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When we get asked what we’d like to do when we grow up, our answers typically default to some sort of title.
Entrepreneur. YouTube influencer. Famous singer. NBA player. Food critic.
It feels great to declare a cool job title like this. But as we grow older and start working in these jobs, we realize that expectations don’t always match reality.
Because behind every job title, there is a list of key activities that people overlook.
An entrepreneur, for example, has to hire and manage a team. Build a product from zero. Raise money. Keep the company afloat. Sell like crazy.
So if you’re a designer thinking about starting a clothing brand, are you doing so for the title? Or because you genuinely like the work involved with being a business owner?
As a teen, I wanted to be a full-time YouTube creator, something that 29% of kids today dream of too (in other studies, the % is higher).
I wanted fame. The status. To make money in my sleep.
There was only one little problem: I didn’t like creating videos.
Filming and editing bored me to death. Not including scripting and presenting to the camera. Or dealing with trolls. Or figuring out what the YouTube algorithm wants next.
