If the mantra of the last era was, "average jobs for average people, and average people for average jobs," then it's no surprise that most of the jobs out there seem average and that if you want to maximize your chances of getting one, fitting in is you best strategy.

Often, when people hear about the radical ideas for how you should train for a career, as well as the best way to present yourself, they object. They point out that not fitting in is certainly going to be an ineffective way of getting one of these average jobs. They remind me that not having a resume is all fine and good, but how will that help them get a job at a place that requires a resume? You can't win both games - not at the same time, anyway.

If you want a job where you are treated as indispensable, given massive amounts of responsibility and freedom, expected to expend emotional labor, and rewarded for being human, not a cog in a machine, then please don't work hard to fit into the square-peg job you found on Craigslist.

If you need to conceal your true nature to get in the door, understand that you'll probably have to conceal your true nature to keep that job. This is the one and only decision you get to make. You get to choose. You can work for a company that wants indispensable people, or you can work for a company that works to avoid them. Groucho Marx famously said, "I don't care to belong to any club that would have me as a member." The linchpin says, "I don't want a job that a non-linchpin could get.

There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team: the linchpin. These people figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art. Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. They may not be famous but they're indispensable. And in today's world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom.

"Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold back. It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious.

Only you can do it, and you must."

From the book: LINCHPIN, Are You Indispensable? by SETH GODIN

Tim Forrester American Writer and Artist Inc.