“All the best people are!” That’s what we would have said had we met at an upper crust luncheon still roiling at 4 PM, when too much to drink caused us to wave white wine glasses as we made dramatic, inclusive gestures and generously greeted one another’s secrets. It’s under those country club settings that people of means and leisure have always let the truth slip, only to be told there was nothing shameful about whatever was admitted.
Such is how I would like you to feel about the fractions of work you do that add up to about the time or wages of one full-time job. Or, how you might choose to acknowledge you work full time, and yet “moonlight” at one or two other compelling endeavors, ventures or whatnot. In service of your personal branding and business or career goals: you might be doing more than one thing to actualize yourself, gain experience and make enough money to live, or live out your dreams.
There’s an arcane expression that may have discouraged you from speaking up with these details about your professional life, and it has an even more ridiculous acronym: KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. Actually, if you ARE talking to stupid people, I’m sorry that’s part of your day or night. And yes, you really should keep it simple for simpletons. Stupid people dot the landscape for sure; however, don’t let them diminish how you tell your story to the rest of us. We are capable of understanding you and what you do. Speak to us intelligently, albeit crisply and confidently. We will respond accordingly.
Sunday morning, as almost always, I was enjoying the New York Times Style section, because it provides a window back in time. There was a pretty fancy life I used to lead, and I led it in Manhattan. Now I’m out in enviable weather of Southern California, at least most of the time, so I don’t make the fashion changes or pages as I once did. Still, I love peeking at the carriage trade and I love reading the wedding announcements. I think they are the last untapped new business lead source, since they give the couples’ names, occupations and city.
But today, I was struck by the number of these fancy people who do more than one thing. Here is an example.
“Mr. deBary (left), 30, is the bar manager for the Momofuku restaurant group in New York and a bartender at Please Don’t Tell, a New York bar. He is also an assistant editor of a cocktail book published by Food & Wine magazine.”
Get the point? He earns his living doing three different things! He is a bar manager at a restaurant group. And, he is a bartender at a club. Also, he’s an assistant editor.” He is an “Is. And. Also.”
Have you been embarrassed to be doing one thing, supplementing your income by doing another thing, and doing a third thing on the side that’s the most relevant to the career or business you really want?
It’s OK! All the best people are!
