Today. Feb. 4th, 2010.

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…

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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.

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Recently I had an old college friend tell me I was “lucky.” I didn’t really know what that meant.  Was I? Am I? I don’t even know what luck really is.  What I do know is that I am always striving to learn and achieve greater in life and I am truly thankful for so many great opportunities that I have had (music, my job, co-founding a company, learning/enjoying html/css).  Is that what luck is?  After thinking about “luck” for a while, I came up with this little chart and a made-up phrase, “True Luck.”  I would argue that the moment in time in which an opportunity occurs could be considered “luck,” but without being prepared for that moment you may never have known that the opportunity was right in front of you, thus never feeling “lucky.”  If you are not prepared then you may never seize any opportunity. Therefore, I believe that being “lucky” isn’t about luck at all, and I am not alone.  After a quick google search I realized that people have shared my idea for centuries.  Here are some of the quotes that stood out about luck. Continue Reading

I recently came across  Job Spice, a  powerful yet simple resume tool, and decided  to give it a whirl because  I  know   how  much time  can  be spent formatting  and  designing  your  resume when you should be focused on the content. Making it good looking is important but in end content is king. That is what is so appealing about Job Spice. It allows you to drag and drop “content fields” in any order to lay out your resume.  All you have to worry about is filling in the blanks and you are done. It then uses CSS so you can change between designs with the click of a button.  It also allows you to save your resume online as a pdf with your own URL, www.yourname.jobspice.com, which can be downloaded by anyone who you tell to take a look at your new online portfolio.  It will not only make you look professional but the simplicity of it will make whomever is fetching your resume surely appreciate your unique style.   You talk about a dream come true. Continue Reading