This applies to virtually any field or vocation:
1) Work your way up and get known through association and paying dues. Find apprenticeships, study under well-respected industry leaders, give back, and work hard.
2) Go rogue. Build a brand/name based on your observations and leverage your audience (once you’ve built it) to get where you’re trying to go.
No wrong answer here, but it’s helpful to decide up front how you’re going about it.
…is that it’s often not cheaper.
They use 0.0000872-ply paper towels at my office, and they make wonderful tissues (to give you an idea of the thinness). They do this to save money, sure. I get it.
But when I dry my hands, grasping for one results in it tearing…so I grab a few more out of necessity. This invariably causes a wad of paper towels to leave the machine as I watch in horror.
One huge deposit of slightly-used paper towels in the trash can later, I exit the restroom with a frustrated blog post in mind. They pay a lot more for paper towels in the long run because they’re being cheap.
Cheap clothes fade faster, cheap shoes fall apart, and you get what you pay for.
Typed with damp, angry hands.
I heard this phrase while listening to a webinar last week.
It resonated with me in the context of career and vocation because I have a technology degree and it has taken me years to get to the point where I could consider doing something (for money) outside of technology.
Which is funny, because I try to jump out of proverbial planes (take risks) for a living. My interests are many and varied — music, fashion, poetry, writing, technology, traveling, etc. — but I, out of habit, confine my life’s trajectory to a narrow spectrum of possibilities.
Lunacy.
The modern artist (yes, I’m an artist and you are too) combines their interests and skills and mastery and motivation to plot an original course.
I always go back to this example: when I first left my job in 2010 and started freelancing, I wasn’t able to make a living because I was particularly skilled in the areas of web design and development, I was able to build a reputation for myself and make a living because I understood what I was selling.
That is, I wasn’t selling someone art or lines of code, I was selling them a story and the ability not to worry about things that are terrifying to the people who hired me: FTP, PHP, HTML, CSS, etc. (So it seems I intuitively grasped the concept without appreciating its significance.)
In the same way, Zappos is a customer service company that happens to sell shoes, Apple is a lifestyle cult company that happens to sell computers, and a lot of luxury brands are actually selling the ability to tell others that you’re associated with them.
(Years of reading Seth’s writing has taught me how to analyze what’s actually being sold in a business instead of just taking their apparent model at face value.)
So the lesson for me here is that at the intersection of courage and insight and art and practices…lies the life I’m truly after.
I discovered in college (when I first started journaling semi-regularly) that I could gain a deeper understanding of my own positions and biases on different topics by writing about them. Writers will know what I’m talking about.
I noticed a similar phenomenon when discussing issues on the phone with friends of mine. I’d work myself into a frothy lather about a particular topic (typically things like freedom, work that matters, sticking it to the man, etc.) and find myself understanding my own positions much more clearly by discussing them.
In many cases, I’d actually surprise myself with the clarity I had and the coherence with which I spoke when passionately opining.
I’d contrast this with the distinct lack of clarity and direction on the same topics that I felt when considering them in solitude. And as I reflect on some of my old writing on this blog (which is pretty awful), I’m more motivated than ever to continue writing, sharing, and learning.
I love this video of President Obama’s daughter reminding him to address the crowd behind him:
So many wonderful lessons in this short video. Email and RSS subscribers can click here to see the clip.
I know a lot of people who think amazing thoughts and start amazing projects, but it’s those who ship that touch the world with their work. The idea of completion is something that I’ve come to associate with growing up as an artist and as an adult and as a man, and I have a healthy respect for those who actually follow through consistently.
Anyway, my friend Bassam just launched Ready Set Finish.
Per the site:
You’re sick of being scared.
You’re tired of feeling overwhelmed.
You’re dying to finish something.
I’m not going to try to sell you on it, as I’ve haven’t taken the course, but I’ve spent some time learning about Bassam through his writing and projects and random (interesting) facts.
You’ll like him. In his own words:
It is $99 for 2 hours of video lessons from me, 3 hours of interviews and 10 worksheets.
It is a course who’s subtitle is: The Course Your Excuses Don’t Want You To Take.
It will help people identify and deal with the excuses they so often give as to why they can’t get things done. I feel like all ages and experiences would find value in it because I tackle mindsets not just tactics.
In shipping we trust,
Bassam
Take a look if you find it interesting, and pass it along if you find it valuable.
The user your message was intended for has email verification enabled to confirm that you are not a spam source.
No action is needed on your part.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
That’s an actual email auto-response I just got.
Where do I begin?
The “I’ve gotta make today really count!” mantra is probably counter-productive over the long haul. There are going to be off days, and and there will be days where you don’t feel like fighting.
What’s important is that we stick with it, learn from our mistakes, and hone our craft.
A long-distance runner doesn’t focus on covering the first quarter-mile as quickly as possible, their focus is on expending their energy effectively over the course of the race. Mile after mile…
I’m always shocked and enraged when I put off a task (that I can’t escape) and it ends up taking me a trivial amount of time to complete.
I get angry because 1) suffering through the procrastination (it’s always in the back of my mind) is so much worse than the completion of the task) and 2) this never changes.
I wish I had a cute, optimistic closer for this post but the worst part of it is that I’ll never move on to bigger and better problems that need solving until I overcome the fundamental ones.
If you’re in line to buy something at the mall and you no longer want it, leave the line.
There’s a tiny voice in our head that says, “if you leave the line, everyone’s going to look at you like you’re crazy and tell their friends and point and laugh and nothing you ever do in life will ever amount to anything and you’re going to end up homeless in a van down by the river….”
(the italicized portion represents the crazy™)
The truth is that no one cares.
We feel like all eyes are on us, so we develop a hysteria about things going wrong and being ostracized and having our mistakes scrutinized on a public stage. In reality, that situation (enough people watching us to where there actually would be a sizable contingent of people who care) would mean that we have a thousand other things to be concerned about. (i.e., we’re Lady Gaga)
Most people don’t have a platform.
Most people don’t show up every day.
Most people don’t strive to do their best work.
Most people allow fear to dictate their actions and decisions.
Good thing you’re not most people.
You’re allowed to change your mind.
You’re allowed to be wrong.