I got to my Amazon Author Page today- https://www.amazon.com/author/andrewgilchrist
Every once in a while I get this feeling like I am actually not working for myself, but instead I'm working for Amazon, working for Google, working for Facebook, working for Apple...
Amazon's slogan is “Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History.”
Google's slogan was "Don't be evil." They may have changed that.
Facebook's slogan was "Move fast. Break stuff." This has changed to something more like, “Making the world more open and connected.”
Apple's slogan, as far as I know, is still, "Think Different."
If I were the ambitious entrepreneur type, I might try to synthesize these lessons from these modern masters of our destinies. In some ways, the slogans are supposed to communicate something about what is meaningful to these companies, or at least to the people around the tops of these companies.
I really appreciate all the services and reach and connectivity these mega-companies offer to people. But at the same time, all the efforts in using those services can seem to serve them more than serve the struggling writer or creator. I'm more and more convinced that no matter what, these companies are getting much more value out of all the furious activity than I might ever get from my hard work.
It brought a smile to my face to see that "customers also bought books by" Jordan Peterson. It wasn't really a surprise, of course, since Peterson was one of the main sources of my own work - the quirky Canadian midwife that he is. But it reminded me of his book title, Maps of Meaning.
Why put in the work if something else gets the benefit?
I guess it comes down to meaning, doesn't it... what does the work mean to you? Is it meaningful?
Do the work, not for results, but instead because it has meaning.
Do you have a slogan that keeps you going? Do you have something that brings you back to what is meaningful?