Embarking on the translation career at the same time I started my university education, my initial motivation was „to make it“ – to acquire economical independence and perhaps a bit of a self-made-man status.
Over years, some of these motivators remained but a lot has changed. I had to quit falling in love with my work, for instance, regardless of how contra-intuitive it might sound. The translation I perform is quite complex – it requires maintaining a sense of terminological consistency which means constantly accessing your memory and building an internal database of phenomena (vocabularies) that have passed through your perception. Any repeated item has to be checked against this internal structure. Another prerequisite that stretches your attention through time and space to larger blocks of the text, some of which you might have translated hours or even days ago, is an awareness of the text cohesion (the famous theme-rheme distinction being just a part of it). Grammar, spelling and punctuation are all shorter and more immediate requirements, but they compete for attention with the long-term processes and threaten to interfere with them as well with each other, should the mental resources get exhausted. There is no choice, but to be permanently focused if one is to make a quality work and attend to all of these priorities simultaneously. It does not have to be a rocket science but it does require a permanent focus. Any sense of dissatisfaction, any hint of a desire to be somewhere else and do something else, any attempt to slip into an automated routine and you begin to rush forward in an absent-minded manner. Then the quality goes down as you begin to miss on things.
The thing with real focus is that it is remarkably calm, even cold, and unemotional. I can no longer find pleasure in reading what I translated and liking it just because it is my creation. I manage it more as a system that demands total immersion, but no ego. In many ways, it has become an art of Zen.
Once I depersonalized myself from my work it became easier to accept professional criticism and improve even further. I realized that I have to refocus my priorities on maximizing my conscious knowledge and command of my mother language, Czech. Just like any other language, it has its highest form which few people master sufficiently.
Eventually, I would reach the proverbial top of 2–3 minor mistakes per 1000 words, which is considered excellent by most industry standards. Even experienced translators often get 5–7 there. Of course, I am not stopping yet, as the ultimate goal is no mistake at all. My inner values had to shift and doing the best I can became one of them.
In fact, it is precisely this thing for which I am so grateful to any freelancing in general and our translation profession in particular: transforming me.
In the absence of colleagues and a team environment, transforming me not only to endure solitude but to begin to embrace its advantages.
In the absence of an external authority providing for my existential issues, transforming me to avoid passing responsibility for myself into someone else´s hands.
In the absence of an external structure, transforming me to learn to prioritize and manage my time in my own way, the best way I can.
In the absence of easy solutions and easy insights, transforming me to learn to think objectively and critically, to sufficiently gather and assess resources and to be able to find appropriate information through research.
In the absence of getting gratification through an interpersonal contact or an entertainment factor, transforming me to maintain my focus for the focus´ sake and accept that I have to give it all, not like it all.
At the end of the day, I have to profess to being grateful I can do the work I do – in the beginning, it was not easy, but it is ultimately worth it as a great way to sort oneself out, as they say. To acquire freedom which always comes with self-responsibility.
What else can be said?
I prioritize highly on learning. Learning useful knowledge and bettering my understanding of the surrounding world gives my life a constructive purpose. It is not so much about excitement, as it is about empowerment. The more you know, the more you can handle.
I have educated myself in numerous fields, especially in psychology and personal development and human nutrition and health. With regards to the latter, I am most intrigued by the life extension and anti-aging research.
There are other fields I dabble at, but the above ones are where I have reached an expert-level. It took about 5-7 years of constant daily exposure/study for each. Currently, I am expanding my practical knowledge of financial markets and capital management aiming to widen my capability of being a successful investor/trader. In fact when I am not translating, I am learning or trading. I regularly break the cycle to get some exercise and then I go right back.
I have a simple answer whenever a potential customer asks me: What can you offer? Why should we pick you?
Instead of trying to brain-hack and manipulate the person, which is precisely what almost everyone does these days when trying to market themselves, I simply say: top quality for an average price.
I check the market average regularly and adjust my rate to that level. Oh yes, there is also some translation-oriented university diploma, numerous certifications, extensive experience with large international projects, well over a decade of translation career and all that stuff, but I am not overly serious about any of that. The best way to prove oneself is to hand over a solid piece of work.
End of a mission statement.