There are only four professional pillars that actually matter: medicine, education, the non-profit arena and public service. All other pursuits are caulk for the cracks, filling the moments in life that bridge birth and death.
I’m cognizant of the fact that I just excluded myself from the realm of value, but this isn’t to discount the worth of pursuing a job that personally fulfills you; it simply doesn’t essentially matter to the greater good. With this unpopular thesis, I insult the livelihood of myself, most of my friends and family, and most of the people reading this, but it’s more-so to honor certain people than to devalue others.
Sure, the entertainment industry serves its purpose in providing a vacation from the often harsh realities of life, and the culinary industry enhances the experience of ensuring sustenance. And yes, there are jobs that feature elements of tremendous potential positive impact on humanity like technologists who solve worldly problems or banks that issue loans to doctors starting clinics in underprivileged neighborhoods. Occupational pursuits that serve the greater good through by-products are fantastic, but humanity is not set back 1,000 years by the elimination of the NHL or the dissolution of Abercrombie & Fitch. The most noble amongst us have the wherewithal to recognize an obligation to leave this world better than they found it, and selflessly dedicate themselves to such causes.
Americans live about 78 years, give or take 20, and generally do one of two things throughout their existence – maximize their own pleasure or contribute towards the well being of others.
The first pillar, medicine, is led by doctors, scientists and organizations who most literally improve and save lives. The second pillar, education, is led by different forms of teachers, who promote awareness and intellect, provide context and lessons, encourage creativity, spawn innovation, and aid in the protection from repeating past mistakes. Education and mental healthcare together provide the only real solutions to defeating war, poverty and sustained malice.
The third pillar exists because our healthcare and educational systems both domestically and at an international level are built on entirely lackluster or nonexistent infrastructures. Non-profit organizations help to fight the realities of homelessness, famine, disease, disaster, bankruptcy and other societal ailments. The fourth pillar should have an asterisk because there is a dichotomy of value in this designation.
On one end, you have politicians… local legislators, mayors and even Congressmen, many of whom represent some of the most despicable and egocentric qualities human beings can muster, while on the other end, you have police officers, firefighters and the military, who represent the most selfless, greatest qualities human beings are capable of.
Without public service, we live in a disorganized world of sheer chaos, driven by human nature. What’s frightening, is the backwards methodology with which our capitalist society assigns value to the world’s slate of occupations.
Teachers, doctors, cops and infantrymen are severely underpaid, while athletes, actors and those who know how to manipulate currencies best are all comparatively paid an insanely egregious amount. There’s no quick solution to this because capitalism is after all, the best in breed of a series of dysfunctional economic systems.
Most people work as a means of optimizing their enjoyment of the time they spend with friends and family not working. Some people work to give themselves purpose, but I’d argue there’s a certain level of selfishness in that. Jobs don’t really matter, unless you’re helping others in the process. The argument could be made that some doctors, teachers and charitable folks enjoy helping others, and are therefore inherently being selfish in their pursuit of being selfless… but that’s really meta.
When I was a young child, I wanted to be a doctor. Then in high school, I wanted to be a writer. In college, I wanted to be a lawyer. Somehow, I ended up in technology, which is at best on the fringe of one of the four pillars. The best benefit of being at Brand Knew (alliteration win) is the gamut of industries we interact with and in turn, the inspirational people we have the privilege of dealing with on a daily basis.
From the top, down, Jason and I have tried our best to build Brand Knew in the vein of such responsibility. We serve at the pleasure of Carolyn Blashek and Operation Gratitude, the leadership at Got Your 6 and Sasha Itzikson and Goodwill, each incredible client organizations worthy of endless praise. They spend all day thinking about others. We launched the Homeless Connector pro bono for another impressive campaign, 100,000 Homes.
Beyond that, our lieutenant, ever-essential crusader and first hire back in 2010, Russell Meyerowitz, spends most of his time outside of the office running the Parkinson’s Wellness Fund. His annual Play for Parkinson’s Golf Tournament is today @ Maderas Golf Club in San Diego. And in the face of evil, Laura and Matt, the co-founders of our portfolio company FitCause, helped to create the #RunThrough campaign to raise money for the families of those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.
At a time of unprecedented social sharing and access to information, taste-makers and others in positions of influence have an obligation to consider how they can have a positive impact through their daily dealings, even if on the auxiliary. In your career aspirations, during your pursuit of occupational achievement, as hedonism permeates our culture at an exponential rate, consider how you can leverage the good you’re doing yourself, in order to do good for others. Be a capitalist with a conscience.