Work and Authenticity

The person is reflecting on their working life and how it aligns with their spiritual goal of being their authentic self. They discuss their core authentic needs, which include using their innate abilities in problem-solving and communication. They also value authentic relationships and avoiding ego-driven environments. They emphasize the importance of having an ownership mentality and being empowered in their work. They believe that freedom and creativity are essential for fulfilling their emotional needs. So what I've been doing is looking at the idea of my working life, my career and what I do with my productive life and how that relates to my spiritual goal of growing into my full authentic self, being who I truly am and sort of living in alignment with God. So what, you know, who am I really and how do I approach work in a way that's just completely integrated and authentic? What do I want? What's my career? What's my niche? How do I find it? And I think I wanted to talk a little bit about what are my real authentic needs. So who am I? What in a work environment, what actually, you know, makes me tick? What drives me? What gives me purpose? What gives me fulfillment? I've really had 10 or 11 years of accumulated emotional experiences regarding work about things I like and things that I don't like and so when I looked at my core emotional needs, I actually wrote out a list, based on a list of 21 things that I need in a work environment to make me happy and they all really came down actually to sort of five core authentic needs and then that also leads on to a couple of other things which I'll talk about but I think one of those needs, one of those core areas is to be in an area where I actually use my innate God-given abilities, where I focus on those areas where I have a real flair and I think, in all humility, there's probably two areas where I am a one in a hundred ability or better. There's other things I'm good at but there's probably two areas that really stand out. One is my analytical ability and I think that can be looked at as both in terms of sort of problem solving, which can be a detail problem and through lots of data, it could be a language problem, doesn't really matter whether it's language or numbers or it could be a sort of big picture strategy or understanding a very difficult concept or linking two different concepts together so any kind of problem solving or big picture strategic thinking is something where I'm a, I have an absolute flair and just to add a bit of nuance to that, one area that I don't have a flair for is very highly detail-oriented work so obviously working in finance, I have been caught in the past, you know, financial modelling jobs where you kind of need a lot of detail orientation, which isn't my flair and in fact if you look at, just to expand on this a little bit, whenever I'm given any kind of task or if I have any task, my interest level is almost inversely proportionate to its complexity so if I get given a very basic task to do that takes a lot of time, doesn't require a lot of analytical thought, my energy level drops whereas if I get given a very complex problem to solve or strategy to think up, then my energy level rises so that really is me and I have been blessed with a very good brain and so again, core need of using my abilities, my God-given abilities, that's one of them and the other area that stood out is communication, particularly verbal communication. In fact, verbal communication is where my flair is. I can write, I can write well but it's not a one in a hundred ability whereas verbally communicating, whether it's just one on one or whether it's in front of a big group, the ability to be able to explain quite difficult concepts and you know if you look at, I've also enhanced those skills by doing public speaking, teaching, working in sales so my overall ability and skill set in communication is a one in a hundred plus ability so they're probably the two things I do well ability wise so if I had a job for example just to play this out where someone gave me a very complex problem and said you've got five hours to work this out which includes a one hour interview of someone and then you have to get up in front of a group and present for an hour at the end of it and I did that every day, I'd probably be happy just because I'm operating in the same way that LeBron James plays basketball, I'm operating in spaces that I just have a flair for and I'm good at and they come easy, my energy level rises when I'm doing them. That's why I love playing board games, you know that problem solving that communication, I could sit there and play board games all day. So that's my, that actually is my highest ranking, seven of my twenty one emotional needs related to being able to use my abilities and I think they're the two ones that I have the real flair for. Number two and three were equal so I'll put number two as relationships but two and three are actually interrelated. I think the relationships is almost an absence of something, it's an absence of having to deal with other people's ego. I think the best, I think what it actually, what I really want from a working environment is just to have authentic relationships, you don't necessarily need to be best friends with everybody but just be in that environment where you're not continually dealing with people's ego. So if I look at relationships, I think about business mergers and sales where it was just through liberating coming to an area where I just went from being in a very hierarchical structure where you can't really be yourself, you've got to sort of play a role and you're at a certain level to a role where I could just be myself, you know I could just be authentic and it's just beautiful when people work in that environment where there's just these authentic