The Mel Gibson Career Paradox

Say you are really good at something.

No, actually, say you're the best.

You went to school for whatever it was, graduated top of your class, know your field inside and out, and are so good at what you do you know who your competition is and they number no more than three.

That's how good you are.

Now you try to go into your field and you find out, despite how good you are, you run into various obstacles.  Inept bosses, drama-politicking co-workers, duties that are beneath your ability, corruption, or a constant ramming of heads with management.  None of these things have anything to do with your ability or skill, but they do have a direct effect on your performance and career.

Now say you think that job is a one time fluke and you find another one.  But sure enough you start to run into the exact same problems.  Old fart bosses who can't do Excel, management that turns a blind eye to either huge opportunities or devastating threats.  Co-workers that don't carry their weight or, worse, purposely sabotage you at every corner.  You really aren't doing anything wrong, there's no reason for these roadblocks, it's just that you keep running into incompetent, braindead turkeys that won't let you soar at your eagle capacity. 

You try and try again, but it's the same thing at job after job again.  Mundane duties, never allowed to achieve your best, petty politics and moron managers, constantly ramming heads...

Well son, you unfortunately suffer from the Mel Gibson Career Paradox.

You see, you may be the best in your field.  You may be able to see with 20/20 vision what others can't or won't.  You may be 100% right in everything you do and observe and would indeed make the best CEO in that industry, but alas, there is something about you that makes you completely incompatible with the industry.  It's nothing bad or good, you just have some trait, some characteristic that makes success in that industry an impossibility.

In the case of Mel Gibson and thus the paradox, Mel Gibson is an incredibly talented actor.  He is also an incredibly talented director/producer making one of the few billion dollar grossing film.  He is hands down one of the best in his field, alas his personality and alcohol-induced rants are traits that just do not abide with the leftist Hollywood powers that rule the movie industry.  Forget that he's talented.  Forget he can bring in billions.  And forget that many in Hollywood are bigots, racists, and anti-American themselves.  He just doesn't jibe with the industry. 

Same thing with Peter Schiff, Robert Shiller, and dare I throw myself into the mix.  It was as clear as day to us that the housing market was hyper inflated and bad loans were being made.  Had the government and/or the banking industry merely listened to any one of us, the Great Recession would have never happened.  Alas, where are the three of us now?  I cannot speak personally to Peter Schiff or Dr. Shiller, but I'd imagine much like me, they rammed heads with management in their early career days and never made much head way in the financial services industry.  However, there is no doubt that we are "top men" in our respective industries.  Still be it our personalities, the way we walk, or the fact our intelligence scares the piss out of inept and corrupt banking executives, none of us had successful careers in the finance industry.  We just had that "trait" that made it mutually exclusive.  And thus the lesson to all of you.

Understand that while you may be the best in your field, AND you may be 100% right, various sectors, segments, and industries of society have become so corrupt or so infiltrated with different groups of people, that qualities and traits you have, that have nothing to do with you ability, skill, or the profession, will make it impossible for you to work in those fields.  And whereas in the past this may have meant your skin color, your religion, or your ethnicity, today it can be things as innocuous and petty as "you're too moral," "you're too smart," "you know too much," "you're not corruptible," "you just don't play ball well," "you lack the ability to kiss ass," "you don't dress right," etc. etc. etc.  But while this may be "unjust" or "not right," it is what it is.  You may be the best, but that is irrelevant.  The system and you are not compatible.  You need to find a new career.

Sadly this means many of you will have to give up your dream job or dream career.  You may really want to become a cop, but the police department doesn't want you to.  You may really want to become an accountant, but the CPA firm won't let you.  And you may want to be a nurse, but the medical industry steadfastly refuses you.  The key thing is to realize that it was never possible in the first place.  Your dream job was never to become a cop or an accountant or a nurse, because it was never feasible.   The biggest risk, however, is letting your excellence in the field force you to waste your time pursuing something that is not possible.  Ergo, even if you are the best, if your career is not flowing the way it should, and constantly has bumps in the road, it is time to give up your infeasible passion and find a feasible one.