How a Train Hopper Made Me See How Messed Up Our Working System Is
We’ve got it so backwards
I work for myself.
I left the rate race many years ago and there is no way I’m going back there.
I do however work closely with people who are changing careers and it’s often a renewed awakening for me when they talk about the hours they put in, the strict holiday policies, and the constant climb on the next rung of the career ladder.
From time to time, there is a story from a client that really gives me a virtual shake and makes me think how messed up our systems are when it comes to the way we work.
This week, it wasn’t a client, it was the words of an unemployed, homeless train hopper that really hammered it home.
I am a big fan of the work of Mark Laita and Soft White Underbelly. If you don’t know it, check it out (this is not an affiliate link, I am just a fan). Mark interviews people who are marginalised in society and his work is beautiful and eye opening, although not usually in any any way related to career aspirations.
Anyway, I digress…
Today I was watching a particular interview with a homeless man, who travelled the US, risking his life, hopping from train to train. He had very few possessions, nowhere to live, and no money, apart from when he did the odd bit of seasonal work as he travelled.
What struck me about this man was his response to the question asked about why he did this.
He said it gave him freedom like nothing else ever could. That the thought of being tied to a job was unthinkable to him. As a train hopper he could see the world, go wherever he wanted, on his own time, with no-one telling him what he could and couldn’t do.
He was willing to give up a home, all comforts, and an income to achieve this feeling.
It got me thinking about what the average person is willing to accept when it comes to their career.
I work with so many people that are unhappy in their jobs. They are working more hours than they want to, at the expense of having the time to do the things they love, with the ones they love. Some are making fantastic sums of money but don’t have the time to enjoy it, others are working hard and barely getting by.
The most startling thing is that many of them don’t even like what they do but they have spent so much time and money on getting there, they can’t see how they can ever do anything else.
How many of us are missing out on life because of a system that keeps us overworked, often underpaid, and beaten down in a way that makes us believe we have no other choice?
When you think of it like this, the train hopper seems like he might just have it all figured out. Breaking this cycle is damn hard. It’s brave to make a change in your career, it’s bold to start again.
What I suppose I’m saying is while the train hopper may seem extreme in his approach, there is nothing tying you to a job you don’t want to do, that’s robbing you of the life you want to live apart from your own beliefs about what is possible.
How do we change?
It’s so engrained in us that we must go to school, work hard, go to university, follow a set career path and work our way up the ladder, that doing anything that goes against the grain can be terrifying.
People like the train hopper show that if we can just break free of what we are told will make us happy and successful, we can take some time to really identify what success and happiness means to us. I’m not saying you should all leave your jobs and homes and risk your lives hopping on and off freight trains, but you might just find that much of what you’re chasing is someone else’s ideal, and not necessarily what you want out of life.
To finish…
I write about redefining success and everything that comes with finding a life and career that makes you happy, even if it goes against the grain. If my words resonate with you, I’d love it if you’d join me at Redefining Success for more content, tips, and support. You can also follow mw right here on Medium.
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