Your Job is Not Your Career

I think it is too early for me to review this book, because first I am jobless so my point of
view is not worthy that much and second I have not thinking about my career in the future.
This book is written by Rene Suhardono, a public speaker, social entrepreneur, writer, and
founder of ImpactFactory or PT Indonesia Lebih Baik and now as a career coach (that is what
it says on the preface page). Since I don’t really understand with the term of “career” very
well, so I think it would not wasting my time and energy to read this book. Who knows it
may give me an insight to build my long term planning of life. Or I can find my job that
coincidentally will become my career in future.

“I JUST LOVE YOUR JOB BISA BISANYA MIMPI JADI KENYATAAN NOT ONLY
DO YOU GET TO WORK FOR THAT BIG COMPANY, TAPI JUGA PUNYA GAJI
GEDE, PLUS INI DAN ITU LAINNYA.OHH, I ENVY YOUR CAREER.” You focus on
the bold words and you will get the name of the book title. (that is the cover of the book).
And now I am going to explain the content of the book.

People are often thinking that job and career is the same thing. There are the differences of it.
The analogy are job is a vehicle or tool that bring us to the place that we want and career is
the journey itself. Or we can ask people why do they work? Some answers may because they
want to spend their time, earn money, make a living for spouse, families, and the children.
While career is meant for happiness and achievement, but only for youself), not in the name
of the happiness of people who you love.

Job is a facility for an individual to fulfill his/her life needs and produce a masterpiece. Also
a way to improve personally and professionally. But you don’t really own the company you
work, you can get fired by your boss. You work base on company goals and job description,
you have to put yourself in work environment whether you like it or not (if not you will move
out and find another job) and yes of course you will get reward and compensation. The job is
more about you work for it to earn something (money, titles, or anything) so that your life can
be secure financially. You may experience the moment of “don’t want to-but have to”
because you don’t really like your job, but you have to work for it to survive in life. Lucky
for you that you love your job so you would not think as a problem. But the job does not
define who you are. The career does.
Meanwhile career is more than making a living- it is about passions, life purposes, values,
and motivation to create a masterpiece to give a contribution to environment (familiy,
company, nation, other creatures, and the universe). It is very personal’s desire but the impact
is more powerful that having a job. It is about how to live a meaningful life, what we want to
be remembered when we die, how to deal problem with positive attitude, to make a
difference in environment, to reach the happiness and achievement. It may reflects for who
you are. Because it is about passions, life purposes, values and motivation, so in your journey
of life you may having many changing occupation. That is because you can have many
dreams and if one of your dream does not work out well, you will try to achieve the other one
and make it happen.

Your job may not be your career but the career definitely will be your job. If you like your
job, that is because it will be your career, for now or even in the future. How to define a
career? There are many paradigmas of it. Some people think earning much money is a career.
Big titles like CEO, VP, GM is a career. It is not wrong to think like that, but if you move
your job with the downgrade title and lower salary, would you think that it is a decreasement
of your career? The definition of career does not talking about what you can get, more about
what you can give. Ever heard of “Do the things you like then not even a day we need to
work?” That is a career and it is about passion.

You may think that my job will be better than having a career. I will have a lot of money, a
big titles, I am famous, I can go everywhere I want, buy anything I want, etc. But the truth is
you can’t work for your entire life right? People will retire about 60-65 years old and your
work end here. But your career is a lifelong journey, you still can do it even in your
retirement age.

At last, career is something that you really desire about and you try to make a living for it to
fulfill your own happiness and achievement. You don’t really care about the reward, but more
care about what you can give to the others. It make you happy and satisfied. That is very
noble I think. If you think your job is your career it is not wrong. Or you think that career is
something you are handsomely rewarded, like money and titles, that is not wrong too. You
have your own stand and so does the writer. What do I think? It doesn’t matter what I think,
for now. All my reasoning are trying to match up with what the writer is thinking. One day I
will prove it myself haha. This is not the end, next I will explain more about passions, life
purposes, values, and motivation. See you in my next writing!