Staying original and independent was more important to Stephen Dubner than fame or keeping a secure job. The “Freakonomics” co-author quit two promising positions at The New York Times and a record label to pursue a more tenuous career writing books.
“It’s pathetic how few people actually want to be original at anything,” Dubner said at an Authors@Wharton event last night. “It’s not that nobody has any ideas — it’s just that it’s risky.” This mindset propelled him into the unfamiliar world of economics, where his originality has earned him considerable success.
Sitting on stage with Wharton professor Adam Grant, Dubner discussed his most recent book in the “Freakonomics” franchise, “Think Like a Freak.” The series explores creative economic solutions to real world problems. He also discussed his career before beginning the franchise with economist and co-author Steven Levitt.
Well before his success as an author, Dubner considered a career in music. As an undergraduate, he formed a band and secured a record deal with Arista Records soon after graduation. He began recording a studio album with his band and was likely on a trajectory to gain the public eye, Dubner recalled, when he suddenly decided that a life of fame was not for him.
“Fame is costly,” he said, describing the potential effects the lifestyle could have had on his hopes for a family life. He left the band, opting for a graduate degree over a musician’s lifestyle, and focused on being a writer — a decision that was incredibly difficult for him at the time because it forced him to leave behind his connections from the music world.
Even after earning a position as a journalist at the Times, he decided that writing assigned pieces on a fixed salary limited his originality. It was a prestigious job from which few people ever quit, he said, but again he was soon inclined to leave and take up a more independent career writing books.
He connected both of these career decisions to a concept from his books called, “the importance of quitting.” He urged the audience to consider how staying in a current situation could inhibit future success, as opposed to seeing quitting as simply giving up.
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