Kottke linked to science writer Robert Krulwich’s 2011 commencement speech at Berkeley Journalism School.

His message is to aspiring journalists, but it works for most anyone exploring the new world of work. Here’s the heart of his message:

“Suppose, instead of waiting for a job offer from the New Yorker, suppose next month, you go to your living room, sit down, and just do what you love to do. If you write, you write. You write a blog. If you shoot, find a friend, someone you know and like, and the two of you write a script. You make something. No one will pay you. No one will care, No one will notice, except of course you and the people you’re doing it with. But then you publish, you put it on line, which these days is totally doable, and then… you do it again.

…think about getting together with friends that you admire, or envy. Think about entrepeneuring. Think about NOT waiting for a company to call you up. Think about not giving your heart to a bunch of adults you don’t know. Think about horizontal loyalty. Think about turning to people you already know, who are your friends, or friends of their friends and making something that makes sense to you together, that is as beautiful or as true as you can make it.”

Your dream job is less likely than ever to be “out there”. What if you just started making and doing and acting like who you want to be? You don’t need permission. You don’t have to wait to be discovered or to climb the ladder.

There are fewer guarantees, fewer safe careers, but so many more possibilities.