Greater than 1 minutes
In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move.
My plotting and planning resulted in the creation of a brand-new website. It was time for me to give a fresh look to my old one. I am beginning my fourth year of freelancing and I now have a clearer idea of my skills and motivations – translating to empower people live healthier lifestyles and to promote eco-consciousness.
I looked at the bigger picture and realised that on a daily basis money matters, of course, but it cannot be a motivator. I consider less important to reach my daily, weekly or monthly sales goals than the nature of the translation projects I work on. For instance, I don’t mind working on the translation of an e-bike manual at a rate lower than my “ideal rate”, but I refuse well-paid projects that go against my morals, like the translation of a manual for fossil fuels extraction. I don’t loose anything, but rather gain piece of mind knowing my translations will have a positive impact on people and the planet.
I really hope my newly designed website delivers this message. The most important section, the Shop, is not open yet because I am refining it. I want this section to be the backbone of the website. I am making sure it truly shows that I put morals before money. I also want it to offer solutions for like-minded entrepreneurs.
The opening of the Shop represents a new chapter in my freelancing career, a chapter that I compare to springtime. If this article speaks to you, visit the Shop page and leave your e-mail address – spring is coming soon.
Enrico
Audra De Falco 
Pieter Beens 
Sherif Abuzid 
Cool! You manage to make a living out of what matters. I do a lot of (let’s call it) activist translation, and a lot of it for a local group campaigning against climate change. Alas, it’s often for free. I don’t mind it, for I do think it’s very important to make sure the campaigns exist, but… Sometimes, around here, there’s this weird idea that work is work and translation (and illustration) is activism, so it should be volunteer. I often have to explain that I try to combine both, not translating for companies I despise, and still having to pay the bills.
Hello Mariana. Kudos for what you’re doing! The world needs more people like you. This is the first time I hear that translation is considered a form of activism. I am shocked. I know that often the act of translating is not taken seriously, because we sell something that is not touchable – but I didn’t know it could get to that point. Nonetheless, you’re doing your little to make an impact. We are in the same team 🙂
Thank you for this inspiring post, Enrico. Ethics is a thorny topic, but saying we cannot do anything about it is just making excuses. This is a textbook example of how you apply your core values to your job, I hope that more and more people will follow it! In the meantime, in bocca al lupo per tutto 😉
Thank you for your nice comment, Eleonora. I am glad you found this post inspiring. I really hope more people find their purpose in life, weather it is related to their job or not.
This idealistic approach is interesting. I’ve always wondered what happens if all lawyers refuse to defend criminals in court.
I never thought of it that way… likewise interesting 🙂