Perceptive Responsibility

It’s very interesting to me to see how others perceive responsibility. When you’re in high school its understandable that starting your first job you may not know how to work in that environment. But as time grows on and you hold more and more jobs, in my case 30+, you become adept at learning different processes and ultimately gain more and more responsibility.

I’ve balanced more scheduling conflicts and responsibility in the last 10 years than most people will see in a lifetime. But how does that translate to finding work? Traditional job applications or even resumes, the way the average business world sees them, do not leave room to quantify the type of skills that we learn as stagehands, musicians, or freelancers. We have to get even more creative in our writing and editing skills to show the traditional business world what we are capable of. Why would I want to embark into the business world after years of freelancing? Truth is, it still takes a traditional “day job” to pay the bills, for now. More so, what I’m confused about is people’s ability to underestimate me, even when they’ve had months to assess and see my work ethic in action.

It becomes interesting is when you spend years learning and gaining responsibility in some cases to the point of having other people’s lives in your hands (i.e., if you don’t do your job correctly they will die).  But when its time to switch jobs trying to convince another employer that you’re worthy of their responsibility to fly a desk is a little silly. I’ve spent countless hours running fly rails in my home theater where all of the weight in the air, if not proportioned correctly can damage and kill people, I’ve spent time managing groups of students whose creative education depends on me, and after six months of consistent efficient work at a desk where the most dangerous part of the job is handling cash in a drawer; DO NOT treat me like I’m brand new on the job. You hired me because I am older and have more experience than anyone else don’t under mind your own choice by treating me like a child.

But then to go from a small tour where I was responsible for building the main video wall only to return to the desk job to be treated like a new employee? Really? After driving a desk for more than 6 months I have now attained a job as a carriage driver downtown. That’s right; driving a 2000lb Belgian Draft horse through the crowded streets of Indianapolis, never mistake my capacity to accept responsibility. It’s not unlike driving a band behind a drum kit; one wrong move and it can crash into a parked car. 

There are a few points that I would like to finish up with. The first is that no matter what, you can do anything you put your mind to it’s all in how you approach it. The second is to always keep moving forward. Regardless of what you end up doing always keep your goals in mind. Everyday take a step toward your goals, don’t be afraid of responsibility, and learn to quantify the unquantifiable. Be creative in every endeavor.