My first time at a startup

I've worked for semi-established or fully-established companies my whole life, places like banks and Bose. Now, at the age of 44, I find myself starting fresh at a a startup company.  Here at this startup, I've come to find out, I have been over-educated in the corporate world with lots of fear about Doing the Wrong Thing. I have to curb my sense of humor, it's too bawdy. I have to control my voice, it's too loud. I have to be concerned with other people's privacy, we do not want a lawsuit. I have to reign in my sexuality, we do not want Harassment issues. My language is foul and not professional enough. I cannot talk about politics or religion or anything I do outside of work.


At work, I have been very closed down. Now I wonder how much of my inhibitions were self-control and how much was "toeing the corporate line". I guess here at this startup, I will find out, because my wonderful boss is encouraging me to be myself. I wonder now what my self is. It used to be hard for me to be myself when I believed my self to have a bodacious, unacceptable personality. But how much of that was me, and how much of it was my "training"?


This is one of those public journal posts where I am not sure what I'm trying to say, and hoping by saying it here I can figure it out. I guess the bottom line is, I will be interested to find out Who I Am, in the context of this role, this company and this environment.


It should be very interesting to behold...


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