A Look Back At A 13 Year-Old Aptitude Test to Find Passion

Reply

Way back, long, long ago, while I was in high school, my parents felt I needed to attend an aptitude program to test what I should study in college. While it wasn’t a terrible idea on their part, the two day-long sessions were held during the start of Spring Break of my junior year, so it was about the last thing I wanted to do at the time.

When taking an aptitude test, one thing that can be forgotten is your passion.

When taking an aptitude test, one thing that can be forgotten is your passion.

But I went, took the tests, and they discovered that I could do anything I wanted to do. In some ways, this didn’t help at all. In other ways, there was some interesting insight, now that I look back on the results, like I do better in small groups and I have a leaning towards writing and entrepreneurship. The question I’ve always wondered was did I need career counseling to tell me this?

The other day, though, I was cleaning out my closet, and I came across the results. And within the packet, there was a piece titled “How to Avoid Career Drift,” by an Irvin Shambaugh. It was interesting, in part because now it’s over 20-year-old article (it was nearly 10 years old when I received it). You can imagine what it discusses: the issues around not planning out your life and your career. In it, Shambaugh writes (no link, unfortunately. I couldn’t find it online):

“Those who made a bad choice must now ‘figure out what I want to do in life.’ They try different options. When they find one that seems suitable, it usually means they must now go back to school for a different degree.

As a result, many do not start their careers until their late 20′s or early 30′s. This waste of five, ten or even more years of their lives is extremely costly. Not only is there wasted expense in getting a college degree that is not appropriate, there is lost income during the years they go back to school to start over and there are lost opportunities to begin saving for their life goals while they are changing jobs and incurring additional debt for college tuition.

Career drift can continue into mid-career.”

I know, despite attending this program, I’ve experienced some career drift in my life. Continue reading →

photo by: RichardStep.com

How To Plan For Your Year and Month

Reply

Last week, I talked a little about planning for your year and your month. It had come from a conversation I had recently with Brad Closson, who does it for a living. The reason planning is so important is to ensure you know where to move next. It creates momentum in your business and your life, so you’re constantly moving towards the next goal, your next achievement, your next activity. It’s a great way to ensure you don’t fall into a rut, as well.

You learn quite a bit during your first go at yearly planning.

You learn quite a bit during your first go at yearly planning.

As I planned for my next year and month, it really gave me an opportunity to see how much I was doing and how much I should be doing. When putting together an effective plan, you want to keep it to a page in length. My first draft of this was 2.5 pages for my yearly goals and almost two pages for my monthly goals. That’s too much! We’ve all heard about the 80/20 rule, well this is a great way to find out what you can cut in order to be more productive.

But you also learn a bit more about what’s important to you. Anything that needs to be done on the list you must find importance in. Anything outside of that, throw the thought of it away, at least for now. You can turn back to it if you achieve your yearly goals early. Or you can turn to it next year, when you might be able to move it to the top of the list.

And, finally, I also found it difficult to plan out the entire year. Continue reading →

photo by: mt 23

Changing Perspective Through Reduction

Reply

A few months ago, LifeEdited and TreeHugger.com founder Graham Hill published an op-ed in the New York Times concerning living with less. The entrepreneur outlined how after he earned millions selling his Internet company, he went on a spending spree. This, inevitably caused him to have more responsibilities and anxieties, because he had so many things. He looked at how to be happier, reforming his ways after going on an enlightening world tour and now lives in a small, 420 square foot apartment.

Sometimes we need our stuff, often we don't. Can reducing change our perspective?

Sometimes we need our stuff, often we don’t. Can reducing change our perspective?

In the days following, a number of members of national media organizations bashed the millionaire Hill for preaching about how middle Americans should live. Richard Kim of The Nation wrote:

“Apparently, people like to hear a lot about how they spend too much and not about how they actually spend too little on the goods that they do buy. Which is all to say that if they were truly concerned about the undeniably disproportionate amount of global resources the United States consumes, as well as the happiness of the American middle class, Hill and The New York Times would be better off lecturing Washington about pursuing fair labor practices, tougher regulations and socializing medicine and education than they would hectoring people for spending too much on stuff—which they do less of anyway.”

