When I was little, one of my favorite things to do on field trips and family vacations was to shop for souvenirs – t-shirts, mugs, and other tchotchkes that summed up the essence of that experience within a single tangible item.
These little trinkets might have looked like junk to someone else, but to me, they were priceless treasures. Things I could hold in my hands and take with me, long after each experience had ended and we’d returned home; things that helped me return again and again to the magic of each moment.
Over the years, I collected cups, glasses, bracelets, jewelry boxes, keychains, magnets, and a whole treasure trove of souvenirs that reminded me of all the happy memories from each of those adventures.
When I began my job hopping adventures, I realized that I’d started to collect lessons, skills, and valuable takeaways from each job – uncareer souvenirs, if you will.
Even if a particular job was a dud, the souvenir I collected was a hard-won gem – something that reminded me of the best parts of each job I held and leveled me up toward my next role.
If you’re reading this, perhaps you’re in that position now. Maybe you feel stuck in a job that seems to be going nowhere, in a project that weighs you down, or in a business that no longer aligns with your true purpose.
If so, read on, because there’s some important soul-enriching work you need to do before you jump ship.
Uncareer Souvenir Shopping
You might be aching for a change, but please – before you jump ship, I implore you to do some souvenir shopping.
Find that one thing that you know will continue to serve you, well beyond your current situation – the one thing that still gives you a tiny tingle, the thing that you hope to find in your next landing place.
And look, I get it. If you’re in the depths of despair with your current role, finding the so-called silver lining might be the last thing on your mind. But I’m not talking about something fake or superficial that will make you feel better or even change your mind about your job.
I’m talking about something much deeper than that. You see, each job you have, whether it’s your dream job or not, comes into your life for a reason. Perhaps it’s to teach you a new skill, to help you realize this thing is decidedly not for you, or to connect you with a key person who may open other doors for you.
Even if you may not see it right now, trust that there’s a purpose in there for you. With a little digging, I’m willing to bet you’ll be able to find it. If you need some inspiration, below are a few examples from my various jobs over the years.
And, since I had 9 jobs in the 10 years after college, and then transitioned into the crazy world of entrepreneurship, I’ve built up quite a treasure trove of uncareer souvenirs over the years. Here are a few of my favorites.
Uncareer Souvenir #1 – The Value Of Leadership
The very first job I had out of college was as a 4th grade teacher with Teach For America, in a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood just outside of Washington, DC.
The principal who had interviewed and hired me was a well-respected community figure and had been the principal at the school for many years. She brought a warmth, vibrancy, and energy to the school that allowed students and faculty alike to feel trusted, respected, and cared for.
She led with heart and compassion, and she did everything in her power to both shield and empower teachers to do the best for their students. As a teacher under her leadership, I woke up every day feeling inspired, trusted, and deeply connected to the community.
However, before my second year of teaching began, that beloved principal was tapped to become principal of the local middle school. In her place, we got a new principal who had never been principal before.
Rather than trusting the teachers and students, she immediately put into place strict measures of control. It was so bad, in fact, that I had to turn in weekly logs of when my students went to the bathroom. 😳
Needless to say, this quickly and drastically changed the culture and feel of the entire school, and I felt I could no longer do my job to the best of my ability.
As I exited that role, I realized that the most valuable souvenir I was taking with me was the value of leadership.
With just a single change in leadership, the entire community shifted in a dramatic way. This would come in very handy later on when I led teams and launched my own business.
Uncareer Souvenir #2 – The Power Of The Minimum Viable Product
After teaching, I decided to pursue a career making “serious” games (i.e., games with a purpose in addition to entertainment, like educational games), to potentially cast a wider net of impact across kids and classrooms all over the world.
One of my first jobs in the serious games industry was with a startup whose mission was to create physical fitness games for kids – mobile games that would actually inspire kids to get up and move around.
Keep in mind, this was before Fitbit and other wearables. We were working with the limited technology of iPhone 3 and 4, with just a rudimentary accelerometer and gyroscope.
Having just graduated from game design school (yes, I actually got to go to school to study how to make games!), I did exactly what they had taught us in school…
I spent an entire month crafting an intricate game design document detailing every aspect of the game, including the size of the characters on screen, the number of seconds each animation would run, and lots of other pointless details – all before we’d created anything playable.
At the end, we had a thick document that everyone on the team dreaded reading, and nothing that we could actually play. 🤦🏻♀️
All at once, we realized the error of our ways and quickly pivoted (another hugely valuable souvenir I’d picked up from my experience working with various startups).
We ditched the design doc, and instead, we decided to create a quick proof of concept – an MVP, as they call it in the startup world (MVP = minimum viable product).
