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Even Cons Wear Suits To Court. Edition #107 — June 18, 2008. Sometimes happiness depends upon betting on a long shot. And sometimes the only way to win the game is not to play it. Yesterday I laid my cards on the table and told my boss "I'm out !" Quitting my current job might seem risky with my main computer having blown up last week and expensive dental work ahead but no dental insurance. I could have chosen to "tough it out" as many would have done. But today, rather than remorse and fear, I feel free again, at last. Luckily, as a self-employed web-designer I have many bosses who come and go. Some are angels (Hi D!) while others try to play head games with me as though I'm on the opposing side. Poor them. How many valuable players have they lost already? But when life becomes all about winning, it is ourselves that we always lose first. The Cloak Of Formality I have three "bosses" at the moment — besides my cat and my conscience. The one I quit on was a suit and tie man who catered to the suit and tie crowd. I don't come from that world and every time I enter it I feel like I'm in the middle of a masquerade ball where no one can really be who they are or express what they're feeling inside. In this world, "professionalism" means that all contact is sterile and formalized to limit self-expression. Everybody knows what to expect right from the early morning "Hi, how are you?" [ bitch!] to the daily pageantry of referring to someone as "Your Eminence" or "Mr. President " as they poop on your head from some lofty high chair. I rarely meet my clients face to face. I'm like a graphic design hitman for hire. In person most people can tell that I make my own rules. And even if I did own an expensive suit it wouldn't change my character or how well I do my job. Suits, in my opinion, are a facade against looking poor and unsuccessful. What they can't do is dress up the mind of the wearer. Perhaps that person is not worthy of my respect at all. Remember, in any mob film, even the bad guys wear suits. I rest my case. At home we all fart and scratch. What makes people think that their unsavory acts are invisible behind fabric that can't be laundered with their jeans? The last few years have been a lesson to all of us in flushing out those who act as though what they want is more important than what we need. Take for example the United States: even if John McCain were a young and charismatic man, he would still be lumbering beneath the shadow of dirty deeds by men in clean suits more expensive than my next computer. Locally, I'm doing my own part to douse those caustic fires. Yesterday I flushed another conman out and perhaps today a few of his business associates are adding hard facts to their own nagging doubts. Scruples? Isn't There's A Cream For That? Sometimes we have to cut our losses and walk away. It's not easy to turn our backs on a job when there's so much at risk. Some of you have a mortgage, kids in college, car payments and dreams to fulfill that require lots of money or mahogany doors to remain open. My strategy is not to remain trapped in soul-draining, passionless work for fear that my world might collapse without that job. Yet leaving also makes room for new opportunities, ones that we may now be too busy or committed to accept. Yes, things can go bad if we do nothing or if we do something that we might regret later. But deep in our hearts, we already know our next move but we may just be afraid to risk it without some reassurance. Consider this a slap on the back. We just have to look at those who rose from adversity to rise and shine above it all. One woman who endured such hardship is about to change history — Barack Obama's wife, who will become the first black first lady of the United States. And if anyone doubts why Hillary Clinton lost her bid, it was not because she was a women. It was because she proved that she had no scruples once she stopped hiding behind formality. Remember - keep those wrinkles off your soul, not just your suits. And until next time, here's a cool page to view too: Sincerely yours, Subscribe to free newsletter
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