Category: Career

I find myself constantly returning to the idea of careers and how they no longer mean what they used to mean, particularly for my generation.

At dinner last night, we talked about what we’d give a TED talk on if we had to do one tomorrow. When pressed for details on my “Rethinking Careers” talk (which no one has actually asked me to give…), I mentioned things like:

• Forgetting most of what you’ve learned in school, as fast as possible
• Realizing that many of the individuals advising you on life outside the halls of academia have not in fact ventured very far from said walls
• How no one knowing who you are or what you do (when beginning a freelance career) can be a huge benefit since you can fail in obscurity without anyone noticing

Ideas like these (and a laundry list of additional ones) are always churning, so as I flesh these out a bit more, I will share them here on the blog. Perhaps in ebook format.

Also: on Saturday, April 21^st I will be moderating a panel at the Find and Follow Your Passion Conference.

Come say say hi.

Just before leaving my job in April of 2010, I had a series of discussions with the Managing Director of Atlanta’s office, Craig Ramsey.

I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision, or to at least give the company a fair shot at addressing my concerns before I struck out on my own. Craig is a fellow FSU alum who I’d met at several company events, and someone for whom I have a great deal of respect.

I ended up moving forward with my plans to leave the company, but I remember telling people on more than one occasion after leaving that if I had worked with or reported to Craig during my time there, I would probably still be employed there.

Why? His conviction.

Craig believes in what he does, and has the work ethic to prove it. There is of course a measure of conviction required of any executive who hopes to remain employed for long, but there was an honesty to Craig’s conviction that made an impression on me.

I don’t think the importance of conviction can be overstated.

In your department, your startup, or your writing — it’s what will cause people to rally around your cause, subscribe to your newsletter, be moved to tears at your prose, and burn the midnight oil for your idea.

Conviction is what provides the push when discouragement sets in, when distractions appear, and when shortcuts are considered. Conviction is the mental and emotional transfer of your belief in something that then be internalized by others.

Give us something to believe in.

The most terrifying part of any worthwhile undertaking comes right before step one.

Once you’re moving, momentum and positive feedback loops and sheer determination help you along. It won’t be easy no matter the circumstances though, and there will be times where the momentum fades and your enthusiasm wanes.

It’s your job, then, to look for projects and opportunities that will propel you along once you’re moving by the sheer excitement of the idea or value of the project. Things that excite you at the very thought of them.

We can count on the burst of energy at the beginning of the race (adrenaline) and at the end (our friends cheering near the finish line), it’s the middle ground that becomes the most troublesome foe during the act.

So look for snowballs and get moving.

I left my job in April of 2010 on my own terms, with a bitter distaste for traditional employment in my mouth.

It would have been easy to say, “no jobs again, ever” after that experience, as I was able to support myself through freelancing and consulting at that point.

But I wouldn’t have gotten hooked up with The Domino Project, an opportunity that altered the course of my life (in a good way). It changed the way I think about fear and projects and teams.

I also wouldn’t have been able to take on my role with W3 EDGE, an opportunity that’s further shattering my ideas about how a business is run, how to be an executive, and how to deal with problems.

Invaluable experiences.

Both critical to my development and professional trajectory, and both would have been missed had I foolishly clung to an unhelpful and immature mindset about freedom and employment.

“Traditional jobs” (which will continue to become less interesting and common over the next few years) are traditional because they typically involve a clear set of instructions: do what has always been done.

There’s not a lot of risk involved on a personal level and thus, there’s not a lot of growth that takes place for the person in the position.

For new projects and startups, the path is less clear. No one knows the best way to do things, because many things haven’t been done before.

The solution here is of course to fail as fast as possible in the most likely direction of success. Many are paralyzed by a lack of direction and instruction on the job, but this is where you can shine.

Another one of the many lessons I’ve learned from my CEO recently.

There is no special praise reserved for working hard — that’s expected and required. You work a late night here, go without sleep there, do a lot of work behind the scenes for no recognition for months on end.

That’s great.

But the sooner you realize that working hard is not enough, the better off you will be. Add these to your list:

• Make your goals and progress public (even if it’s internal to your team)
• Taking on projects that you’re not ready for
• Asking for help when you need it
• Stop toiling away in obscurity
• Keep your promises
• Work harder
• Work faster

Doubling down isn’t enough for someone with your skill, talent, potential and ambition. And all those things are worthless if you don’t apply them!

“Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.” – Charles Caleb Colton

Having access to different schools of thought can be helpful as you shape your persecutive on different topics.

And while it’s easy to ask someone what they think, it’s not easy to be in a genuinely receptive posture for their opinion. We often look for opinions that support our assumptions, which is what makes true and unbiased research so valuable.

You probably know a lot of really smart people, but you do their experience (and your relationship with them) a disservice if you lean on them to support your assumptions, rather than endeavoring to consider their input with an unbiased mind.

You can’t afford to rest on your laurels.

It’s not about money or fame or respect, it’s about maintaining an aggressive clip in the never-ending race towards self-improvement. Failure is not the enemy, nor has it ever been. The real enemy is Resistance, cowardice, and complacency.

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.”
—Hunter Thompson

When I’m connecting a freelancer with a client or business with whom I have a relationship, I often indicate that the person (or business) is “easy to work with” (if it’s true). This might imply that being easy to work with is a good thing, but I’m not so sure.

In the same way that a resume designed to be used for a dozen job applications makes it a perfect fit for exactly nothing, it’s probably ok to reserve compatibility for an ideal client or consultant. This doesn’t mean that vitriol should be reserved for those you pass over, of course…

There are countless platitudes about how you need to say no to what’s wrong in order to say yes to what’s right (for you), and I think there’s merit to the idea behind that.

I suspect that Jonathan Ive and Steve Jobs bumped heads on more than one occasion, and that they both realized that the juice was worth the squeeze.

I guess what it comes down to is determining what you ideal criteria are, and then working on enhancing the things that give you and your great match the synergy needed to ensure the success of a project.

If this involves a refusal to work with amateurs or a rejection of brown M&M’s, then so be it. Being willing to reject nine losers is the only way to ever find winner number ten.

In the startup world, a lack of sleep, nonstop work, and a general disregard for personal wellbeing (at the expense of productivity) is glamorized.

Among novice writers, it’s common to hear of individuals clearing entire days or weeks of their schedule to do nothing but write.

In high pressure professional environments (top tier law and consulting firms), late nights, weekend work, and (under important deadlines) even sleeping at the office are all relatively commonplace.

I’m not sure these extremes are necessary, much less sustainable.

I don’t need to lecture anyone on why getting poor sleep is a bad idea, but few (so far as I can tell) seriously explore the benefits of getting a lot of sleep.

I’m relatively new to the world or regular writing, so I don’t have much to share on that front aside from my personal observations.

Having spent time on a project (in my former life) where staying until 10PM was the norm, I can think of no better way to ensure burnout and developing a resentment for the work causing it than long, draining hours.

The older I get, the more I appreciate consistency, boldness, and quiet strength.