I have a big problem with the workplace. Well, I have A LOT of problems with the workplace, actually, but this happens to be rather high on my list.
I guess I’m sort of a creeper, to a certain extent, because I observe people all the time. That’s my thing.
I watch and I listen and I realize how ridiculously crazy people are most of the time while they’re at work.
A lot of people tend to feel that they need to put on some kind of front while at work…they can’t be themselves. Instead, they have to be perfect. ALWAYS.
So they put on their suits and they cary their briefcases and they walk from meeting to meeting, focusing on numbers and on the latest budget reports. They’re serious all the time. They can’t laugh, they can’t joke. Because that would make them unprofessional.
Now, I get that people have to work. I also understand that we have to focus on numbers and on budgets and reports.
But in doing so, we can’t forget there’s also a human side to work. Work isn’t just numbers. Work isn’t just reports. Work isn’t just about the bottom line.
Work is also about human relationships. Work is about BUILDING those human relationships.
Because without those relationships, work is not possible.
It’s okay to show that human side of yourself while you’re at work. It’s okay to have a personality. It’s okay to be nice to people.
We’re not robots.
And honestly, I’ve found that when you share that human side of yourself with others, people are more receptive towards you. People like you more because you’re honest. You’re silly. You’re NOT perfect. You’re just like everyone else. You’re human.
A little crazy. A little messed up. A little not-so-put-together.
So don’t be afraid to open up every once in a while.
For example, I was running into work not too long ago wearing my not-so-hemmed pants which I have to wear my 5 inch heels with. And so I decide to take the elevator to prevent myself from falling flat on my face. So what happened? I got off the elevator, took 4 steps, my heel got stuck in a crack on the floor, and I fell. On my face. The best part was…I didn’t just fall, I also ripped my pants. Big time.
So I got up, continued walking to my office, and when people greeted me with the usual, “Good Morning! How are you?” my response to them was NOT, “Fine, thanks.”
Instead, it was more like “Wonderful, thanks, I ripped my pants! Isn’t that great?”
And you know what? People didn’t look at me and scold me for being honest. Instead, they laughed and some of them even shared with me their own embarrassing stories.
So my point is, don’t be the kind of person at work who has the personality of a tree. Be true to who you are, don’t put on a front, and you’ll be much more likely to build those human relationships which are essential to career success.
I also knew, that it would require me to have lots of money.
So I strategized.
I worked hard in school. I got good grades. I got a scholarship to college.
I started a full-time job when I was 19 and graduated when I was just 20.
Beautiful!
I had a full-time job AND made enough money to afford my inexplicable need to hop on a plane whenever I wanted.
Or so I thought.
You see…
Traveling requires money.
And to have money, you need a job.
But to be able to KEEP your job and therefore KEEP having money, you can’t just spend weeks at a time traveling.
Dissappointing, I know.
I think that today, more than ever, young people want to travel.
More than ever, they want to see the world.
And they want to do so while they’re young and have no kids and while they still have their friends from college to go with.
But it’s kind of hard to do that if they have no money. And if they HAVE jobs and therefore HAVE money, it’s STILL hard, because they just don’t have the time to do it.
They can’t just start a new job, walk into their boss’ office, and ask for a month off because they need to go see Europe.
That’s not exactly what employers want to hear.
So more than ever, young professionals are seeking out jobs that allow them to travel.
They’re seeking jobs that advertise in their job descriptions: 70-80% travel.
Why?
Because they haven’t seen the world yet!
And they want to. Desperately.
So jobs that let them do that are instantly the most attractive. They’re the most exciting.
That’s why I really liked this contest that I came across…
It’s called Around the World in 80 Jobs, sponsored by Adecco, a leader in full-time and temporary staffing solutions.
Essentially, the contest is giving eight winners the opportunity of a lifetime.
Eight winners will have the chance to explore the world while gaining on-the-job experience.
Check out the video below and if you’re interested, you have until May 20th to enter.
Sooo…What do you think? Share your thoughts and comment below for a chance to win a $100 Banana Republic Gift Card.
What’s your dream job? What’s your dream location?
Would you LOVE to travel or am I the only crazy person who wants to?
It sucks, usually, when you want something and you just can’t have it.
No… you can’t have that job.
No… I won’t pay you $70k a year so you can pay off your student loans of a million dollars.
No… you can’t have that slice of pizza.
DAMNIT.
But let’s face it…
NO is definitely a word that we need to get used to.