relationships, people can just be themselves and that's what you strive for. And then you have areas where it's mixed, like in Yarin there was some beautiful authentic relationships with most of the guys and then you have tyrants like the Gorgie brothers and some massive egos sort of sitting around him in the big sort of five or six who sat in the boardroom but the rest of the group were lovely authentic people. And the same at Pindam where there was some beautiful authentic relationships but then you've got the egos. But the thing, and this is why relationships and the nature of your work, whether you've got an employee mentality or an ownership mentality is important because I don't mind dealing with egos in a context where I've got sort of where I'm empowered. So if I'm working in sales and a client has a big ego or working in property development and a client or a supplier has a big ego, it doesn't bother me because you don't have to deal with it. You can just, you know, it just is what it is and you can still enjoy your working life but where you have to deal with it every day and just be in that culture of ego. The worst example was Pindam where the two guys who I've worked with had enormous egos and it's just draining. So you had Nick and Stacker and they just had agendas and egos and it's that combination of dealing with that together with being an employee and so you're disempowered. So when I think of really what I am, I'm actually a very sensitive person. So areas where you just have that culture of ego like politics or the military or investment banking where you've got to sit in there and work with people who've got an agenda against you. I don't think I have that. I think I'm too sensitive for that environment. So that's something I need to sort of keep in mind. How's this organisation got a culture of ego? Whereas when you work in truly authentic environments where you feel comfortable being yourself, you've got some empowerment. I think the two guys hand in hand, I think there's a link between having an ownership mentality and having authentic relationships I think. So that's a big key. Is this job going to allow me to have really good, authentic, healthy relationships and not have to deal with too much ego? Or if I do deal with it, it's in an environment where I'm empowered and I have an ownership interest. It's not something where I'm an employee and going to be the victim of it. So that's relationships. I think it's just about what's the culture of the place. Is it a culture of ego? And also, am I merely an employee? And this runs into the third category. So the first one is, am I using my God-given abilities? The second is, what's the relational environment of this organisation? Is it one where I can have authentic relationships with people or is it one where I'm going to be up against big egos? The third one is what I'd call the sort of ownership, creative and entrepreneurial. So if we look at it as a binary, the worst thing you can do is almost be a slave, where somebody just tells you what to do. And the best thing is when you completely have freedom and empowerment to do whatever you want. Now it's not quite like that because I think we all need structures and we need to work with other people. So you wouldn't want to just be sitting in a room by yourself with no rules. But I think generally when I reflect, again I go back to that big shift when I went into business breaking. Just the freedom to be able to manage my working hours, that's part of it. You're not a slave to someone else's ego or timetable. And also the freedom to just be creative in my work and not necessarily be told what to do but decide how to go about things. And that sense of emotional need for freedom and creativity. And again it liberates you so it brings other areas. When you have that freedom you can use your abilities more because you can choose what work you want. You don't have to deal with people's egos. They'll still be there but you can work with them in a different way. So it's about being empowered. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to be the equity owner of the business. A lot of sales roles, you have that sort of ownership psychology because you're not judged on your hours. You're judged on outcomes. So just that sense of ownership and being creative and not having an employee mentality is very, very important. So really you either get that by starting your own business or working in a role that has that psychology about it where you're probably on a base class. Or you kind of get it by having more than one income stream because that empowers you too. Where you're a full-time really unempowered. So that's important. The fourth one is just the sort of groupiness, sort of having variety in my work, having movement so I'm not stuck at my desk and just its overall interest level. So variety, interest and movement. And I think I look at the things I've always enjoyed about work is those days where you're travelling somewhere, you get in your car and you're going to a site or you might go on a trip overseas or sort of movement. Am I going out to a meeting versus just a job where you're sitting at your desk 40 hours a week. So it needs to be that sort of sense of movement. And variety, again not just looking at one subject matter but is there lots of variety in the job, variety in the type of work I'm doing, variety in the ideas I'm exploring, variety in the people I'm interacting with. I just think about the property development where there was so much variety in the projects and the people and there were trips out to sites and there were days when you were in meetings, you dealt with all different people from different walks of life. And that sense of variety and movement in that job was wonderful. And you compare that to sort of jobs where you're just sitting at the desk for 