 2020. If you look at all of my pictures from the past year, I am usually pictured with a Modelo:
Modelos at MJBizCon (yes, I drank beer the entire time at a cannabis conference).
Forget wine: If you ask any of my friends in San Francisco they will tell you I brought Modelos to every gathering.
Giant Modelos in Las Vegas, because the more Modelo the merrier!
The takeaway here is that I’ve been trying to stick to the lighter beers, and cervezas (Mexican beers) are the best light beers. I’m not alone — more people are drinking Modelos and Coronas. There’s a general trend toward lighter beverages with fewer calories, which is great and all, but why ditch beer entirely? I spent 2019 actively protesting the rise of White Claw and I will continue to do so in 2020 with my Modelos.
Happy New Year! Trying not to think about the 5:30 a.m. workout class I signed up for.
XO,
A