Especially us young people at the very start of our careers.
Now, I won’t lie… I’ve always been one of those people who hates rejection.
I HATED applying for jobs and getting back that super annoying e-mail…
“Thank you for your interest…blah…blah…blah…but unfortunately, we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates that better qualify…blah…blah…blah.”
Translation: YOU ARE A LOSER.
I hated it SO much that for a long time, I just stopped applying.
Even to jobs that I really wanted.
Because I figured that at the very least, my inbox wasn’t full of rejection e-mails.
Life was good!
But after a while, I noticed that I wasn’t getting any offers either.
How could I? I wasn’t applying!
You see…that scary and vulnerable position that we put ourselves in that quite often leads to rejection…it’s the SAME position that also gets you what you want.
When it comes to your career, you need to learn to love the word NO.
Or at the very least, you need to stop being scared of it.
Because your career is NEVER going to be handed to you.
Nope…sorry.
You can’t just sit back, play X-Box all day, and expect that someone’s going to knock on your door and offer you your dream job.
That’s not the way it works.
You have to WORK for your career.
You have to ASK for what you want.
You have to take CHANCES.
And while you’re doing this, you’re going to hear NO every once in a while.
Maybe even all the time.
But it shouldn’t discourage you…
Because it means that you’re doing something right.
Think about it…
If you’re facing rejection…if you’re hearing the word NO…it means that you’re putting yourself out there.
It means that you’re taking chances. It means that you’re asking for what you want.
Sure, you’re giving other people the opportunity to say NO to you.
But you’re also giving them the opportunity to say YES.
So don’t be afraid of rejection.
Embrace it.
Learn to love it.
Because the more you hear the word NO, the less it’ll affect you.
I’m sitting in class and I feel really bad for my professor. No one’s paying attention to him.
I look around and everyone’s either got a phone in their hand or a laptop open. And I promise you, no one’s taking notes.
Statuses are being updated, pictures are being posted, and I’m sure that at least five people are on Twitter.
Okay, fine. Maybe we should be paying a little more attention.
I hear it all the time, when I talk about Gen Y, that we’re addicted to social media.
Gen Y… addicted to social media…can’t put their phones down.
How awful.
But is it really?
I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m addicted to social media. I know that one of these days I’m going to leave my phone on my bed and I’m going to head into work and that day is going to be terrible. I repeat…terrible.
Because whether we like it or not, we have this constant need to be connected.
To everything…all the time.
Everything is in our face.
Always.
And that’s not going to change.
So we can do one of two things.
We can either focus on how awful social media is because back in the day people used to actually play outside, etc. etc. etc.
OR
We can embrace the fact that it’s here to stay and figure out how to use it for the better. We can look for the positives. We can figure out how to make the world a better place by using it to its fullest potential.
Companies and organizations that are smart, are choosing the latter….because it makes sense.
Even though they’ve been active in ending polio since the 80s, right now they’re focusing on raising awareness through their innovative End Polio Now campaign. Since the global initiative began over 25 years ago, Rotary International and its partners have reduced polio cases by more than 99 percent worldwide.
That’s pretty impressive.
You see, it used to be that foundations and organizations could only raise awareness through face-to-face events. It used to be that in order for these initiatives to be successful, thousands of dollars had to be spent on direct mailings asking for donations. It used to be that the only people who took interest in philanthropy and good causes were wealthy individuals, who were usually older.
But that’s not the case anymore.
And I’d argue that social media has played a pretty big role in that.
Because today, it’s cool to make a difference. We see it all the time.
Every time I go on Facebook, there’s a post from someone I know asking me to help them raise money for some kind of marathon they’re running. And so I donate because it’s for a good cause (and because dear God I have no idea how anyone can run 26+ miles without losing a lung).
And when I’ve done this, I feel good about it.
I feel good about it and it makes me happy.
It makes me happy because I see that young people are making a difference.
For that reason, organizations like Rotary International make me really happy.
I mean, you just can’t help but be interested when you hear that they’re putting together the World’s Biggest Commercial to end polio- and create a Guinness World Record- and that you can be a part of it.
First of all, I think it’s awesome that we’re so close to eradicating polio. In 1988, 125 countries were polio-endemic. Today, due largely to Rotary’s efforts, only three countries in the world- Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan- have not eradicated the disease.
That’s a huge deal.
