A young founder reached out recently for career advice. Great schools, a machine learning background, and a few years running his own startup. Now he has a few opportunities in front of him and is trying to figure out which way to go.
It reminded me of an interview where Nicolas Cage described how he picks movies. He asks himself one question: what’s interesting for me here?
Most of us treat a career decision like a ranking problem: which option is best, safest, most impressive, most lucrative. Cage’s prompt is about you, not the scoreboard.
It isn’t for everyone, or for every moment -- sometimes you need the paycheck. (Yes, he’s also acknowledged taking roles just to pay off debt.) But answering it well takes knowing yourself and taking some real chances.
If you have the guts to act on what comes back, it can add up to a pretty remarkable body of work.
What's interesting for you where you're at right now?
What’s interesting for me here?
