People before opportunities.
Work does not define you; you define what work is.
It is not that work doesn’t define who you are; it is that who you are defines what work is. If you don’t, you might confuse yourself for your job title or current employer. By doing that, you will necessarily reduce everyone else to the same. The core of existing as a product is seeing others as one. To be seen as a creative, developing individual, you must afford others to do the same.
While the experience of being read a script or viewed as a customer rather than a whole person is very relatable, we tend to think that it exists in some other place– when we call to pay a bill–as if this has nothing to do with us and our careers.