“What do you do?”
How many of us simply announce our profession in response to this question?
Work is so central to our identity in the world today that this seems natural.
If you identify yourself closely with your work, that’s great. But, for many people, work is simply a means to pay their bills.
As Simone Stolzoff, author of ‘The Good Enough Job’, argues: “the fundamental purpose of a job is to pay for our material existence.“
“Yes, jobs require you to give up some of your time, labor, and autonomy… A job can be a vehicle for changing the world or deriving fulfillment, but many people do not work to self-actualize; they work to survive. Although we love to romanticize those who have found a way to escape the rat race, there’s nothing wrong with having a 9-to-5. but many people do not work to self-actualize; they work to survive. “
This brings us to the question: what’s the work that interests you beyond your current profession?
A few of my friends have often expressed their interest in works far removed from their current line. A tech bro who wishes to do organic farming one day. A marketing pro who wishes to assist charitable organizations with his expertise one day. And so on.
But what are they doing today about that “one day”?
The Second Half of Your Life
Peter Drucker, in his classic “Managing Oneself”, devotes a few pages to this very topic.
Drucker asserts: “There is one prerequisite for managing the second half of your life: You must begin long before you enter it.”
He warns: “If one does not begin to volunteer before one is 40 or so, one will not volunteer once past 60… Similarly, all the social entrepreneurs I know began to work in their chosen second enterprise long before they reached their peak in their original business.”
It’s vital to invest our time and efforts in our Plan B right amidst Plan A’s prime. By the time you really reach your mid-40s or 50s, it’s generally too late to pivot. As they say, you don’t dig a well when the house is on fire.
This conversation assumes renewed significance today. Because, unlike in the past, the industry scenario doesn’t give the confidence that people will remain employed till they reach 60 years.
What if one is no longer employed in the traditional 9-5 sense? What becomes of one’s identity? Importantly, what becomes of their work?
In the la la land of LinkedIn, everyone, apparently, is “killing” it. It’s scarcely surprising that the platform is accused of becoming too cringey. However, it must be acknowledged that it’s impossible for everyone to “kill it”.
- What happened to the promise that some people showed early in their life?
- What happened to the sparkling talent that never blossomed to success?
- What happens to the force of character that stood them apart?
Well, life happened.
So many people go through situations that weigh and wear them down.
But we live in a world that refuses to admit that vagaries and vicissitudes do plague a few lives more intensely. Lack of success is only attributed to one thing: lack of effort.
In a society where success is so terribly important, it makes more sense to have “options” (as Drucker calls it). Stolzoff colorfully describes this as “diversifying your identity”.
Drucker advises: “There is another reason to develop a second major interest, and to develop it early. No one can expect to live very long without experiencing a serious setback in his or her life or work.”
He goes on: “At such times, a second major interest—not just a hobby—may make all the difference. The engineer, for example, now knows that he has not been very successful in his job. But in his outside activity—as church treasurer, for example—he is a success.”
Reclaiming your life from work
I started 2025 with this wonderful 8-min TED talk”, by Simone Stolzoff.
Stolzoff urges us to find life’s meaning outside of work.
He posits: “… diversifying our identity can be great for business too. Research shows that people with varied interests tend to be more creative problem solvers and more innovative. Hobbies are one of the best ways to recharge so that you can be more productive when you’re back on the clock.”
A clear business advantage. However, Stolzoff is more interested in building the moral case for ‘diversifying identity’.
He argues: “We shouldn’t just work less because it makes us better workers. We should work less because it makes us better people. … This is about teaching our kids that their self-worth is not determined by their job title. This is about reinforcing the fact that not all noble work neatly translates to a line on a resume. This is about setting the example that we all have a responsibility to contribute to the world in a way beyond contributing to one organization’s bottom line.”
He concludes: “So the next time you’re at a party, instead of asking someone, “What do you do?” I encourage you to add two small words to your question. Instead, ask them, “What do you like to do?””
I strongly recommend the TED Talk to each of you.
Musings by Madhav 
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