But although we’ve come a long way, the fight won’t be over until polio has been completely eradicated. The disease isn’t fun. It’s a cruel disease that cripples children. It’s highly contagious, and until it’s 100% eradicated, polio remains a worldwide risk. If we don’t finish the fight right now, more than 10 million children under the age of five could be paralyzed by polio in the next 40 years. And I don’t want that.
Nearly 14,000 people in 144 countries have joined to date!
I’ll be joining other individuals and celebrities worldwide by uploading my “this close” photo.
I’ll use my new wonderful photo app, Picfx, to edit my photo until I look decent.
And then I’ll post it on Facebook
And Twitter…
And Instagram…
And pretty much anywhere else that people can see it.
Because I want people to know that it costs just $0.60 to vaccinate a child.
Because I want people to be educated.
And because more than anything, I want everyone to know that us kids, us young people… we can make a difference too.
Here’s How You Can Help:
Make History. Visit EndPolio.org and take part in the World’s Biggest Commercial in a show of solidarity and raise awareness for the complete eradication of polio. People around the world are uploading their photo making a “this close” gesture to join the commercial, and sharing the news with their blogs and social networks to make sure that we finish the fight to eradicate this terrible—and completely preventable —disease.
Generate Social Media Buzz. Tweet using the hashtag #EndPolioNow and including theEndPolio.orgURL to help raise awareness.
Give Financially. Visit EndPolio.org and make a donation. Just $.60 can vaccinate a child from the disease.
Share the good news with your community. Inform your social circles that we are “this close” to ending polio, encourage them to join the World’s Biggest Commercial and make history, and share these actions items with them for ways in which they, too, can help.
While this post has been sponsored by Rotary International, I’m proud to serve as an ambassador for their End Polio Now campaign.
For those unemployed, it seems like it’ll take a miracle of God to find a job.
And for those of us who DO have jobs, we hope and we pray that we’ll be able to keep them.
Even GREAT organizations…even organizations that have been recognized for their financial stability… right now, they’re having to deal with not-so-great stuff like budget cuts and layoffs.
Take a look at the equation below, it’s pretty simple.
Budget cuts + fear of layoffs = unhappy, scared, & unproductive employees
Ask any employer.
I was thinking about this yesterday because I came across the term “Furlough Fridays.”
For those of you who don’t know, the term “furlough” is essentially a leave of absence, a vacation, a holiday. You’ll hear this term a lot these days because many government employers are implementing “furloughs”.
They’re mandating that employees take time off work….with no pay.
Basically, they don’t have money to pay you…so you need to go home.
NOT COOL.
So then I started thinking about it…what would happen if I had Fridays off because my employer couldn’t afford to pay me?
Would the extra time off be worth the pay cut?
And so I came to the conculsion that for some people, it WOULD be worth it.
Instead of spending our entire lives devoted to a job, 70+ hours a week, we want time to spend with our familes and our friends.
We want time to pursue our other interests, our other hobbies.
We want time to travel.
But we give up a lot of this time because we need to make ends meet. We need to pay rent.
More often than not, a part-time job just won’t pay the bills.
But on the other hand, a full-time job usually leaves us exhausted, with no time to enjoy the other aspects of life that we’re interested in.
But what about an extra day off every week? What about an extra day off every TWO weeks?
I think some people would love that.
Now I’m not trying to say that all employers should send their employees home every Friday. I’m not trying to say that employees should be paid less.
What I AM trying to say is that in SOME situations, rather than having to lay off employees, the budget could possibly be reduced by allowing employees the option of working a few days less each month.
At a time when employers are trying to cut budgets while avoiding at all costs having to lay off employees, I think it might be a good time to think outside the box.
I think we’d be surprised by how many people would jump at the chance to have a little more time off.
To have an extra day to spend with their kids.
To have an extra day to run errands.
To have an extra day to go away for the weekend.
It’s not feasible for all employers. It’s not feasible for all employees.
But in some situations, I think it is.
And I certainly think it’s a much better option than having to lay off employees.
Because laying off employees kills morale.
It kills morale and it can destroy an organization’s culture in two seconds.
But allowing employees to have an extra day of freedom…
You see, I’m one of those nerds who’s always reading some kind of self-help/improvement/learn how to do something better-ish kind of book.
I mean, really, if you’re ever at Barnes & Noble, check out the self-help section…that’s where you’ll find me. ALWAYS.
There…I said it.
Most people are embarassed to admit that. They think that self-help books are just for losers.
