That’s the word that keeps coming back. Nothing stolen. Nothing taken against my will. Wasted. I gave it all willingly. That is what the trade is, show up, work hard, collect the paycheck, repeat. It honestly feels like a bribe.
I did my job, that’s what I was paid to do. The company looked good. My boss looked good. Their boss looked good. I stayed in place. Yes the paycheck covered the hours I worked. Did it cover what I was losing?
The moments where I could see exactly what needed to be done but no one listened, those were wasteful times. Many times I would watch problems grow instead of getting solved and in my mind all I could think is “I should be a consultant and charge $200 an hour to fix the stupidity here.”
I can’t tell you exactly what I would have built with those wasted years because that’s how life is. Uncertain. I can tell you I would have built something, more than I have to this point. I would call that progress and not the stagnation I have lived. Failing while trying to do something most won’t attempt is better than wasting away in the same space day after day.
I’m not telling you to be angry at your job. I’m not saying be angry at your boss for benefitting your hard work. This is for that $200 an hour consultant living inside of you. The one who sees the problems and knows how to fix them.
Your job may have already cost you. There is no going back.
Are you willing to keep paying that cost? That is the now question.
