13 Sep
Recently I had discussion with a friend who is in the process of choosing her career. “What helps me,” she said, “is to ask myself, ‘what would I do in life if there was nobody around? If I were the only one to exist?’ Whatever that answer is, I should do it.” For my friend, it really comes down to choosing something she likes to do, and not choosing a career to impress society. I told her that it might get very lonely and depressing without anyone around and that I’d probably find a cave to sit in and mope for a few months, but I understood the point she was trying to make.
In the past year I have stopped being bothered about what I like to do and started focusing on what I am really good at doing. I’ve asked myself, “What naturally occurring skills do I possess? What is it about me that makes me different?” I think people like what they are doing when they realize they are good at it. My advice is rather simple really: find out what you are good at, and figure out how to apply this daily. Here’s an example below:
Strategic thinker: I ask a lot of questions and gain a deep understanding of the things around me. I do my own research and know the ins and outs of an issue. I become an expert, analyzing trends and providing recommendations. I anticipate tough spots and create new strategies to avoid negative effects. I am a problem solver.
The dilemma of choosing one’s career is a luxury. Not everyone is so lucky to see endless opportunity. I picture myself in front of the largest crowd I can imagine. In fact, the whole world is in attendance and I am on stage standing next to the mic. The world is listening to find out what I have to offer. What will my message be, and what would I like to convey? I’d rather be here, than in a cave.
05 Sep
I took a course during my senior year of college that changed my life. It was all about what you do with your life after graduation. It answered things like, “How do I network, get an interview and find the right job for me?” This class gave me some useful skills that really helped launch my career. I wanted to become a “professional” and was motivated to achieve excellence.
I have always been motivated to achieve excellence. Back in my younger years, it was much easier to get everything right. I learned that perfection was attainable; all I had to do was just give myself enough time and work really hard. As an adult I realized that perfection just isn’t possible in all areas of life. I have more responsibilities, less time and there are no answers in the appendix that can serve as an example.
Over the years I have come to realize that successful people are not good at everything. Successful people use the skills that come natural to them, and keep doing more of that. Successful people understand they can’t do it all, and recruit a team of people who are strong in their areas of weakness. This is how successful companies emerge.
I realized that maybe I have been attempting the impossible: trying to perform every skill with perfection. This strategy requires all of my energy to be focused on improving my weak spots, and as you might guess, not the most effective way to work. So to illustrate, there you have Person A, who spends all their time trying to achieve everything with greatness, but due to limited resources, ends up producing mediocre work. Then, there’s Person B, who spends all their time doing what they are good at, and getting better at this and witnessing exponential growth. Soon enough, Person B will gain more confidence, attempt greater challenges, and begin to notice how other people have taken an interest in his/her work.
To help me stay focused on my strengths, I have listed below one of my top key skills that comes naturally. I plan to share additional skills in future posts.
Attention to detail: I am extremely observant of people, grammar, systems and environments. I can be trusted to give the final approval by providing feedback on a piece of work before going to clients or the public. I am a thorough editor.
03 Sep
When I lived in Capitol Hill, I used to run to this greenhouse in Volunteer Park. I would go right up to the glass and peer inside at a cactus because it reminded me of Arizona, my very first home. The cactus was such a strange thing to see in the northwest. It looked so foreign alongside its lush green neighbors and made me wonder if I had ever looked out of place too?
Last night I sat at a dive bar with a friend and noticed all the crude remarks lining the walls. I wasn’t used to being around all of that negativity. Before leaving, I wrote on a blank coaster, “Think Positive! It will change your life.” You can’t find happiness because happiness is a choice.
I just moved to my new apartment in Queen Anne and am in the middle of unpacking. The great joys of finding the perfect spot for every single possession I own. These items have made the cut while the rest have been placed in boxes marked “Goodwill.”
I used to have two parakeets and named the green one Mowgli and the blue one Baloo after the characters in The Jungle Book. I ended up giving them to a nice family who would take good care of them. It was a bittersweet goodbye. I gave them away because I wanted them to live in a place where they would feel welcome to sing as loud and as much as they wanted and I knew this place wasn’t in my room.
I think we all require a sense of belonging in this world and where we fit now may be different in a year. Throughout the journey remember to continue to keep singing, a lesson my pet birds taught me.
16 Aug
I have less than two weeks to find a new place to live. My lease is up and I’m heading out of Capitol Hill. I should be looking for a new place tonight, but I took a long walk instead, remembering a phrase written in cursive on my tea cup, “Breath, there is time for everything important,” or something to that effect. My armoire has a large drawer full of books. Not just any old kind of book, no, this is a collection of the highly coveted “self-help books.” Not just any kind of “self-help books.” No, these are only the most helpful books known to mankind, ones that divide and conquer the maladies of the human race, focusing on one particular problem, that being stress.
I think back to which book actually changed my life, which book still holds true to this day. I can’t recall a single technique and my poor old armoire creaks to the heavy burden it is holding. True, many of the books that I keep did serve some kind of meaning, that is, in the moment. Sure, there are sentences, even paragraphs underlined and corners folded on a very critical page, but nothing has remained with me. I find the only way to stop stress is to stop thinking completely. And wouldn’t you know, that’s when creativity creeps in too. It’s funny how life begins, when you decide not to.
06 Aug
Journey 1.5
Part 1.
So soon the day is over,
To which has caused me great delight,
The remnants of yesterday remain in my thoughts,
When morning wakes, things move back in place,
But this time, today, I know where I came from,
Where I belong.
Part 2.
We rode on bicycles,
To an unknown destination,
We did it together,
And That has made all the difference.
