My job is one of the few, in my
field, where we are allowed to interview and board candidates. This is in stark contrast to almost every
other unit in the Department of Defense who gets what they get…the good and the
bad. The thought process is that in our business, relationships are everything;
relationships enable a successful mission; and the mission is second to
none. And not in a cheesy, cliche "mission first..." kind of way, but in a no-shit Battle of Britain "never have so many..." kind of way. We need the freedom to choose
someone who “fits” the organization and who can work within our structure to continue to build the capabilities that we require (wow - sorry, just slipped in to work mode there for a second. I digress...)
One question I always ask on an interview board is “if you could choose any job in the world...money was no issue…what
would it be?” I ask this question
because I want to get a sense of what the candidate’s interests truly are. I don’t care if they answer “I would be a dog
walker” or “I would be a research scientist” or “I would be a professional
video game player”…I just want to know what they are interested in and what
they’re passionate about. Because dog
walking, scientific researching, and a video game playing are all passions. Sometimes I get valid answers,
like the guy who smiled when he answered “I would open my own bike shop and
repair road bikes all day”. Sometimes I get
bullshit answers, like the girl who said “I would work in supply chain
management” (uh…maybe you’re not understanding the full extent of my question
here. Lets try this again…)
I’ve asked this question in
one form or another for years. First
dates. Long road trips. Late nights in undisclosed countries. If money was no issue, what would you
do. For years I’ve gotten some great
answers and I’ve personally always had the same response.
I would be a free-lance photojournalist.
I would travel and I would write.
I would see amazing things around the world, take pictures of real life
and real situaions, and explain it to the world in a prose that would resemble
the love child of Jack Handy, Jon Stewart, and Anderson Cooper. With a little bit of Ernest Hemingway thrown
in for fun.
But unfortunately for me (and
for everyone I’ve asked this question to…) money is an issue. Not an “issue” in that I’m living below the
poverty line (far from it). I don’t obsess about finances and I could rarely
tell you how much is in my checking account at any given time, but the important point is its in
there. Its like magic…or that boy friend
you can never get rid of…the money just keeps coming back. In a rare bit of self-awareness, I've realized my lifestyle could not be supported by free-lance photo journalizing for very long. Probably two weeks. When suddenly the numbers on the ATM receipt didn’t magically increase I would be having a very frank discussion with myself. I personally like being able to fly off to Colorado to
go snowboarding. Or throw down a couple
Ben Franklin’s to go skydiving all weekend.
Or never have to worry about drinking Ernest and Gallo. Money is an issue.
So whats my point here? My point is, there I was, half-way through a
three bottle night with a friend when I asked her The Question. I’m a horrible person and don’t remember her
answer. But when I spat out my standard
response she simply said “okay, so why don’t you?” Uh…? I
had a litany of reasons…Responsibility.
Common Sense. Fear. You name it I quoted it as why I couldn’t do this. Deb gave me a “you’re a dummass”
look and said “you don’t have to quit your job to do that (she so wanted
to say dummass here) look at where you've travelled, just start writing about
it”. Wow. This girl is brilliant.
So here it is. My solution to the age old question “what would
you do if money was no issue”. I can't
drop what I’m doing and become a free-lance photojournalist (Reason #1: Uncle Sam) so I’m starting a blog. While drinking wine. Because that’s what I do.
