Comments on: Getting A Grip http://www.john-carlton.com/2005/07/17/getting_a_grip/ insight, tactics, advice and mutterings on copywriting, marketing and living life deep... from the most ripped-off world-class ad writer alive... Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:20:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: ken oneill http://www.john-carlton.com/2005/07/17/getting_a_grip/#comment-167 ken oneill Tue, 19 Jul 2005 22:01:10 +0000 http://www.john-carlton.com/2005/07/17/getting_a_grip/#comment-167 Hello, Burn out is no joke. I may only be 27 but i have allready had on bout with it . It is a terrible thing to deal with , much worse when you can walk away . when your emplyer does everything possible to make it worse . Or you have nothing to fall back on. No escape. It was hell for about a year. Looking back though i am glad it happened this early. I have plenty of time to change course try new things . no wife kids or mortgage to worry about . I also know the signs personally. I won't let it happen again . But there are many people i worked with 15 to 20 years older than me .. making the same crap money trying to feed a family . Stuck in crappy jobs .. with the only option they have to deal with it ,being drinking a few or more than a few beers when they get home from work . With the pace of society today burn out is going to become more and more common. the option for people . is not just to have fun stuff in their spare time . But to get off there ass and find a career they enjoy that can pay the bills . Ken Hello,
Burn out is no joke. I may only be 27 but i have allready had on bout with it . It is a terrible thing to deal with , much worse when you can walk away . when your emplyer does everything possible to make it worse . Or you have nothing to fall back on. No escape.

It was hell for about a year. Looking back though i am glad it happened this early. I have plenty of time to change course try new things . no wife kids or mortgage to worry about . I also know the signs personally. I won’t let it happen again .

But there are many people i worked with 15 to 20 years older than me .. making the same crap money trying to feed a family . Stuck in crappy jobs .. with the only option they have to deal with it ,being drinking a few or more than a few beers when they get home from work .

With the pace of society today burn out is going to become more and more common.

the option for people . is not just to have fun stuff in their spare time . But to get off there ass and find a career they enjoy that can pay the bills .

Ken

]]> By: Michael http://www.john-carlton.com/2005/07/17/getting_a_grip/#comment-165 Michael Mon, 18 Jul 2005 13:37:41 +0000 http://www.john-carlton.com/2005/07/17/getting_a_grip/#comment-165 (Apologies for the formatting not transferring across...) Even a poor man can experience great joy. They can also suffer from burnout. Some of the people I've talked to that now live on the street do so _because_ they suffered burnout, and are yet to recover. . . Some of the lucky few wake up one morning and realise the last five or ten years of their life have been wasted. I'm reminded of a quote "I turned my head away for a minute, and ten years went by." This begins another process of self-discovery, or mid life crisis, depending on what definition you choose. This can last weeks or years depending on how equipped the person is. . . Even fewer wake up, and realise that what they have been doing is their true calling. People like you, John, who then take the steps needed to balance their work with the rest of their life. . . Others suddenly realise they have been overworked when something they have (usually taken for granted) breaks. It could be their marriage, their body, their friendships, or their business. Because the pressure people put themselves under never limits itself to just them and it flows, like water under pressure, to fill in the low pressure areas of their life. . . Still others struggle in their work with poor or in-effective methods. Only realising they are inefficient when the workload increases to a level that causes the cracks and gaps that have always existed to become obvious. Usually those cracks have been apparent to everyone else for a long time. Other people easily notice the three or more coffees a day to keep you going, the forgotten hobbies, the poor diet (usually with a high liquid component), the uncontrolled anger at trivial events, and the many other common signs. . . Unfortunately, as copywriters you know that human nature being what it is - the cure sells better than prevention. It's not until the people under pressure are given a direct punch to the kidneys that they realise they need to change. That punch may come from anywhere, at any time. Those lucky few that act and find the right solution to get a little more training and awareness are prepared and are able survive or even dodge the punch when it comes. . . You need to keep writing about this John, your readers need to understand and _act_ to save their own lives. Burnout can kill. Burnout can even result in fates worth than death - severe stroke for example. And yet burnout is easily preventable. . . Enjoy, Michael. (Apologies for the formatting not transferring across…) Even a poor man can experience great joy. They can also suffer from burnout. Some of the people I’ve talked to that now live on the street do so _because_ they suffered burnout, and are yet to recover. . .
Some of the lucky few wake up one morning and realise the last five or ten years of their life have been wasted. I’m reminded of a quote “I turned my head away for a minute, and ten years went by.” This begins another process of self-discovery, or mid life crisis, depending on what definition you choose. This can last weeks or years depending on how equipped the person is. . .

Even fewer wake up, and realise that what they have been doing is their true calling. People like you, John, who then take the steps needed to balance their work with the rest of their life. . .

Others suddenly realise they have been overworked when something they have (usually taken for granted) breaks. It could be their marriage, their body, their friendships, or their business. Because the pressure people put themselves under never limits itself to just them and it flows, like water under pressure, to fill in the low pressure areas of their life. . .

Still others struggle in their work with poor or in-effective methods. Only realising they are inefficient when the workload increases to a level that causes the cracks and gaps that have always existed to become obvious. Usually those cracks have been apparent to everyone else for a long time. Other people easily notice the three or more coffees a day to keep you going, the forgotten hobbies, the poor diet (usually with a high liquid component), the uncontrolled anger at trivial events, and the many other common signs. . .

Unfortunately, as copywriters you know that human nature being what it is - the cure sells better than prevention. It’s not until the people under pressure are given a direct punch to the kidneys that they realise they need to change. That punch may come from anywhere, at any time. Those lucky few that act and find the right solution to get a little more training and awareness are prepared and are able survive or even dodge the punch when it comes. . .

You need to keep writing about this John, your readers need to understand and _act_ to save their own lives. Burnout can kill. Burnout can even result in fates worth than death - severe stroke for example. And yet burnout is easily preventable. . .

Enjoy,
Michael.

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