The Stuff Is Still Here-And It’s Staring At Me
So I’ve managed to organize all of the shit that I wanted to get rid of by piling it up into three distinct piles in my kitchen, living room and bedroom. I say “organize” but really mean “listlessly move everything about.” Although, they’re all conveniently stacked so that if I were to douse them in lighter fluid and toss a match, they’d go up in flames nicely. I was always an excellent pyromaniac on camping trips.
Imagine if I just DESTROYED everything I owned that I didn’t need? Hell, that would be so fricken hip and progressive, except yeah, I GET that there are plenty of people in this world who go without and I am not one of them. I hate waste. I go without nothing… well maybe I go without a few of those intangibles at the moment, but that’s for another blog post entirely. I’d really like to get these things to people to need them or at least want them.
I also want to really want things again. I want to desire objects and spacial awareness that I haven’t appreciated in a while. However, I want to desire things for the right reason. I want to have a better structure to place my things in and have the perspective to really enjoy them there.
The next time I write about the war against my stuff, there will be marked progress. Maybe marked progress in other areas too. Who knows!
Until then, ahoj.
A Little Promo Of Something I Have Nothing To Do With
I’m a big fan of these guy’s work. I’ve donated a little bit of money to see if this project can be made. The shorts come off as goofy and funny (they are!) but there’s a lot of smart social commentary going on that I haven’t seen too much elsewhere.
I’d love to see this film get made. So, check out their webpage http://internetscelebrities.com/ and look up their stuff on Youtube under Internets Celebrities… or just go straight to their channel. I hope you like it!
Thoughts On My Move – Post Mortem
I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin mid-week last week and promptly signed a sub-lease I had found last minute. The actual apartment was no more than 5 minutes off the highway, but as I looked down the major thoroughfare I couldn’t really see anything resembling a downtown city within eyesight.
Thoroughly weary from the 1100 mile trip that I drove alone, I signed over the next 10 months of my life to this apartment complex after I saw the gorgeous loft I’d be living in.
After a sigh of satisfaction to be at my final destination du jour, I chugged the final redbull left over from the trek and emptied the entire U-Haul solo. About midway through I realize a) I’m in better shape than I thought because I doubt most people would be able to lift some of this shit up over their heads, hoof it up a flight of stairs and into an apartment and b) that there was a very busy freeway right outside my patio window… hmmm…
About 15 minute after I got my last articles into the apartment my new coworker Ryan Paugh showed up amused that I beasted the entire truckload myself and horrified that I had signed the lease to this apartment so far from town. While I am inclined to not be confrontational with people, Ryan convinced me that I should absolutely confront the property management company and see what I can do about getting out of my lease or subletting so that I can move closer to town.
Living 7 miles from a downtown area doesn’t seem like any distance at all coming from Boston. You can go 15 miles in any direction and be relatively close to the action. However in Madison, the lifestyle that I want and that I expected is simply better suited in a downtown location.
Being reinforced by everyone I’ve met so far, I am taking actions to get my apartment subleased. I don’t know how long it will take, but I feel good that I’m at least making strides to better my situation.
In the meantime, I’ll say these things about moving half way across the country:
- People are nicer out here, the drivers are nothing like Massholes and the pace is slower overall. These things are not rumors.
- Cost of living is CHEAP! You’re not in a major metropolis, but there is a little bit of everything you’d ever want from a city and it’s simply not as expensive to eat, drink and get housing. I’m a fan of that.
- As a conscientious objector to my dumb ass decision to move into a place sight unseen, I’ve decided to only unpack what I absolutely need. So there are boxes piled everywhere in the loft and I’m doing just fine with what I brought out to use.
- The previous point makes me realize I have too much shit and that if I can live with a good 2/3 of my stuff in boxes, I really don’t need that 2/3 of materials in my life. Food for thought…
Anyways, my general update is this- I love my new job, my coworkers have been incredibly generous in showing me the ropes, getting me acclimated and being generally good people and Madison looks like the sort of place I could spend a whole lot of time in for the foreseeable future.
Success!