But you know what? Last time I checked, wanting to do something better doesn’t make you a loser. Instead, it makes you the kind of person that refuses to settle…you should be proud of that.
How many of you have good jobs?
How many of you are in good relationships?
How many of you are good writers?
How many of you are good friends?
If you are, you need to be careful. Yea, careful. Because the minute that you accept that you’re “GOOD” at anything, more often than not, you STAY good at it.
Now, I hear you…
“What the heck is she talking about?”
“Why is it bad to be good at something?”
Why???? Here’s why…
Because it means that you settle for “GOOD” instead of working your ass off to get to “GREAT.”
If you don’t understand this, you need to read Jim Collins’ book…Good to Great.
Actually, even if you DO understand this, you should still read it. It’s kind of awesome.
Although the book primarily focuses on companies and organizations and their need to strive for excellence in everything that they do, the concept is very much applicable to our everyday lives.
You know, when you’re BAD at something, chances are that you put a lot of effort towards getting better. But here’s the problem…when you get to being GOOD at it, you usually stop trying.
YES!!!! I”M GOOD!!! SUCCESS!!
But why are we stopping at GOOD? Why is GOOD suddenly the best that there is?
In terms of your career, for example, is it good? If it IS good, what are you actively doing to take it to the next level?
Did you forget that there’s a next level?
In terms of your relationship…is everything good?
It is?! That’s wonderful!
But again, what are you actively doing to make it better?
What are you doing to make it GREAT?
If we settle for good, we’re missing out on a whole lot of potential. And if we’re actually aiming for good, well…quite frankly, we’re not aiming high enough.
I’m a big believer in continuous learning…in continuous improvement.
And you know why?
Because the moment you settle for good, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage…especially if you’re running a company in a competitive market.
The moment you settle for good, that’s where you stay.
And meanwhile, overachieving nerds, like myself, are doing everything in their power to get to the next level.
I’m having a panic attack. Pretty sure that’s what this is.
I have a headache, I can’t focus, and I’m about seconds away from throwing my cat against the wall because he keeps climbing all over my keyboard as I type.
God, that’s annoying.
But anyway, I’ve got a lot on my mind.
I haven’t finished Christmas shopping. I have a meeting on Wednesday that I kind of need to be prepared for.
And oh, I’m leaving to North Carolina in less than 9 days.
SO. MUCH. TO. DO.
I nearly cringe when I see how long it’s been since I last wrote.
I’ve just been so busy with new ideas, new projects, finishing the semester at school, dealing with work, going to CrossFit, finding time to read all these books I keep ordering and when I really need some down-time, catching up on Justified with the man-friend.
People laugh at me all the time when I tell them about a new project I’m working on or some new venture I’m exploring.
They always ask me, “Don’t you think you’re going to be a bit overwhelmed by all that?”
Well, yea. I definitely will be.
But I love every second of it.
I love having a million things to do.
When I don’t have anything to do, I slip into some sort of mild weird depression thing where I contemplate my existence and cry to hipster music while snuggling with my cat.
Okay, it’s not THAT bad.
But still, I don’t like having NOTHING to do.
There’s nothing that makes me happier than trying new things and taking on new projects. Reading new books. Traveling to new places.
Without that, my life would suck. I’d be bored all the time.
I love the picture at the top of this post because it really describes how I feel about life.
I want to experience ALL of it. Not some watered-down version.
I don’t want a half-assed life.
I want it to be spectacular.
Because at the end of the day, life’s way too short to not live fully.
To not throw all the paint you can on that canvas.
There are WAY too many people who spend their days doing nothing. People with no passion.
And it really makes me sad.
Because really, what’s life without passion?
Pretty lame, if you ask me.
So if I have to endure a few more panic attacks, that’s fine.
I’ll learn to deal with them.
I’ll be known as that crazy chick who’s got so much going on she can’t even keep her head on straight.
Who goes to school, when they’re exhausted from work, on a night when they don’t even have class?
THIS GIRL. Right here. Yea, me.
All I wanted to do tonight was curl up in bed and eat ice cream. But no, I didn’t go do that. Instead, I dragged myself to my college campus because my school is pretty awesome and hosted TedxFIU.
For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know how much I love Ted Talks. So obviously, when I heard that FIU would be hosting their very own Tedx event, I knew I had to be there.
And I’m certainly glad I was.
Alot of great speakers presented.
They also served FREE FOOD, which is really all that’s necessary to make a college event successful.
But what I loved the most about this event was hearing from two young students who have sought to change the world.
