Intersection
I’m not sure where you stand on the topic of AI. Do you use it everyday? Do you think using it is de-skilling humans and up-skilling the robots? Do you love it because it allows you to get so much more done with less time and resources? Or, are you afraid that the more we use it, the quicker it will deplete the earth of its natural resources because how else are the servers staying cool? My answer to all of these questions is, “Yes.” But, depending on your position, you may not like what I’m going to write next.
Image: Me and Ila on a walk through Central Park this weekend. I can already see interesting professional paths for her at the intersections of her interests but it’s much to early to speak on it nor would I. I’ll be curious to see where she lands in life.
I was chatting with a couple of people over the weekend about career paths. One person had found themselves in a career path that aligned with part of their values and passion–ministry. They had recently become a pastor. But in the process of pursuing this path, they left the other part of their interests behind–acting. Now, this person has received a masters from a prestigious acting college and has performed on Broadway in the past. During our conversation, they shared that they were mourning the loss of their acting career. I asked if there was a world in which both ministry and acting could co-exist. They felt like faith-based media (films, music, etc) lacked the tension and imperfection of the human condition, making them not great artifacts for artistic excellence. I didn’t disagree, but I also thought their interests could be a solution to that market problem.There’s something really interesting for this person at the intersection of their passions and the tension between their interests.
I find myself often chatting with people about the intersection of their skills and interests. Sugar Hill Creamery is a product of exploring the intersections of Nick’s and my interests and identifying problems in our personal lives as well as a notable neighborhood problem–there were no ice cream shops prior to us existing.
Image: Us at opening day of the Mets game last week. My entrepreneur friend from the Goldman Sachs 10KSB bought us and colleagues from our program small group tickets to attend the game with his company. In general, I find entrepreneurs to be wizards at building careers at the intersection of their interests and problems.
When I was chatting with the actor turned pastor, I was proposing ideas that could help them build a career at the intersection of their interests. But, I wanted to see what an AI tool would have to say about it. When I got home, I took what I knew about them and typed the prompt, “Can you be a career predictor based on my interests? If I give you things I’m interested in and also problems I see around me, can you help me identify some possible career paths that would allow me to pursue my interests while solving some problems?” What it gave me were similar ideas to what I had shared with this person earlier in the day. Then I tried it for someone else I know who doesn’t feel like they’re doing the work they’re supposed to be doing. Their results felt very aligned with possible jobs they could hold.
Why am I sharing this? Well, I feel like I have a decent number of conversations with people who are at a career crossroads. They’re not being nourished from the work they’re doing in their day-to-day or in other cases have never felt like they’ve been able to do the work they’ve always wanted to.
Images: From our last Women's History Bakery Ice Cream Pint Series with The Little Fat Girl. This series was a total hit. We sold out every weekend that we dropped a new pint and it came to be because I was looking at the intersection of my personal interests and the problem our business' seasonality.
My answer to these unknowns is always to look at the intersection –the intersection of the person’s interests, skills, and the problems they’ve observed around them. Writing these things down or asking other people to reflect back what they see as your interests and skills can also be a good place to start.
After writing everything down, the fun begins. Whether you see the magic at the intersections or you put everything in an AI tool and see what it yields, the results are a starting point to getting some answers.
At church last week, our pastor said in his message that if you’ve never known what to do work-wise just do things to the glory of God. You may not believe in God, but I think the idea still applies. Whatever you do, whether you’ve found your answer at the intersection of your interests, skills, and the problems around you or you’re on the journey to getting there, doing work with deep love and reverence for the fact that you get to do it hopefully fills your tank enough to keep going with joy.
Petrushka
Your Local Ice Cream Lady/Business & Life Coach