I'm a much bigger fan of saving the world than ruling it.
It occurs to me, though, that in order for engineers to save the world, they must change the world. And in order to change the world, engineers must learn to become artists.
Enter the Artist
In his book Linchpin, author and business guru Seth Godin argues that artists are people who change the world for the better. You don't need to be able to paint a portrait, compose a song, or execute some sort of interpretive dance to be an artist though.
To be an artist is to give the gift of self.
From this standpoint, anyone can be an artist. Parents and business owners and bakers and teachers can all be artists. Anyone who passionately invests themselves into their trade for the benefit of others is an artist.
Artists adopt a "pay it forward" mentality. They strive to give gifts of self that can never truly be repaid. In fact, it's not about getting paid. Godin argues, and I agree, that if you life an artist's life and you're willing to live within your means, money will not be much of a problem for you.
I believe that engineers need to become artists.
Why Engineers Must Learn to Become Artists
First, I'll make the distinction between vocation and profession. I believe engineering is, for the most part, a profession. It describes what you do and how you do it. "Artist", on the other hand, is a vocation, and has more to do with why you do what you do. If you think about things this way, it's easy to see how an engineer can use their skills to fulfill their vocation - to change the world. An engineer can be artist.
And this is the crux of the matter. Engineers have incredible skills to offer the world. There's an enormous opportunity for engineers to make real change for the people around them. I don't think, though, that many engineers adopt this mentality. Most engineers are "daily grind" kind of people. They show up to work, do their work, collect their paycheque, and go home.
I believe that if engineers were able to find a sense of true purpose in what they do, they'd be better engineers, and happier people. Imagine how great life would be if you felt like everything you did really mattered. Even the most mundane of tasks can be made easier to handle if you can see the greater purpose.
Challenge Yourself and Become Indispensable
I want to issue a challenge to every engineer reading this post.
My challenge is this: figure out what your purpose is. Why is it that you do what you do? Why is it important? Who is it important to?
Once you figure this out, write it down and live by it. Anyone who does this can become indispensable to their employers and clients. If you can do this, you'll have done a wonderful thing for your career.
About Pat Sweet
Photo credit: Flickr/ faith goble