I earned my Ph.D. in 2008. Since graduating, though, the only place I’ve really bothered to use my “Dr.” title is in the “title” section on forms.
That is, until now.
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When I got the $20,000 question wrong
I was too embarrassed to tell people, so only my closest friends and family knew I was going to be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I wasn’t sure I really wanted them to watch. I didn’t want them to know that literally, I was asked a $20,000 question.
And I got it wrong.
Being a scanner, and finding an answer to the question: “What do you do?”
I’ve always found it hard to answer the question: what do you do? In fact, I try to avoid the question entirely. It forces me into a box, forces me to choose a path, forces to define me.
It’s not that I think I’m beyond definition. It’s just that I couldn’t possibly define my interests, passion, even my business, in one sentence.
I was recently at a meet-up where networking wasn’t the focus. I mean, everyone kind of knew we were there to network, but the mood of the event was more casual, more just about saying “hey” and seeing if you could connect with someone on some level.
So I was in the middle of a conversation about nothing in particular, when a purposefully “business casual” dressed man came over. He was wearing dress pants and a jacket, and a shirt with no tie. His hair was combed back and he had a few deep “character” creases on his tanned face. This dude was slick.
He looked me in the eye.
What do you do?
