19: The Principle of Psychological Self-Employment

We're continuing our conversation about the really interesting concept of serious play today. This concept has so much depth and value for all of us, whether we already are serious players or reluctant workers working towards becoming serious players. Tune in now, to find out more!

In today's episode, we will be talking about Psychological Self-Employment. This is the second of the six characteristics of serious players that Ray and Brenda identified when reflecting on the results of the interviews they conducted with more than thirty individuals who described themselves as serious players. These individuals were all people who really loved what they did and who essentially got paid just for being who they are. Today, Ray will be sharing some stories about serious players with this characteristic and he will explain how we can develop Psychological Self-Employment in our own lives. Listen in, to find out what Ray has to say about becoming psychologically self-employed.

Show Highlights:

These individuals, whether or not they were self-employed, described what they did as being in business for themselves. These people talked about working with, rather than working for the people in supervisory positions. They all operated as if they were self-employed. Ray tells the story of Mort Cooke, one of the serious players that he and Brenda interviewed, who was the bell captain at a hotel in San Francisco. The positions of these serious players may have reported to somebody, however, they didn't report to anybody. They reported to themselves. Ray explains what happened when the Dean of the university asked him to become the chair of the department. The kind of relationship that Ray had with the Dean was unlike any other reporting relationship. How Ray's consulting experience changed the way that he saw himself. Serious players know themselves, they understand who they are, and they are committed to being who they are. They are not arrogant, they are just confident. Serious players are flexible up to a point but they cannot compromise who they are. Serious players are comfortable in their own skin and they generally don't try to dominate other people. Some ways to develop the characteristic of Psychological Self-Employment. The two basic questions of life are: 'Who am I?' and 'What am I going to do with who I am?'. Ray gives a key exercise to help you to find out what to do with your life. Serious players think about how they can be of service and benefit to others.

 

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