"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
On last night's "Nightside" program on WBZ Boston (1030 on the AM dial) host Dan Rea asked the questions, "What would be your fantasy job?" and "What would be your dream job?" By "fantasy job" he meant something honestly unattainable, but just something (crazy) you'd imagine yourself doing...like being a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox or piloting a spaceship to the Moon. By dream job, he meant something that you'd love to do that (perhaps) could happen- like being a writer for The Boston Globe or being a cameraman on "Dr. Phil". Dan discussed these topics late in the show- 10 to Midnight; well, actually because Jen Brien was late for her shift, he discussed them on the first half hour of her show, as well.
I regret that I dozed through much of the discussion, but I enjoyed what I did hear. I got to thinking about what my fantasy job would be and what my dream job would be. There's actually not much of a difference between the two. My fantasy job is that of being a motivational speaker. I know- people who really know me may laugh at this because in my personal life I've struggled with great depression and negativity. It may seem very strange for someone who has so struggled with these matters to fancy himself being a nationally and internationally famous motivational speaker. In fact, I think the fact that I have struggled with this stuff is part of what would motivate me to become a motivational speaker! I know "the agony of defeat" but I also long for "the thrill of victory" and I have tremendous compassion for people who feel hopeless. It's my own loss and pain that has given me this tremendous passion! Now, many of you know that Jen Brien currently has my dream job! When Steve Leveille retired from WBZ in June of 2012 I actually contacted the program director of WBZ asking to be considered for the job- and I posted about this on my blog. I knew I was a huge long shot for that job for many reasons, but I still think I'd have done a fantastic job and would have made others (and myself) very happy! For a long time it appeared that WBZ just wasn't going to fill that slot with a permanent host, but honestly, from the very first time I heard Jen Brien fill in on the overnight shift, I knew she would get the job. She absolutely has the "right stuff" that WBZ was looking for.
I'm a very, very good speaker and a very, very good storyteller. I also happen to love Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" show on National Public Radio. Keillor is a lot more talented than I am, but I have the same gift of story telling, drama, and love of being before an audience that he does. I guess another fantasy job would be of doing a national story telling and humor radio show like he does.
Now, for everybody who is shocked that as an Ordained minister I did not list clergy as my fantasy job or as my dream job, let me say that I loved pastoring- especially the preaching and the teaching. I'm in a temporary and transitional time in my life. Should I be asked to serve as either an Associate Pastor or a "solo" Pastor again, I will do it! The tough part for me, though, was the "business end" of pastoring. A lot of it (frankly) is the stuff of running a small business or more accurately running a small non-profit corporation. For the most part, I was not very good at that. I also did not like church conflicts, and listen, every church has church conflicts! It's the preaching and the teaching that I loved- not only the actual preaching and teaching, but all the preparation that went into it, as well. I am believing God that I'll do that stuff again some day!
You may have expected that I'd have given my dream job as "newspaper columnist". Honestly, that is my Number 2 dream job! Some of you know that I had quite a number of columns published in the MetroWest Daily News between 2000 and 2009. The problem is that newspaper readership is on the decline and columnist positions are being eliminated rather than being added. I'd love to be a newspaper columnist- more as a part-time thing than full-time and such a "gig" is possible but probably unlikely for me.
Well, for what it's worth, those are my answers to Dan Rea's questions!
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1 comment:
I sort of envy Ellen DeGeneres because my teenage self dreamed of having my own TV show, hosting the Oscars, and marrying Portia de Rossi.
But seriously, I'd like a job in film criticism (and a real job, not talking smack about movies on the internet for free), which these days is nearly impossible as the print business dies and all their art critics get fired. I'll consider that a "fantasy" job, though I think probably being an actor on a long-running series or something like that is more of a fantasy job. That'll never happen.
For a good while now I've considered that my dream job would be to own my own video store. Perhaps I'll discuss that in depth on my own blog. It's a shame that the rental market is a tough sell today, but I think there are ways to hit markets that aren't being tapped to make it work. But as I have no head for business, and no money, that would be a Herculean feat to get off the ground.
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