Check out the career advice given by Dan Pink in his new book, The Adventures of Jhonny Bunko. There are 6 Bunko lessons in there:

The 6 Bunko Lessons

1.  There is no plan.
2.  Think strengths, not weaknesses
3.  It’s not about you.
4.  Persistence trumps talent.
5.  Make excellent mistakes.
6.  Leave an imprint.

Well, we could potentially get very confused about our own career choices and the choices that society gives us, should we need to chose among them. We could look out for any contradictory advice dished out by successful, well-known people and attempt to graft it onto our own personality. “If they are doing something that is as much fun as they portray it to be, and if it gives them a good living and social value, I too should be able to duplicate it by following their path, but with a little bit of added personal flavor” is the attitude we typically have towards this.

So, must we accept the above “Bunko Lessons” with some skepticism, put them into practice, and see if what he tells us rings true?

After investing a lot of psychic energy into understanding the concepts that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about in his marvelous books, Flow and Creativity, I have come to a point where I can think for myself and judge such lessons for their worth. I have made a lot of notes, and have put some thought into the motives of people and the recipe for a creative and fulfilling life, and believe that I can now accept or reject career advice armed with such knowledge.

So, below is my present take on the Bunko Lessons:

1.  There is no plan.

While this is true, it still does not mean that plans aren’t helpful or required. A meaningful life comes about as a result of striving to meet some ultimate goal towards which one feels intense emotional attraction. It usually involves some deep scar being carried around since childhood, and one strives to resolve it through various creative expressions. There might be several subgoals that lead to the ultimate goal, and to arrive at these subgoals requires the development of skills into which psychic, intellectual and emotional energy needs to be invested. The development of these skills and their usage to accomplish the sub-goals must lead to flow states consistently. These skills need to be challenging; its perfection and employment enjoyable. Such a happy circumstance leads us to enjoy the present while being busy in the task of creating meaning. Fulfillment on a daily basis naturally follows.

2.  Think strengths, not weaknesses.

Think whatever skills that are required to get to the ultimate goal. The skills that you are naturally or already good at, and those that need to be developed.

3.  It’s not about you.

It is very much about you. The attachment to your life’s work cannot be purely intellectual. It needs to be highly emotional as well.

4.  Persistence trumps talent.

Very true.

5.  Make excellent mistakes.

Yes. Mistakes do happen regularly. And, the results of making those mistakes aren’t failures if you learn lessons from them. As long as you know the skills you are after and the goals these skills will help you achieve and that you are on your way to your ultimate goal, you’re good.

6.  Leave an imprint.

A lasting legacy is a natural byproduct of a lifetime’s effort into resolving an emotional tension. As long the welfare of other people is factored into such strivings, leaving an imprint takes care of itself.

One cannot simply do an audit of the skills that one’s developed to a reasonably high degree and which consistently produce flow, and build a career around that. That’s just working your way backwards. You need to figure out the emotional tension that you would like to resolve, and work towards acquiring skills that would help you creatively express yourself in order to get to that ultimate goal. If your present skillset helps you do that, you already have a good start.

The genie in the Johnny Bunko books talks about the work of Marcus Buckingham and Martin Seligman and states that, according to them, the keys to success is to steer around weakness and focus on strengths. Well, I think they have really got it backward. The key is not just to be productive by focusing on your strengths and your flow producing activities, but to generate flow while picking up skills to accomplish sub-goals that would lead one to the ultimate goal.