Meet the Uncommon Vocationalist

Well, ok so I know said this post would come on Sunday, not Tuesday…sorry to all!

Today I want to discuss the dawning of a new work era: the age of the Uncommon Vocationalist.  But to understand how we’ve arrive at this point and who this new worker is, we need to see where he has come from.  

Throughout most of recorded human history, people were born into their life stations and therefore their work.  The child of a feudal farmer in Medieval Europe grew up to be a feudal farmer as well, just as the sons and daughters of nobility had the responsibility of looking good and serving their betters, just like their parents did.  Cinderella stories were one in a billion, until the Age of Revolution, when America, France, and other areas around the world erupted with a sense of freedom and an awareness of the rights of man.  This independent fervor established the age of the Self-Made-Man, and men like Andrew Carnegie rebelliously pulled themselves up from their bootstraps to positions of wealth, power, and industry throughout the 1800s and early 1900s.  These men made their own rules, fronted their own capital, and wheeled and dealed their way to golden penthouses and indestructible businesses.

The Self-Made-Men had created their own economic empires and needed large populations of workers to maintain them.  So the Factory Man was briefly born, before business shifted and he quickly evolved into the Corporate Man.  Unlike the Self-Made-Man who built his own business, the Corporate Man worked for someone else’s agenda, followed orders, met deadlines, and received a gold watch at retirement.  The Corporate Man made his contribution to the world by providing steady, faithful service to his company 9am-5pm for 350 days of every year, proud of their small contribution to the larger mechanism.  Corporate Men shaped the face employment for most of the twentieth century, until economic turmoil began to shake the very foundations the orderly Corporate Man was based on and his time slowly passed.

And out of the ashes of the Corporate Man and from the foundations of the Self-Made-Man, a new kind of worker has started to form: the Uncommon Vocationalist.  

The Uncommon Vocationalist in many ways is a hybrid of those who came before him.  He is an individual of great vision, poise, and ability like the rebels who build industry, yet who can manage himself and his work with all the skill and detail of a seasoned office worker.  And yet there is no office to be found, or at least no “traditional” office.  The Uncommon Vocationalist may be found doing his business in the comfort of his own home, at the local park or library, or even thousands of miles away in a remote and exotic destination.  

His business is his pleasure, and he works at his own will.  He laughs at those who say business isn’t personal, because he knows business is one of the most personal things in life.  He understands the integral and delicate link between work and life, and sees each day as an opportunity to grow both business and understanding of self. 

TheUncommon Vocationalist  is always learning, always improving, and always attempting to push his own limits.  He is his own boss, both in the work enviornment and out, and is also one of his own employees. 

He is taking over the workforce, adapting to economic uncertainty, and not letting this uncertainty stop him from being successful doing work that is meaningful for him.

We are entering the age of theUncommon Vocationalist.

Are you one? 

Tagged as: future of workers, the uncommon vocationalist