Career Advice via Duck Tales

The other day J told me he wanted to be rich.  With a little bit of probing, I realized the origins of his statement was an episode of Duck Tales featuring Huey, Dewey and Louie's billionaire uncle....   reminding me that many times a kid's question or comment is not quite as complicated as adults may mistakenly conclude. 

I am conscious of the role money plays in my job as a parent.  I work full time in a job that I enjoy and although there are days that I'm tired, I try not to complain about work and I'm aware that it is the subtle vibrations which influence kids the most.  Work is not a chore nor something I wish I could "get out of" - work is a part of who I am and a part of our life, the same way school and camp is a non-negotiable part of J's life.  By taking the "choice" out of it, I hope I am framing work, school, camp - not as a burden - but as a fulfilling though at times stressful part of life. 

I think a lot about "career advice" I might give my son as he grows.  Sure, he's 6 now so the message is pretty simple - try your best, be kind to others - but as he grows it will be more complicated.  Do I encourage him to find and follow his passion?  I think that works but I've also seen it fail.  A hobby is sometimes better left as a hobby and allow your job to sustain your family.   Follow the money.  Like following your passion, I've seen that work and I've also seen it fail.  For me, working on goals that gave me no personal satisfaction and only generous paychecks felt empty and dull. 

A few mornings later, J said "Uncle Scrooge said you shouldn't try to be rich.  You should find a problem that people have and try to solve it for them.   If you do that, you'll have more than enough."   As someone who thinks a lot about careers and personal development, it was one of the best bits of advice I'd heard and totally satisfied how I wanted to think about the topic with my 6 year old.    Thanks Duck Tales!

And Jerry Colonna from a recent interview OnBeing:
There are times in which those who have power need to speak with authority. But too often, we mistake and conflate that action for the day-to-day “directing” of people’s lives. And I think that leadership is much more subtle, much harder, and ultimately, more life-giving, more fulfilling. And that is, the leader’s role isn’t to be the authoritative figure telling everybody what to do and how to do it, but to be the model for creating a container in which their best possible work can get done and to perhaps remove obstacles from the paths that are in front of their colleagues so that they can then grow into their best possible selves. That feels very strong, very firm, and not particularly authoritarian.