This reminds me of a chapter in 'The Psychology of Money' where one of the principles is that wealth is what is what you don't see, like savings accounts and investment portfolios. Career status vs wealth is definitely something for me to think deeply about as a twenty-something.
This resonated with me deeply. I left the fashion industry (as a designer) and moved into corporate consulting, only recently have I realised that one of my main drivers was that I wanted to be "understood" by others. The status, prestige & stability of a corporate career are representative of a "tried and tested", understandable and acceptable career route- one that keeps employees contained in safety. Whereas the possibilities (both financial and creative) with entrepreneurship (freelance, content creation...) are endless in comparison, and yet somehow harder to explain at a dinner party.
What I've come to realise is that the discomfort wasn't really about the career itself, it was about tolerating the gap between where I was/what I was building and what others could immediately recognise as valuable. The wealth game asks you to be okay with that gap, possibly for years. The status game offers a shortcut to external validation that feels like progress but often isn't. Now that I'm building something of my own again, I'm learning to sit with that discomfort rather than run from it, and that feels like the real shift.
I think the status symbols of objects allow us to participate in the 'cool clubs', ones that make us feel in the know. Whether internally or externally motivated, it usually feels good to be part of the crowd, hence why we seek community. Do you ever feel like we're in the age of over-sharing? Like, in this age of excess (physically and digitally). We're seeing so many different lives being shown online, that it leads to decision paralysis.
This really spoke to me as a doctor. It’s conversations like this that make me more and more comfortable to break away from conventional expectations, which is what I’m doing by building an audience on Substack. Thanks Mia!
I’m a professional classical musician with two masters degrees in performance and a private school education from the start. My parents brainwashed me into using my low income talent as leverage to marrying well. My work is like being fun-employed and when I’m not performing, I cook, garden, go to the private wealth club of which I’m a member of or a spend the day at the races with my family’s racehorses. It’s an unbelievable existence.
Such a good reminder. We are not our job title-- we get to choose what we identify with every single day.
I always try to think everyday "How can I build leverage today?" since leverage is really what we are all seeking in our careers. And that often comes from things you can control (personal brand perception, language you use to talk about yourself, posting your knowledge online to build an idetntiy away from a corporate job etc).
This reminds me of a chapter in 'The Psychology of Money' where one of the principles is that wealth is what is what you don't see, like savings accounts and investment portfolios. Career status vs wealth is definitely something for me to think deeply about as a twenty-something.
Oh love this connection, that's my favourite Housel quote.
This resonated with me deeply. I left the fashion industry (as a designer) and moved into corporate consulting, only recently have I realised that one of my main drivers was that I wanted to be "understood" by others. The status, prestige & stability of a corporate career are representative of a "tried and tested", understandable and acceptable career route- one that keeps employees contained in safety. Whereas the possibilities (both financial and creative) with entrepreneurship (freelance, content creation...) are endless in comparison, and yet somehow harder to explain at a dinner party.
What I've come to realise is that the discomfort wasn't really about the career itself, it was about tolerating the gap between where I was/what I was building and what others could immediately recognise as valuable. The wealth game asks you to be okay with that gap, possibly for years. The status game offers a shortcut to external validation that feels like progress but often isn't. Now that I'm building something of my own again, I'm learning to sit with that discomfort rather than run from it, and that feels like the real shift.
Really interesting 👌
I love this so true!!
I think the status symbols of objects allow us to participate in the 'cool clubs', ones that make us feel in the know. Whether internally or externally motivated, it usually feels good to be part of the crowd, hence why we seek community. Do you ever feel like we're in the age of over-sharing? Like, in this age of excess (physically and digitally). We're seeing so many different lives being shown online, that it leads to decision paralysis.
This really spoke to me as a doctor. It’s conversations like this that make me more and more comfortable to break away from conventional expectations, which is what I’m doing by building an audience on Substack. Thanks Mia!
I’m a professional classical musician with two masters degrees in performance and a private school education from the start. My parents brainwashed me into using my low income talent as leverage to marrying well. My work is like being fun-employed and when I’m not performing, I cook, garden, go to the private wealth club of which I’m a member of or a spend the day at the races with my family’s racehorses. It’s an unbelievable existence.
Such a good reminder. We are not our job title-- we get to choose what we identify with every single day.
I always try to think everyday "How can I build leverage today?" since leverage is really what we are all seeking in our careers. And that often comes from things you can control (personal brand perception, language you use to talk about yourself, posting your knowledge online to build an idetntiy away from a corporate job etc).
Super interesting, and I loved the original video as well! Letting go of high status is so difficult though…
Me too Hannah Zhang is great! Totally agree. Nothing wrong with climbing a ladder as long as you're happy but a lot of people aren't
Thank you for this incredible piece!
Thank you!