Our goal was to get a simple game up and running in the App Store within 2 weeks. This included coming up with the concept, designing the art, coding the game, quality assurance testing, and actually moving through the App Store submission process (which at the time was no easy task!).
And guess what. We did it. We actually created and launched an entire game from start to finish in 2 weeks. Best of all, we learned more in that quick sprint than we could have through a thousand design docs.
We went on to create several more games, each time building on what we knew was working and not working, and eventually creating a game that topped the charts in the App Store.
As I ended my chapter with that startup, I realized that the greatest souvenir from that role was realizing the power of the MVP (minimum viable product).
Rather than spinning your wheels and trying to imagine something, do whatever you can to build a simple and quick proof of concept. Then, get out there and launch it to the world. Watch people use or play the thing you created. Take note of where they get stuck or have questions.
Then go back to the drawing board and build it again, or create a new product that’s better than the first version.
The concept of the MVP and the iteration within the design thinking process are things that have served me extremely well over the years and that I still use to this day, whenever I think about launching a new, not-yet-proven project or idea.
Uncareer Souvenir #3 – A Title Is Just A Title
As I moved from game design into the world of learning and development, I also transitioned from the startup world to the more established agencies and corporations, and thus began my earnest climb up the corporate ladder.
When I was a Learning Experience Designer, I yearned to be promoted to Senior Learning Experience Designer. When I became a Senior Learning Experience Designer, I yearned to move up into Creative Director.
I didn’t know exactly where I was going, what I was trying to achieve, or what was “enough.” I just knew I wanted to keep going, keep climbing.
At each stage, I couldn’t wait to get to the next level. With each promotion, I celebrated for a hot minute, gave myself a high five as I noticed the slight bump in my paycheck, then recalibrated my focus toward the next promotion, always hungry for more.
When I’d finally reached what I’d considered at the time to be the pinnacle of my career path – Creative Director – I expected to feel fulfilled, satisfied, and happy.
Instead, I felt stressed, constricted, bored, and unfulfilled. I couldn’t understand it. I had attained the title I’d been longing for for years, so why wasn’t I happy?
As I lay awake at night, I remembered the fulfillment I’d felt as a teacher, the joy I got from designing a new game, and the exciting challenge of working on new learning experiences.
I didn’t have the Creative Director title then, but I’d sure felt more personally fulfilled. And that’s when I realized perhaps one of the most important souvenirs I’d collected up to that point – that title doesn’t really matter. It’s just a title.
Even if I had the lowliest title in the company but was doing something I loved, something I was good at, something that I could be adequately compensated for, and something that could impact the world, that was what I was truly after.
The rest – that was just my ego, with its insatiable hunger for more. The “game” of trying to attain higher and higher titles was not a soul calling.
In the end, it actually did the exact opposite of what I’d thought. Rather than fulfill my soul purpose, it actually became a soul-draining endeavor.
Lesson learned, souvenir unlocked.
How To Find Your Uncareer Souvenirs
Okay my friend, now it’s your turn. I hope that by now, you see the value of taking the time to collect uncareer souvenirs along the way, so you can honor each experience, regardless of whether it’s your dream job or just a temporary landing spot.
However, I know it can be difficult to find a souvenir if you’re currently in the thick of it and dreading every moment. So, let’s do this. Let’s go uncareer souvenir shopping together.
Ready?
Start by closing your eyes.
Then, take a deep soul-enriching breath, and imagine that you’ve fast forwarded to five years from now. You’ve left your current role, finished your current project, left your current team, and have otherwise resolved any outstanding conflicts or issues currently standing in your way.
As you look back on your current role, with any negative memories having now faded into the rearview mirror, what will be that one shining gem? That one thing that brings a knowing smile to your face?
Try saying to yourself, “I’m so glad I had that experience because…” and fill in the blank.
Whatever comes forth in that moment is your own special hard-won uncareer souvenir that will serve to launch you into something more aligned with your true purpose and soul calling.
It’s the thing that, when you look back someday, will make all the anxiety and frustrations of your current situation worth it. That one soul-nourishing gem that you’ll someday look back and say, “Ah. Now I get it. That’s why I had to go through that experience.”
Your Uncareer Souvenir Book
Whether it takes you 3 jobs or 30 jobs to uncover your true passion and soul purpose, remember that the journey is the destination. No matter how sucky your current situation might be, never leave without finding a souvenir that you can take with you.
Plus, that souvenir may help you weave together a strong and compelling story to tell in the interviews that may land you your next job.
Over the years, as you collect your uncareer souvenirs, you’ll have created your own unique souvenir book, filled with both hard and soft skills, deep realizations about yourself and others, and key personal connections who may become lifelong friends or mentors.
So, as you venture down your uncareer path, take a moment every now and then to pop your head up and look for a souvenir or two.
I promise you’ll be grateful you did.
