How Santa Found His Side Hustle

Have you ever wondered how Santa got his job?

I mean, was it his career dream to always wear a red suit and spend countless hours listening to children?

Or, as a young man, did Santa have different career aspirations?

Recently I’ve wondered if Santa started his gig – his “passion job”, if you will – as a side hustle.

That’s how many of us entrepreneurs got started, working a side-hustle until we could finally step away from the 9-5 career to pursue our passion full-time.

I spend a lot time talking about pursuing your passion with clients, students, and colleagues. Everyone has similar questions when it comes to following their dreams.

• “How do I find my passion?”
• “When do you know it’s the right time to switch from part-time to full-time?”
• “What if I don’t know yet what I really want to do?”

These are questions every entrepreneur faces.

Even Santa, I assumed.

In a bit of a Christmas Miracle, I had the opportunity to meet with Santa over breakfast to talk about careers, and following your passion.

Santa was gracious and fun and open and honest, sharing so much about his career and advice to others.

A little about Santa, in case you didn’t know: AKA, Carl Anderson, a licensed psychologist from Austin, Texas.  This is his 34^th year portraying Santa; his 28^th year as Santa at NorthPark Center in Dallas. He’s co-authored a book, “All I Want For Christmas Is…”, a collection of letters by children to Santa.  A man of many talents, he’s also a professional speaker, monologist, and storyteller.   

Here’s Part 1 of my conversation with Santa:

Thanks for meeting me!

My pleasure.

For readers/clients who don’t know your story: aside from your uncanny resemblance to almost every known image of St. Nick, did you always aspire to be Santa? To work in this role?

I’ve always been amused that others saw the resemblance. Clearly the implications were there. Yet I didn’t set out to become Santa Claus.

My career goal – which I achieved – was to be a psychologist, earning degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. (Note: The fact that this interviewer is a die-hard Aggie was not an issue for Santa. Thank goodness!)

My professional psychology experience includes working in the Counseling Center at UT, as well as in Drug and Alcohol Abuse programs.  I’m also an adjunct professor at UT, teaching as needed.

How, then, did this Santa Side Hustle come about? 

As a graduate student I was always looking for jobs to make ends meet, even driving a bus. One Day I saw an ad that said, “White hair, rosy red cheeks, eyes that twinkle”.  Didn’t say, “Santa”, but clearly that’s what they wanted.

When I first called, I was told they were done looking. I interviewed anyway, and their interest was only lukewarm.  Once we started talking, they became so taken with my “natural look” they offered me a job.  Understand that at the time I was unique – there weren’t many natural-looking Santa’s around.

Were there other opportunities to embrace Santa in your career or even as a Side Hustle?

As I mentioned earlier, I was amused by my resemblance (which comes naturally from my Swedish father) and other’s fascination with it.  At one point, Radio Shack cast me as Santa for their holiday advertising.

I was intrigued enough that I decided to write my dissertation on “Children and Santa: What Happens When They No Longer Believe”.  I started working in children’s theater and even storytelling, which blends well with the Santa work.

When did you really consider embracing the role of Santa as more than just a job to make extra money?

I was walking across a downtown street, wearing regular clothes. A group of preschool children were walking in the same crosswalk towards me, holding onto a knotted rope for safety.  One of them looked at me, pointed and exclaimed, “Santa!”  They all dropped the rope and ran to me, hugging my legs.  At that point I realized this Santa thing might be something bigger that I imagined.

How did you manage your full-time job as a psychologist with your Santa Side Hustle, which became your passion?

My work as a psychologist – something I enjoyed – was as a counselor at places that understood my role as Santa. They were flexible with my holiday schedule, which allowed me to do both.

How did your experience as a psychologist prepare you to be a great Santa?

It prepared me in so many ways! It honed my listening skills and taught me to quickly understand a situation with short interaction with a client.  Having empathy and being intuitive is what drew me to psychology; it’s naturally who I am. These are also skills that I rely on as Santa – I have only a few minutes with each child to assess their situation, understand their needs/wants, and provide feedback that, hopefully, makes them walk away with a smile.

It’s difficult to respond sometimes, as Santa. You don’t want to disappoint, you know? Psychology helps me understand how to answer the tough questions.

***

And just like that, our time was up.  Santa had to get ready for Story Time, one of his favorite parts of his job.

That had to be the most fun I’ve ever had during an interview. With great information we can all use.

Thanks to Santa, I was reminded that sometimes the best jobs are right in front of us, if we are willing to embrace them.

Stay tuned for more from my conversation with Santa!

Note: This conversation was not recorded, therefore quotes attributed to Santa/Carl are based on my notes and memory, and may not be 100% accurate.