45 hours a week and doing the same thing. So it's almost like if I imagine how I'd spend a Saturday. I wouldn't want to stay at home all day. I'd want to get out and go for a drive. I'd want to see a few different people. I'd want to do a few different things. And I'd gravitate towards things I'm interested in. When I read the paper, I'd read the articles I like. I wouldn't be forced into an area that I'm not interested in. So that sort of variety, interest and movement is sort of an emotional lead. And then the last one is that sense of sort of learning and development, getting better. And I think there's a few parts to this. I think when you look at the way Deloitte and Youngview continue, there's that great sense of learning. You had this sort of formalized learning. I loved it. I loved learning. It's one of my great passions. It gives me energy. So you learned on the course and then you learned on the job. And then you developed and you got better. And they measured how you developed in all your different areas. So they were far ahead. And then I look at my first sort of year in business broking. And I learned how to sell. That's an example of sort of the practical learning. And then even the first year at YARN, where I just learned and felt like I was developing. And I think what it is, is in growing into our authentic self, it necessarily follows that we need to be challenged. So if we've got our comfort zone, we always need to be stretching ourselves just that little bit, going a little bit further out of it. And those times where I got stagnant through my last six months in mergers and sales, and probably my last six months at YARN, that feeling of simply just not learning anything more, not being stretched. So I think, you know, I brainstormed 21 basic needs I have for work. Emotional, authentic needs, things that give me energy. And they all really fit into those sort of, those five categories. You know, am I using my God-given abilities? What's the relational environment? Am I able to develop fulfilling, authentic relationships with people and interact in a nice manner with people? Or am I a slave to somebody else's ego? The third one is, you know, the ownership and creative. Do I have that sense of empowerment and sense of freedom? Or again, am I tied down to a set of rules and regulations dictated by somebody else? And so that's an emotional need. I look at the variety and movement and interest, you know, compare it to a Saturday. How do I want to spend my Saturday? I want to do four or five different things. I want to get in my car, leave my home. I want to read different things that I'm interested in. I don't want to sit behind a computer and just do one thing. And then learning and developing and challenging myself. So am I growing? And I think these are my authentic emotional needs. And so the other two needs I have, so it fills out at sort of the seven, and then there's one sort of overriding thing as well. In fact, I'll say it's sort of three. So, obviously you have the financial need as well, which is critical and, you know, part of being authentic and my goals is to be financially independent. I think that will liberate me to give as much as I can to the world, to be very giving on the journey there, but also have a goal to be financially independent. So there's two parts to the finance. One is covering my just base needs, whatever that is, whether it's 50 grand, 60 grand a year. That's the income sort of need, and then there's the need for wealth creation. You know, is this, am I creating things? Am I heading towards wealth? Not necessarily in the short term, but is it, am I making the investments in myself and in business, in the development, through savings, through income, am I growing wealth? So there's a financial part need, an authentic need there that needs to be part of my decision making, both in terms of income and wealth creation. The other need I have is to be excellent. I look at how happy I've been in my life and how authentic when I've achieved, you know, whether it's at school or at uni, and look as an adult, the pats on the back aren't going to be there, but it's that feeling of excellence and doing my best. So all my emotional needs are met, and I'm not, you know, you want to achieve excellence and have that feeling of doing your best. So that's the second sort of outcome, and the overall thing about it is, is the whole thing authentic? I think it's a need that the job I'm doing is a good thing. I'm providing a service, a good that's useful for people. And then, you know, does it all tie together? Does it work? And I think, so that's it. So you've got the sort of using, the core emotional needs of using my abilities, having good relationships, environment, having a sense of ownership and creativity, variety, interest and movement, and learning, developing and challenging. So they're my five core needs. And when this, and then the other sort of outcome, sort of base needs of being financial, heading towards my financial goals of financial liberation, being authentic is a morally good job, and then being able to achieve excellence and say I'm doing my best. So these are my core needs. That is who I am. This is, these things allow me to grow into my authentic self. If I'm using my abilities, if I've got great relationships, if I've got a sense of ownership and creativity, if I've got variety and I'm interested and I'm moving, and if I'm learning and developing and challenging myself, if I have all those things in my working life, as much of them as possible, and less boredom, less employee psychology, I have all these great things and I'm going to get financially successful, I'm going to achieve excellence, I'm going to feel authentic, good about what I do. So they're my emotional needs, and then we'll look at ways to sort of explore them in another talk.