Philip Koenig is the founder of a local non-profit organization, Leading Miami, which teaches middle school students about leadership through a series of leadership development workshops hosted at schools throughout Miami-Dade County. He also has a British accent, just saying.
Ximena Prugue, at the age of just 19, became the founder of Giving the Green Light, a non-profit organization which seeks to alleviate energy poverty by replacing kerosene lamps in India with solar powered lighting. She’s also friends with a lot my friends, so I’m sure I’ve stalked her on Facebook at some point. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve stalked her multiple times. That’s what Facebook’s for.
But really…
Philip and Ximena are amazing young people who are making a difference.
Looking around the room as they spoke, it was obvious how much they were inspiring others. It was evident, without a doubt in my mind, that many of those college students listening to them tonight aspire to accomplish great things too.
In their talks, they both mentioned how their achievements started off as simple ideas. These ideas were then pitched to organizations and individuals. Their countless e-mails and phone calls more often than not, went unanswered.
People thought they were crazy (in case you missed the memo…the good ones always are).
For the most part, people seemed to dismiss their ideas because they were young and inexperienced.
Now, imagine if no one had given Philip or Ximena the time of day…
Imagine if no one had listened to them…
Imagine if they had received ZERO support…
The impact they’ve made on the lives of so many people would have been impossible.
So basically, here’s what I’m trying to say:
I’m tired of society saying no to young people.
Instead of listening to and supporting the ideas that many young people are bringing to our attention, we’re doing the opposite. We’re not taking their phone calls. We’re ignoring their e-mails. We’re not looking for ways to help.
And it’s sad.
Because there are a lot of people like Philip, like Ximena, who want to make a difference.
We NEED those people.
Our society can’t afford for good ideas to be continually shut down.
So the next time that you hear of a young person who has a dream, who has an idea, who wants to make an impact, see if you can help them. See if you can guide them. If YOU can’t, introduce them to someone who CAN.
There is nothing more powerful than a young mind.
So find a way to say yes. Find a way to help make a difference.
I’m in a ridiculously good mood today which is odd given that I’ve only slept perhaps a total of 7.48 hours this past week.
My hair’s up in a bun today which tells you that I had MAYBE a whole 10 minutes to get dressed today, if that.
But it’s fine because I still look somewhat decent having put in zero effort which is the goal of any sleep deprived grad school student I know.
Not bad for a Thursday.
But anyway, I’ve had some of the busiest few weeks of my life and I feel like a failure because I haven’t had the chance to sit down and write about any of it.
I get home, see my bed, and it practically calls out to me… for me to just lay in it forever. I listen.
But that’s no excuse.
To everyone who reads this blog and to everyone who congratulated me on being freshly pressed, THANK YOU! It means more to me than you’ll ever know.
Ever since I started writing, I thought it would be so cool to have my work freshly pressed on this site.
I never thought it would happen, but still, it’d be kind of awesome.
It WAS awesome.
Then, I kind of freaked out.
I thought to myself…what if I never write anything as good as that again? What if that’s the best I’ve got?
I thought about a Ted Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert that I watched a while back. She talks about how after she wrote Eat Pray Love, people feared that she’d never achieve success again.
Watch it. It’s great.
She says that after her huge success with her book, people would ask her:
Aren’t you afraid that you’re never going to be able to top that? Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to keep writing for your whole life and you’re never again going to create a book that anybody in the world cares about…at all…ever…again?
So why does success freak us out?
Because with every success, we climb THAT MUCH HIGHER up some kind of metaphorical ladder or hill or mountain or whatever.
The higher we get, the harder we fall if we fail.
Think about it for a second.
We spend most of our lives figuring out how to reach our goals, figuring out how to get there.
But what happens when we do? What happens when we achieve what we’ve set out to accomplish?
Is that it? Do we stop there?
Heck no.
When we reach one goal, how about we just keep shooting for another?
Don’t let the fear of failure paralyze you.
Keep moving. Keep doing.
Until you have nothing left to give.
Pretend you’re making lemonade with the last five lemons left on this planet.
Squeeze out every. single. last. drop that exists.
If your lemonade tastes freaking terrible, well, at least you used everything you had.
Same goes for your life.
When you have something wonderful, put everything you have into it.
A job…
A relationship…
A talent that you want to explore…
GIVE IT EVERYTHING.
And if you DO fail?
Well, at least you’ll know you did everything you possibly could.
