Creatives and Your Secret Mission

January 23, 2008 · Comments

superheroes For every day we don’t unlock our own value, we remain plugged into our other identity. I twittered this sentiment, but I believe it applies to a lot of YOU. You have ideas and thoughts and realizations that rise above what you’re called upon to accomplish in a given day.

You can choose a few paths: one is to just do what you’re given to do, go home, and wonder why life hasn’t dropped off a big fat bag of cash and destiny on your door. Another is to fight the system at every turn and rail against everyone that they don’t “get it” and that you’re smarter than all them, no matter how it all looks right now.

Or, you can work on your secret mission. Realize that you’re different. Cloak some of that during your “day job” hours by doing more than what’s necessary without drawing much attention to the fact that you’re doing it. If your workplace is ripe for change from within, be that agent quietly. If not, then work on what you will do outside of what you’re paid to do to build on that secret mission.

The point is, there’s what you take to be reality. There’s what you MAKE to be reality. The more you work on B, even if it’s your secret mission, the more you can grow your abilities, find ways to satisfy what you know is true, and move into bigger things.

Or you can bitch about how they don’t get it.

Recommended reading to prove you’re not crazy:

The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life

The Social Media 100 is a project by Chris Brogan dedicated to writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Swing by [chrisbrogan.com] for more posts in the series, and if you have topic ideas, feel free to share them, as this is a group project, and your opinion matters.

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Photo credit, duluoz cats

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  • Love the graphic! This is very true, Chris. I heard Dr. Florida speak in 2003 and blogged about some of my thoughts at the time: http://www.directmarketingmba.com/weblog/2003/1....

    In managing our own careers, we all need to understand our individual missions, how they fit with the missions of others, and how we can create an environment that fosters synergy in sharing our missions with others. Social media has created a platform for conversation that can accelerate the benefits of fostoring creativity.
  • compassioninpolitics
    Great post and very timely! One book that really complements the Rise of the Creative Class is a Whole New Mind by Dan Pink. It not only describes the six trends that are pointing towards a more creative orientation, but gives you tangible ways to galvanize your own creativity. Great book and a rather fast read! Although I think reading Pink's AWNM slower than the usual book makes more sense. Cheers!
  • Hello Chris! I just found your blog the other day there through Twitter, and I'm so glad I did. I love this idea of a secret mission to be the agent of positive change in your workplace and your life. I work in an university dept which isn't all that tech savvie, and seems almost oblivious to Web2.0. I'm trying to get them to embrace the possibilities that this new technology yields by using it myself and telling them about my successes with it. I hadn't thought of it as a secret mission, but it certainly seems a good fit with your description. I'll certainly be following up on both your's and Nathan's book recommendations. Thank you!
  • Very well put, Chris. There is a big difference sometimes between career and "mission" ... half the battle is figuring out the mission, then doing something about it. Sometimes requires sacrifice & compromise.
  • Wow - nice post. I felt like you were talking to me! :) I agree w/ vicequeenmaria's sentiments above. A lot of people like me, who are stuck in cubicle-farm hell and aspire to be something better, don't even know what "better" is yet.

    I like the graphic, too. Is that you in the red suit?
  • I guess I look at it with this lame baseball analogy- It takes just about as much effort to swing for the fences as for a single, so why not go for it? If it works out, you have a home run. If you fall short of your goal, you're still in the park, and even if you strike out, you can hold your head up, knowing you gave it your all.

    Why not try out your secret mission? Will you recognize it when it crosses your path? Opportunity comes in many shapes and sizes- try just one- make a difference.

    I'm trying one this week- raising money for a chinese woman, struggling to help her own daughter and other children with autism. When the article crossed my desk from the Wall Street Journal, I could have said "I wish her luck, I can't help." But it occurred to me I knew someone in China who could make sure any money raised would go directly to Ma Chen's school. I have a close friend who works in the Embassy in Beijing. This makes it easier to think an email, a little leg work, and maybe something is possible. And it is possible, so we're off and running to see if we can make a difference.

    This is what being a "superhero" is about- understanding when you may have the tools at your fingertips to help change the world, and then deciding to take the risk to do it. It may not be all that much, but it's the small things that cumulatively change the world.

    And all it requires is saying "Yeah- I think I can do that- it's worth a try."
  • It just so happens that I have a presentation to make this week...I will be choosing my own path quietly;)
  • good point! yay!
  • I’m gonna bet you’re largely preaching to the choir here, Brogan.

    Consider the average reader of your articles and I bet you’ll find they’re predominantly change agents, either within the structure of their own corporate organization or their industries at large.

    In a working environment where precious hours, days and months can slip through our fingers while we fight in the trenches for “The Man”, your reminder to nurture our inner dreamer is well taken.
  • Hey Chris, Beautiful post, and I feel like I should have chimed in on past posts, but here I am. I also felt as if this article was speaking to me. I work in a shop as a cabinetmaker, and I have always been great with my hands. However, the art of wood turning on a lathe is what resonates with me. It is the thing that I do and time passes without care. I am hoping to bring this to the new digital community in the form of a video and audio podcast.

    As for being a change agent at work, my attitude greatly effects those around me so I always try to stay upbeat even in the face of adversity. I find that sending love never does any harm, but joining the masses in their siege of unhappiness is much much worse.

    Find what resonates, and just tryit as Whitney says.
    Thanks for your Posts
    Keith
  • :) excellent! I can totally relate!
  • I'll add my voice to the chorus, Chris -- good stuff here, and well worth repeating at every opportunity. Soooooo many people think that there will be some magic "someday" when the world will rise up and give them explicit permission to do what they want most to do. I've been victim to this mentality myself, at times.

    Far better, of course, is to pursue your own crazy vision -- your secret mission -- of what's possible. And if you don't know what your secret mission is yet, then your first assignment is to find it. And who knows? If you practice enough, you might even get the chance to finish several different secret missions before you're done.
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