“Sometimes I get extremely excited about a new idea,” said one person. “Turning it into something practical, I then do work that is extremely satisfying. After making my living at it for a while, however, I begin to lose interest. Is this natural? Or should I stick at it longer?”

Imagine you are shaping your future career. Here are some ideas to consider when going through the satisfying work curve.

1) You can recognise where you are on the satisfying work curve.

Stage one is your ‘seed corn’. You plant lots of seeds and explore many possibilities. Some seeds grow and people show interest. You also put extra effort into the projects you find stimulating. Stage two is ‘satisfying work’. You become obsessed with the fulfilling activities and begin searching for funding. Stage three is your ‘salary earner’. Translating the satisfying work into money-earning activities, you feel on top of the world. After awhile you may want to move on, however, especially if you experience the final step. Stage four is your ‘spent force’. The cash is still coming in, but performing the activities no longer generates energy. That does not matter - providing you have been continuing the development cycle and nurturing your next crop of seed corn.

Take a look at the satisfying work curve. Where do you feel right now? Perhaps you have different projects at different stages. If so, plot where you are on each project on the curve.

2) You can turn the satisfying work into a salary earner – but still keep it satisfying.

Consider how you can make this happen. The key is to get the right balance between creativity, customers and cash. Some people love to be creative - but after awhile the mantra is: “Get your first 3 customers.” That will put cash into the bank and help to develop the products. Translate the satisfying work into your salary earner, but don’t slide too far down the other side of the curve. Keep returning to the elements you find stimulating. Re-energise yourself and re-invigorate your offering to customers. Capitalise on the salary work to provide seeding funds for the future.

“Watch out for warning signs,” is a key point to remember - because some activities may slip into the area of being a ‘spent force’. You will recognise when this is happening. Perhaps you have less energy, get headaches or feel bored. Be aware of the warning signs and act early, rather than late. This brings us to the next step.

3) You can plant the seed corn to create satisfying work in the future.

Keep exploring, discovering and, most of all, visiting customers. They will provide the challenges to which you wish to find creative solutions. These challenges may well provide the ingredients for planting your next set of seed corn.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme called The satisfying work curve. First, describe how you can plant and nurture your seed corn. Second, describe how you can translate your satisfying work into a salary earner. Third, describe how you can recognise the ‘spent force’ warning signs and then do something about it. Keep checking where you are on the curve. You can then keep planting lots of seed corn and enjoying satisfying work.

Seed corn. The things I can do to keep
planting and nurturing my seed corn are:

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Satisfying work. The things I can do to translate my satisfying work
into a salary earner – and continue to find it satisfying - are:

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Spent force. The things I can do to recognise the ‘spent force’
warning signs – and do something about it - are:

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