Do I want this job?

My very first job out of college was at a direct marketing company. (read: junk mail maker). I recall looking down the hall, at the boss—a little man in a huge office—and thinking, if I work really hard, one day, I can be that guy.

Problem was, I didn't at all, want to be that guy... with his overstuffed chairs, big belly, and cheesy giraffe statues beside his desk. I quit two weeks later. This became my rule of thumb for all subsequent jobs: Do I want to be the boss of this?

(Note: I didn't hold many jobs, for very long).

Flash forward to today, where I make kids books. The other day I looked down the metaphorical hallway, to one of the kings of the business: Maurice Sendack. He was plugging his newest book, Bumble-Ardy, on the Colbert show.

Do I want to become that guy? Let's see: Cranky, outspoken, a little mad, and still doing what he wants well into his 80s.

Sure. I could do that!