There was a movie (probably a made for TV one) in the 80s. It was so forgettable that I can’t remember the name, but it did have one line that has stuck with me ever since…"When I found you, you were starting to believe in your own mediocrity."
Of course, psychologists will tell you that those are the words of a Svengali or a megalomaniac, but that’s not the take-away that I took. Instead I fought against my own mediocrity. I’m good. After all, I’m sure my mother and my husband think so. So what if I’ve been fired, let go or laid off. That was because of economic hard times or corporate political sour grapes. Yet after enough hard knocks and it’s hard not to step out of the fast lane.
After years of trying to fit into the corporate mainstream, I took a career side step. I no longer get the rush of downtown excitement, but I do get to go home at 5:00 pm to walk my dog. I get to have a dog because I can spend time at home and not the office meeting a client deadline that wasn’t reasonable in the first place, but you had to meet because the competition would if they got the account.
My lifestyle now focuses on creativity and personal pursuits. I still work 9:00 to 5:00, but now it is 9:00 to 5:00. I have a home I love, a husband I love and a family I love and the time to enjoy them. In my job I get to explore and expand my creativity everyday in both art direction and copy writing along with managing the marketing side of the business. I could never do this in my agency career days as you had to be either an account director or a copy writer or an art director – one could never be all things. It’s probably true, I won’t win any Cannes awards, but I do look after all elements of marketing and advertising for a small group of brands in the fun and exciting beauty business. I’ve also expanded my creative endeavors to help a small group of clients and friends do everything from interior design for home and business, advertising, collateral, websites and now even some furniture design.
I miss the rush of an agency creative department. What I really miss is being surrounded by amazingly talented people who inspire creativity just by being. What I don’t miss is the insecurity of not measuring up. It’s the oxymoron of the creative world – all these wonderfully creative types with wacky ideas and out of the box thinking who look like they don’t have a care of what anyone else thinks of them. I’ll let you in on a little secret – they’re all afraid of waking up one day with no new ideas. My step out of the fast lane has taken away that anxiety.
Have I accepted my own mediocrity? Perhaps, but the benefits may be worth it. And what may be even more interesting based on reading the many blogs online, it seems there are a lot of other women – 40 plus (ok really 50 plus) – who have decided the same for themselves.
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