During my quarantine boredom my mind sometimes drifts back to Game of Thrones. In this daydream, I find myself flying a dragon (_Khe from house Targaryen_) or as a master swordsman (_Khe from house Stark_).

Paul Graham is the co-founder of Y Combinator But _Khe de Reddit_? Nah dawg, that sh*t ain’t for me. * * * What are the characteristics of an [antifragile career]()? I recently asked RadReader Ozan Varol a derivative of this question: > ___“What advice would you give someone graduating into this economic calamity?___ As a law professor (and author of the fantastic book [Think Like a Rocket Scientist]()) I suspected that Ozan was fielding this question from many anxious soon-to-be graduates. His response: __Diversify your identity.__ Hmmm… I wondered. _Interesting word choice._ Diversify your __portfolio__. (Shout out to the [Wu Tang Financial]().) Diversify your __skill set.__ Diversify your __experiences__. But __IDENTITY?__ How peculiar… (Steve _de Reddit_ might have a hard time with this one.) * * * This reminded me of a dreaded text message that I received over and over again when I [abandoned my highest profile identity]() – Managing Director at Blackrock. Here’s the text:

I got this stomach curling text 50+ times after I left. It sucked. To the point that I almost re-entered the workforce just to make the text stop coming. Yet text looks so innocuous. It _is so_ innocuous. A curious friend checking in to see what I was planning on doing next. Khe, you need to chill. But it was a painful reminder that in that moment, I was identity-less. In Ozan’s words, I hadn’t diversified my identity. And lots of pernicious ideas about myself filled this gaping void: * Lazy Khe * Mid-life crisis Khe * Ungrateful Khe * Entitled Khe * Crazy Khe * Irresponsible Khe * Unstable Khe And therein lies the source of instability. Adds Ozan: > _When it comes to ourselves, we put all of our eggs in the same identity basket, defining ourselves as a lawyer, a marketer, or an entrepreneur. We assume that in doing so, the ground underneath our feet will be more stable, but we inadvertently end up balancing on a fragile platform that can tumble over with a gust of wind._ * * * But here’s a warning. A diversified identity _in and of itself_ is no silver bullet. Last week I posed the question [“Who am I without achievement?”]() Today, I have a strong attachment to _Khe the Doer_ and _Khe the Thinker_. In fact, I was feeling pretty exhausted this morning, yet forced myself to write this essay. Ya know, _Khe the Consistent Guy who shows up in your Inbox every Saturday_. So I’m right here with you on this long journey ahead.