Business Insider wrote, “No poor person wants to be taught lessons in frugality by a millionaire,” while Gawker added:

“A millionaire does not have the standing to tell regular people that money is overrated. Graham Hill moved into a smaller apartment and sold some of his stuff. But he sure as fuck didn’t empty his bank accounts. It’s easy not to have material things when you can just buy whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

These critics were right in the sense that Hill oversimplified the issue, but they proved it by oversimplifying his argument. The truth is Hill can do this and then just buy whatever he needs when he needs it. The truth is stuff is cheaper than it used to be. The truth is Hill is a millionaire. And the truth is many of us have too much stuff.

The message of how to simplify your life is one worth thinking about. No, it probably won’t solve all your problems. No, you will still have to buy things from time to time. And, no, you don’t need that deep-fryer.  Continue reading →

photo by: emmajanehw

My First Attempt At Personal Essays Unleashes Motivation

Reply

About three weeks ago, I did something that I had never done before. Since I work in journalism, I’m used to having my written material looked at, judged, criticized and ignored. But it’s one thing when you’re writing about another company or another person, a completely different concern when you’re talking about your life or your fictional work. Three weeks ago, I decided to submit my first personal essay.

For some reason, I’ve never felt comfortable writing personal essays. It was something I always shied away from, in part because I didn’t think I had anything of interest to discuss (probably not true for anyone out there). But also, there’s a skill to crafting beautifully, engaging and attention-grabbing essays; one that for a long time, I never thought I possessed. So I avoided the thought.

Then my goals shifted and I really tried to hone in on what I wanted to accomplish in the future. There was no doubt, I wanted to write. That’s when I began to put together short stories and a novel, which I’m in the process of writing and editing. Along with these, I wanted to grow my credentials as a published writer. One way to do this is to publish a personal essay. So I went to work.

It took a few weeks to write, edit, write, edit. I then sent it to a friend who crushed it (rightly so), which meant more weeks of writing and editing. Then I let it sit a month, before finalizing the piece for submission. That’s what happened three weeks ago, when I submitted it to the Modern Love section of the New York Times. I haven’t heard back yet, as it takes about four weeks. But what I found surprising was how it impacted my confidence as a writer. Continue reading →

Inserting Passion Into Your Daily Routine: A Lesson From Professional Athletes

Reply

One of the major problems with getting stuck in a routine that sends you to the same place at the same time everyday, is that you’re not necessarily getting to experience something that you truly love to do or hope to do in the future.

This is most apparent for those folks working a 9-5 that they don’t enjoy. So their entire day is filled with routines, just to get back home and veg out again, before bed. But these routines, which are simply repetitive clicks to get through the day, also show themselves for freelancers, entrepreneurs and anyone who isn’t constantly on the go. The big downside to these routines is that they replace work you could be doing towards your passion. It isn’t the job that has completely defeated you, but the routines you use to deal with the job you dislike.

Professional athletes have routines that never change. But that's why they have other passions... to mix it up.

Professional athletes have routines that never change. But that’s why they have other passions… to mix it up.

And one way to combat this is to make sure you’re putting in time for your passions into your daily routines. It could be something completely out of your realm of expertise or your job title. In fact, it’s great if it is because that can help change your perspective on the world and your daily work.

Take a look at professional athletes. Sure, many of them probably love what they do, which is why they’ve reached the pinnacle of their chosen sport. But their lives are filled with routines all focused on getting them bigger, stronger, faster and healthier. The top athletes sleep at the same time every night. They eat similar nutrients every day. They take the same vitamins, workout and recuperate on a very predictable and repeatable routine.

But that’s not all they do. You see it all the time – many of them own businesses. Magic Johnson has become a mogul since he retired, yet, still manages to talk sports on a daily basis.  You hear about all other types of athletes owning gyms, theaters, pizza places, and the list goes on and on. Sure, in part many do this to park their money and to create income for when they eventually retire. However, it’s not all about that. They could easily park that money into mutual funds, and never have to worry again. Instead they look towards entrepreneurship. Why?

Continue reading →

photo by: tableatny