Moving Sideways

I guess the job search is going ok. I've had some interest. I've had a few interviews. Most of the opportunities I've been offered are for jobs I KNOW I do not want. Too dry. Too serious. Too corporate.

I've interviewed with a couple of people who seemed to be very impressed by my skills and my long and high-profile track record. "You'll definitely be hearing from us," they've said. But weeks have gone by and I haven't heard a peep.

Part of me thinks I should just go out there and make hay while the sun shines, as my mom used to say. That is, just thrown myself headfirst into the fast-track and make as much big money as I possibly can. But that would mean going back to my old life. Checking the blackberry all the time. Working long, long hours. Not being home frequently. Never feeling that my time was my own. Putting up with a whole lot of BS.

Lately though, there's also a quiet, little voice inside of me that keeps asking the same question, "Isn't it sometimes smarter to move sideways than to move up?"

Wouldn't I be better off in the long run to settle for a calmer, more mundane job? Less high-profile. Less money but one that left me with more of my own life?

The great American work ethic teaches us to climb the ladder and keep on climbing. And that's just what I did until a couple of years ago. But who says that if I get back on, I have to keep going up? Maybe there is wisdom in moving sideways. Maybe up isn't always better.