The biggest mistake you can make as an architect

Today I want to share something important with you.

I’ve done hundreds of job interviews over the years. I spent hours talking to architects, interior designers, and project managers.

Many of them are still with us today and many have left, but never because they were not good professionals.

Most of them left because
they didn’t like what they were doing.

They usually went to a school of their parents’ choice. They have come to us because school has finished or because they no longer feel comfortable somewhere. When I asked them why they chose this profession, they could not tell me.

They actually worked because they were in that situation.

They were drifting… They weren’t looking for a vocation or a job, they were looking for a job that would earn them money. Because their daily work did not bring them any closer to their goal, it did not bring them any joy. After all, they did not necessarily have a goal. Monday hurt and the customer was stupid, but they always explained.

They are no longer with us.

Today, 78% of employees in Hungary do not like their jobs and try to buy pleasure with the money they earn. It may come in the form of a gadget or a wellness weekend, but it doesn’t help on a weekday.

Employers try to motivate workers with pay rises, which is a trap. Once the worker gets used to the new standard of living, he or she no longer dares to leave a job he or she would otherwise hate because it would require stepping out of the comfort zone. What happens if I can’t find a job that pays as well? There are no sausage fences anywhere else. Work is work everywhere… And I can tell you a thousand more such bullshit.

You’ve probably heard that if you throw a frog into boiling water it will jump out, but if you heat the water slowly and gradually, it will cook smoothly. Ego is the master, and you like to believe that you are successful. So he sacrifices his freedom and his happiness.

In fact, if you are not happy in your everyday life, you are at most living a very good standard of living, while having a very poor quality of life. This is a straight road to burnout and bitterness.

It was 12 years ago that I first experienced that it could be done differently.

I was in an office at the time where people smiled and loved what they did. It was quite a surreal force field.

I was surrounded by a really good team. They were practically my friends and very good professionals. Yet everyone suffered because they were not feeling well.

That’s when I decided
to build a good workplace.

The team was good, but the change didn’t work the first time. We have been through the crisis. Many times it was hopeless but we did not break. We had taken small steps forward so that we can now be part of the technological revolution that has put us at the forefront of the world and is reshaping the world around us. We didn’t know that at the time, we just felt that we had great power.

We have very exciting days, but I feel the greatest value is that we have created a micro-environment where it is a pleasure to go in every day. Being surrounded by a community that is a pleasure to work with is worth more than any salary in a multinational company.

So if you take my advice…

…do what you love.

If you’re not comfortable in your own skin, dare to step out of your comfort zone.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Life is too short to drift along joylessly and aimlessly.