This post was influenced by an early morning call from a friend of mine Sara Davidson. She rocks. Read her blog here.
What makes me an expert? Nothing. I am just a guy who enjoys helping people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I strive to help people ask questions and think about things a little differently. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions. Please ask us anything, or just subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Emailto receive notifications of new posts.
If you do not know what SXSW is (we often forget in this online world that not everyone knows about this little conference in relation to the world) here is the link http://sxsw.com/
In careers, business and life remember the Mark Twain quote,
When you find yourself on the side of the majority it is time to pause and reflect.
Do the unexpected and always strive to set yourself apart. That is the secret. Read my other post about the unexpected here.
Would I love to be there? Hell ya, but I am not sad that I’m not. Actually, my brother is there so I will hear about some great sessions from that guy.
What makes me an expert? Nothing. I am just a guy who enjoys helping people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I strive to help people ask questions and think about things a little differently. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions. Please ask us anything, or just subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Emailto receive notifications of new posts.
I play music. I play all over the place. I now play with my brother as the ‘Son’s of Theo.’ We are the house band at McGilvra’s in Seattle on many Saturday’s. I also play a lot of weddings and corporate events. I was fortunate to get sponsored by miller lite when I was in the midwest. Humbled to say the least. That is not what this is about. This is about my dad.
After 20 some years of thinking I needed mentors to tell me where to go I find myself wondering if those same mentors actually mute many other people’s dreams before they ever get started or even try. After reading Jun Loayza and Ryan Paugh’s posts about mentors I decided to share with you the comment I left on Jun’s blog. Here is my comment and after that go read his post.
I sit. Thinking. Smiling. Reflecting. Wondering… About all of the people, the moments, the times that have changed my life. How did my path lead to where I am? Why do I feel so fortunate for everything that I have? Why am I typing and smiling so cheesy that the coffee shop barista probably thinks I am in love with this crack box called a computer? Because it is incredible, but realize, it is a game.
A game of inspiring and enabling others. A game of doing the unexpected. That’s it. The UNEXPECTED. Many of us do what is asked of us. That’s not a bad thing per say. Imagine if we all didn’t do what was asked of us? We try to “Crush It” in our jobs, in life, in everything for that matter. I look around and there are so many people that are all trying to do this one thing. Live. Enjoy. Create. Build. Better. But are we? Do you spend time at your job working on your tasks at hand or trying to bring everyone together to do more? Do you tell your boss that you have great ideas and they might help? Do you call your family and just say hi? Do you do things in your life that are not EXPECTED? That. One. Thing. Is. The. Secret. Do what is not expected. Always.
I woke up around 4:30. Couldn’t Sleep. Beautiful day in Seattle and I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else in this time of my life then here. Right here. But here I sit, confused. Confused on where to go. What to do. How to do it. Fear.
I have spent my life striving to kick ass in all I do. Relationships, career, and anything else that I set my hands on. But here I sit, thinking about leaving my job to pursue other opportunities. I have not slept more than 3 hours in months. I can’t. Working a day job that I like, building a company, playing music shows and weddings, and most of all, helping people is my drug, I can’t stop. But have I left yet? No. If there is one thing that is amazing about my company, my boss, my co-workers, it is that they support me, better me, challenge me, and most of all, they are there to help. I told them the truth. I have other job offers that came in just by chance and I also have this itch to do my own thing. Damn, how the hell can this happen? Luck? Yet, I feel anyone would be lucky to work where I do. And here I am, thinking of moving on to another endeavor, maybe my own endeavor, maybe this other offer, when nothing is wrong where I am at. Actually, I had an incredible 2009 and will probably have some great opportunities coming down the path should I stay. So I look back…
What if you could multiply what I just said 10, 20, or even 100 times? That’s how it can change lives. #incredible
People sometimes ask what makes me an expert? I tell them nothing. I’m just a guy who thinks a single conversation or story can help people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I strive to help people ask the right questions and think about things a little differently. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions and meeting the right people. Please ask me anything, or just subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Emailto receive notifications of new posts.
Seriously, not kidding. Alright, maybe I am kidding and it can’t hurt to attend but just don’t expect much. I understand that removing yourself from situations to meet new people and/or companies is never a good idea regardless of how you look at it. You can stumble across that one person or company at any moment and as long as you are prepared it could be the turning point in your career. The problem though is that the career fair usually = typical out of college $36,000 a year job that not a damn person, Gen-Y or not, would usually find rewarding. Penelope Trunk says it best,
Out of college jobs suck. Everyone wants reasonable work, not just Gen Y.
You are probably thinking, “I have to start somewhere to work my way up, right?” It is a valid question and there are many different thoughts on this, but I believe having that mentality with your career will only stunt your growth because you should always strive to find something that you enjoy, no matter what. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you know everything and that we should be the CEO tomorrow but I am saying that you should like what we do and work hard to find a company willing to teach us how to do better. Find a company that you feel like wants to help you get better. That’s what this journey is all about, learning from others. I often say that age is not a barrier, rather a number that can be silenced by ones ambition, passion, and ability to learn from those who are willing to teach. Here is the full post by Seth Godin that made me think about my past experiences at career fairs and what initially inspired me to write this.
So there are some exceptions to this and Gary Vee would be the first to come to mind. To his credit, he doesn’t brag about how many emails that he has at all and he has more email than anyone would ever want to deal with. The fact that he answers all of them is unbelievable. Kudos to that man. If you have an inbox that is out of control or you are the person who people consider spam, take a minute and read these 26 Email Etiquette tips from About.com.
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The day after I wrote this post and started editing it, I found Ms. Career Girl’s post, “The Best Education is Self-Education,” and Matt Chevy’s “I’ll Never Go Back to School,” which are both great reads. I want to dig a little deeper, ask some different questions, and think about it from another angle though. Before I start with my thoughts on college degrees and questioning the value of them, please know that I believe ongoing education is one of the most important parts of life and can honestly say that Self-Education has taught me more than anything. I also understand that Medical Doctors, Lawyers, and Bio-Molecular Engineering probably need years in a classroom. This is more about the ‘other’ majors, and I find myself thinking about this subject a lot lately when I see my student loans every month and the career path I took is a completely different route than what I studied in college, Finance and Economics. Sometimes you just have to wonder if you really needed that $60,000 piece of paper? Lately, mainly because of the free information era we live in, I feel that I have learned more over the last year than the past 6 combined. It is no longer about the resources available to us because we are only limited by our willingness to learn. Everything is out there and the best part is that it’s free. The bigger problem is knowing where to look. Here are 5 questions that I sometimes wonder about…
Seriously, not kidding. Alright, maybe I am kidding and it can’t hurt to attend but just don’t expect much. I understand that removing yourself from situations to meet new people and/or companies is never a good idea regardless of how you look at it. You can stumble across that one person or company at any moment and 
The day after I wrote this post and started editing it, I found 
