The Olympics, the Coal Mine, and the Cubicle

Play along with me, it’s a metaphor. 

The Olympics are where everyone wants to get. The Olympics are the pinnacle of your dreams, efforts, and passions. They are the place where the highest level of your skills are appreciated. You want to get to the Olympics because there you get to do what you love to do, among other people doing what they love to do, to the very best of your ability, while the world appreciates it and applauds. 

Ok fine, take the crowds away, and the preverbal sports analogy. I’m talking about getting to do what you love to do the most, as a regular part of your life. Know what I'm talking about? I am talking about a skill or a practice, or craft. I'm not talking about self care (although honing a skill or craft may be one of the best forms of self care). This is something you are working at, getting better at, and it promises to make you and the world a little better. That’s as specific as I’m going to get, because whatever you're imagining, I mean to include you. 

One last important thing about the Olympics. Most people don’t get paid to be in the Olympics. Sure, a handful of people are so successful they receive endorsements and careers from it, but this is a minuscule percentage, even for medal winners. I know, I know, many countries have stipends for their Olympic representatives. But this is usually only after they make the team, and ends when the games do. The fact of the matter is, most Olympics participants will tell you it cost them a great deal to be there. And then we need to have a talk about how many people are trying to get there, and don’t make it. The countless workouts, immeasurable time investment, hopes pinned on making some cut…every four years. But still they work at it. And no one is making them (I can’t speak for China here). They are doing it because they love it and they want to get to the highest and purest level of what they love. Not only do they not get paid, most participants have regular jobs. That’s right, real daily grinds like you and I, that enable them to pay their bills... and then train. Which brings me to the Coal Mine.

No one wants to go to the Coal Mine. No. One. Even the sixth generation coal miner who always knew he would work there. He would not use the word “want.” Yet the coal gets mined. Every day sullen folks climb out of bed to file down into the dark dirty world of the coal mine. -to do work that will eventually kill them, one way or another. Day after day after day they fill their lungs with blackness. Why? The only reason you ever do something like mine coal, -to get paid. The coal mine is a job you do to make money, so you can live and eat, maybe have a family. That’s it, that’s the reason. There’s no love in the coal mine. No, you go down there for the love of what’s up top.  That’s the only reason you would. It’s the only reason you could. 

The question I have for you is this, would you go to the coal mine to get to the Olympics? I mean a real coal miner named Lachlan Sharp won a silver medal at the Olympics in Tokyo, so it happens, literally. But this is a metaphor, remember, and the answer to this question for most people is no. They do not go into the coal mine to get to their Olympics, not only because the Coal Mine is so hard, but because of the existence of the cubicle. 

The cubicle is the vast gray world of the middle land. It's no Olympics, but it’s not the Coal Mine either. It’s the practical career at the intersection of “make money” and “do what you love.” Because the cubicle tells you if you comprise one for the other, you can have both. And the worst thing about the cubicle is, it works. Kinda. Now you’re smart, so you know I’m not talking about literal cubicles here. I could be, because many jobs in cubicles fit this category, but this is a metaphor. Don't get hung up on the term "cubicle." You could work in a literal cubicle and it could be your Olympics. But it could also be your coal mine. The problem is, I think many people head towards the cubicle thinking it’s the Olympics, and one day, sometimes really far down the road, they find out it was the coal mine all along. 

I think what I want to say is, it’s important for you to know what your Olympics are. What would you go to the coal mine every day to get to do? And then realize the cubicle may be the seductive option which keeps you from ever getting to the Olympics. The failure to see each of these for what they are will keep many of us from our Olympics. I didn’t use “professional athlete” on purpose. They get paid, a lot (if you’re a guy). No, the Olympics is the dream you would not only do for free, you'd pay to do it. You'd get up and go down into that old mine to get to. 

At this point I have to make something clear. Many of you are working a job you tolerate and it is enabling the life you want to live. If you can honestly describe it this way, I would say you are working the coal mine and you’re at the Olympics. Good job! You are doing a version of what I’m talking about. Others of you are doing something very difficult you believe is very important, -your “calling” if you will. I think of teachers, therapists, and many more. To you I would say you might have both; it's possible for your coal mine and your Olympics to be one. For some of us though, and this is important, no one is going to pay us for our Olympics. Not enough anyway, or maybe not yet. But this does not make them any less valuable or important. My concern is many of you have settled for the cubicle because you aren’t willing to go to the coal mine to get to the Olympics. You've given up on the dream. In this scenario we all miss out. I also think some people expect their Olympics to pay them. Allow me to make a generational generalization (even if I can't say that out loud). Baby Boomers and their parents were coal miners. Gen-Xers are in the cubicles. And millennials think someone should pay them to go to the Olympics. Each one is onto something, but each one is missing something too I think. 

If you are in the cubicle because someone convinced you (the someone might be you) the Olympics aren’t possible, turn your cubicle into the coal mine and start working toward the Olympics today.What does that look like? It might look like working at your dream 2-3 hours a day in addition to your job. If this sounds impossible, it might look like taking another job which allows you to do this. If this sounds exhausting, uh hello, it's the coal mine. The coal mine sucks, so stop expecting it to not. And the Olympics is worth it, but stop expecting it to pay you. And the cubicle...  quit pretending it's your Olympics if it isn't. Especially if it isn't helping you toward them. Neither is the two hours of Netflix, or phone scrolling by the way. Ooo, ouch. I'm not here to guilt you, I'm here to inspire. To me, few things are more tragic than unrealized potential, and people giving up. 

So write the damn book. Who cares if no one reads it, you'll get better. Buy some paints and start painting. Plan a week-long "grandparents camp" with your grandkids. Make a list of all the trails you want to hike and start hiking them. Get a sewing machine and start making things. Get a guitar and learn to play, who cares if you're sixty. Get that old car like your first one and fix it up, who cares if you have to park outside. Who cares if you have to work a side hustle to afford it. Become an expert in one area. Visit every restaurant in your city and write a review of each one. If you have kids, they are part of your Olympics, but they shouldn't be all of it. I hesitate to use examples like these because I could never describe your Olympics, its unique to you. What's important to remember is no one is probably going to pay you to do this, but what do you care? -it's your olympics! And yes, you probably need a daily grind to pay the bills. But guess what? Every now and then the Olympics pays. It's like winning the lottery because you are making money and you never did it for that reason. 

What do you think? No metaphor is perfect. I’d love to hear your story and your perspective on this one.