30 Jun
Weeds are impressive. They show perseverance, and yet we honor the plants that are picky and finicky about their surroundings (think roses). Weeds sprout up in all kinds of conditions, all year long. Through sidewalk cracks, in desert fields, in vacant alleyways. They get overlooked and still they choose to grow. They know they will never become part of a magnificent bouquet, or displayed in a glass heirloom vase at the family dinner table. And yet they still persevere! What is the point? They understand the absurdity of life. There is no reason in staying happy, moving forward, doing good, showing compassion, and yet they choose to do this. Weeds inspire me to find the joy in myself and to persevere.
23 Jun
My boyfriend asked me what my blog is about. I told him to read it. I also said that I often write about him, including the most personal details. If he is actually reading this, I am only joking, but as Reading Rainbow put it, “Don’t take my word for it! (Duh Nuh Nuh).”
I suppose I should tailor this blog to something more specific. I need a specialized theme. I could be writing about buttons. I’ve met some Mormon wives who dedicate not only their lives but their entire blogs to their husbands! Finding your specialty, your niche, is certainly key in the business world, especially if you are looking to increase your current wages. An old manager of mine once gave me some advice that I’ll never forget: become an expert at something. You will become invaluable if nobody else can do it as well as you.
I’ve been suckered in to watching Mad Men. The first time I ever heard about the show was during an informational interview with an executive at Seattle’s creative agency Wexley School For Girls. A year later, my friends kept telling me that I would like the show, so I’m finally getting around to watching it. Mad Men has opened me up to the world of copywriting. I make no promises because when I do I tend to retract them later on, but it has occurred to me that I could write about copywriting. In fact, I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this sooner! It all makes perfect sense. Really, I mean I currently write lots of copy at my current job. I am particular with words. I could think about words all day long. Choosing just the right word, forming phrases, full on sentences- oh I can’t forget grammar. I like to give my full attention to one thing.
I’m also great with details. One day during high school, I got so offended when my mother came home with creamy unsalted peanut butter after I specifically told her to get the crunchy unsalted kind. I thought since she had failed to hear my words, it proved her lack of love for me, and I began to cry. Years later I realize how foolish this thinking was (my mother loves me very much), but my point is that words are important to me. I take them seriously and use them only after careful consideration.
Copywriting. This could be my new theme, my niche. In a world of possibilities, I could finally be choosing my own path. Heading down a narrow and windy road of my own, looking determined and unbound.
30 Apr
To create means to produce something that comes from your soul. It is a form of self-expression. To create something in this world means to affect it, whether it is good or bad, helpful or hurting. I ought to be conscious of what I create. For instance, whatever I create, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of things just like it.
Americans consume more and more products with a one-use, toss in the trash policy, similar to that of a Ziploc bag. Companies like Forever 21 find it more beneficial to deliver cheaper products that are high in quantity and variety verses quality products that will still work for your future grandchildren.
What then, is there left for me to create? Where is there room for my creations? Where is there use? Ideas are brewing…
23 Apr
The funny thing about being 25 is that you’d think I should have my life all figured out by now. That’s not entirely the case. Like most of us, I identify myself by the work I do, by the friends I hang out with, by the men I date. I identify myself even by the neighborhood I live in (thus naming my blog Rice on the Hill). These are all choices that I am eligible to make. I was raised in the “Generation Opportunity” where the people that were responsible for my upbringing (parents, mentors, society in general) told me I could do anything, be anyone, as long as I try hard. My guess is that children raised in the depression most likely didn’t hear this as often. How about children raised in the recession? The PBS show Downtown Abbey features two groups of people: the rich English endowed family and the poor working class. While they lack options, are completely limited, and overall have the worse-off situation, they did not have to worry about having to choose so many things in life. They learn to be satiated and there is a certain acceptance about their position.
So, what does it mean to be 25 in 2011? It means that I believe I can shape my own destiny, but with the wealth of knowledge about opportunity, I have decision paralysis. My current blog theme is to conquer this and the plan of action starts now. I will be more engaged with what interests me, what captivates my attention, staying more “in tune” with what I like. Finding people that can help bring me closer to these interests. Accepting things about myself, but also realizing potential for growth. Believing that my parents believe in me.
I’m starting an activity that will hopefully restore confidence in my creative side. I say, “restore confidence” because my theory is that everyone is creative, but only certain groups of people leverage this to benefit their career. In fact, I think you can break up people into three different groups: the doers, the innovative thinkers and the few people who have learned to do both. I am going to list 10 new inventions, concepts, or innovations that have never been done before (or that I don’t know about) every day for one month. This will total to 300 new ideas, and heck, one of them might even be worth pursuing. Or not, this is just an activity.
- Genetically modify a vegetable to have every single health-benefiting enzyme in one bite
- Require children to learn how to write code in elementary and high schools, similar to taking a foreign language class
- Computer screens that you can read outside in the sun
- Internet access everywhere for computers, much like smart phones
- Out shopping and found a great shirt style, but doesn’t fit you right? Custom tailoring and free shipping right to your door. Now everyone can be a designer
- Annual convention for introverts
- Dale Carnegie human relations course required for college students
- Change American food policy to make organic, local food more cheap and packaged, processed foods more expensive
- Design an outfit on Xbox, provide your measurements and get this made cheap
- Computer screens that you can whip up in the air by the use of your hand. The smart phone has become an extended part of your body and let’s face it, will eventually become obsolete
Post Update 4/30/2011: Due to the acceptance that I am not creative in this idea producing machine-like sort of way, I have discontinued this challenge, which will reconvene indefinitely.
23 Apr
Tell me on a Sunday.
