When’s the last time you felt like Michael Jordan?
… That’s a question I recently asked my partner, Francisco, while watching Netflix’s new series about Michael Jordan, The Last Dance.
“When I used to play football with my friends and work mates. I was the best at every game and I know I wowed them every time. I loved it”, he said. “What about you?”
Turns out, it’s a great question to help you figure out what your dream job is. What it is that you truly love doing. That’s what this piece is about. And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
So, what did I mean when I asked this question?
To me, feeling like Michael Jordan is knowing you’re the best at what you do. It means feeling like there’s nobody on planet Earth than can do what you’re doing better than you. When you feel like Jordan, you’re god (any god you like, a’right?) doing a job. And everyone agrees that you’re unbelievably good at it.
What was my answer?
I told Francisco that I had felt that way twice in my life. And even I was surprised that none of those two situations were in my current job. Let me explain.
I studied linguistics at uni (got a master’s and everything, no kidding). And I currently work as a linguist of sorts in a hugely successful company, with great people, fantastic leadership, with my own small, very small, team -hello, AH! I enjoy it and I’m pretty good at it. In fact, people say I’m REALLY good at it. So you’d think this is where I’d feel like female Michael Jordan, right? Wrong.
First time I felt like Jordan
The first time when I felt like His Airness was when I won an Emily Brontë translation competition at uni. A bunch of us had to translate a chapter of Wuthering Heights from English into Spanish. I was the only person in the competition who was studying Spanish linguistics. The other 50 contestants were studying English linguistics.
My 50 opponents had spent years studying English and Emily Brontë’s work. On the other hand, I had learnt English on my own as a second language. Phoebe and Monica from Friends, The Forrest Gump novel and Eminem were my teachers. But against all odds, I won. Yes I did. And it felt awesome. As I was crafting my translation, I knew there was no way someone was writing better words than I was.
Second time I felt like Jordan
The second time I felt like Air Jordan (the legend, not the shoes) was when I got a chance to lead a small team and introduce a brand new product into the business I was working for. I turned the small team into a huge team and the small new product into the most important communication channel in the business. And I was the boss of it all. The person with all the answers, the manager with the best stats, the one who could fix almost any problem related to that product. I knew I was the best. Everyone in the business knew it too. Just like everyone knew that Jordan was the only one who could turn a dying franchise into a championship winner.
So why did I leave it?
When I gave Francisco these answers, especially the second one, I started trying to figure out why the heck I had left that last job. I realised that it became stale. Maintaining something is not as exciting as building it.
So I started looking for new challenges and I found this job in linguistics, which I feel so passionate about. Changing into this job meant I moved into my ideal professional path. It also meant moving from top dog to not-so-top dog. And I was totally happy with that when I made the move.
And now, after a few years in this job, I start feeling like there isn’t enough room for me to grow and build something amazing. There isn’t enough room to feel like Michael Jordan.
What next?
The highest number of points Jordan scored in a single basketball game was 69.
All I need to do is figure out what’s my version of scoring 69 points. Once I’ve figured that out, I’m all set to feel like Michael Jordan… again!
If you haven’t started watching the series, I highly recommend it. It’s a fascinating story. Plus, if you’re in a professional crossroads, or out of a job and unsure where to go next, Jordan might be the answer. Catch it on Netflix.