Creativity Got You Here, So Don’t Stop
I’ve been spending a lot of time with fellow bloggers lately and I’m realizing that there’s a common denominator arising that concerns yet comforts me: people who work their butts off through blogging and social networking to get great jobs tend to blog to a lesser extent once they actually get these good job positions.
I wrote a ton of blog posts for several years over several different blogs. At times, everything I wrote was focused on establishing myself as an authority and other times I just wrote to tease out some stuff that was bothering me inside. I love to blog, but more importantly I love to write.
Now I’m in a job role that is completely immersed in social media and I interact with bloggers on a daily basis. There is a whole spectrum of blogger types that blog about virtually anything you can think of. The barriers that keep many people from blogging is that they think nobody will be interested in what they have to say and therefor don’t feel compelled to put their ideas out on the internet to be judged and criticized.
Then, bam; yr. hooked!
Whether a long road or a short road, bloggers who interact with an active community can easily get addicted to the ways that ideas flow and evolve from a single post. Suddenly writing isn’t a chore, it’s a true pleasure that you look forward to more and more each day. For me, blogging kept me going despite working a day job that wasn’t challenging me in the ways I wanted to be challenged. I had a vision that I’d be working in social media and be getting paid to write to some extent in the not so distant future.
After putting in countless hours of extra freelance work, blogging, pro-bono volunteer work and simply keeping on my hustle up, I landed an amazing job at Brazen Careerist that brought me 1100 miles from home to Madison, Wisconsin. I’m doing what I love, full time now and realize that as I got closer to this goal, knowing I was nearing the finish line, I was blogging less.
Not okay! You’ve got to keep on your writing grind no matter what. Even if you’re not blogging towards a specific topic, or if you’re inhumanly busy during the day, you’ve gotta keep flexing your creative muscles in some way. It is too easy to fall off on being creative because it’s extra energy that you don’t necessarily feel like you have. However, if you put the work in on something you’re passionate about, you’ll get from point A to point B. Once you’re at point B, point C awaits you!
Complacency = soul death.
So, I’ll continue to remind myself that I shan’t forget what brought me forth. I suggest you do the same. Keep creating folks
A Call-Out… Or More Like Admiration… Whatever!
I was pondering the video blog while walking carefully through the maze of boxes that is my soon-to-be former Worcester apartment and thought about how I’ll probably need to make one sooner than later due to my new job at Brazen Careerist. This in inevitable and I’m excited to teach myself how to not look goofy while blathering about whatever I have to blather about. I want my voice to sound like I’m an NPR radio associate and my looks to look… well, like me and not like someone less handsome and weird! 
So, today I call out Jyo Minakawa! I don’t know Jyo personally and I’ve only briefly interacted with him through Twitter, blog comments and a post I wrote a while ago on my old blog. However, Jyo is the dude I want to get on camera and speak like. There are pleny of other hot shots in the social media biznass such as Loren Feldman and Gary Vaynerchuk who kill it to thrill it with their vlog mugs and eccentric behavior. But Jyo keeps it really real by just sitting down in front of his camera and telling a story that means something to him. Sometimes he doesn’t even seem like he knows what the moral of the story is, but he keeps telling it until it flushes itself out into something coherent and interesting.
I highly recomend that everyone check out Jyo’s blog Average Jyo- Surrounded by Superstars. Some of you may question why this is a “call out?” Well, Jyo hasn’t posed since May, so I’m calling him out for that in hopes he’ll start vlogging again about what the hell he’s been up to in the last 5 months! I’m sure it’s a good story too. Go check out his stuff, leave a comment and let him know we’re waiting for his next post!
As for my own vlogging… my mom insists I Skype with her, which I hate, which also means I need to need her how to Skype, which I hate even more. Cheers to technology!
Mid-September Goal Checkup
Remembering that Rebecca Thorman thinks I should be more specific about my goals (she’s right!) I’ve got some updates and add-on goals for myself!
-Fitness craze is going aight. Schedule has gotten busier and meals have gotten less organized, however my weight is steady and even dropping and I’m feeling pretty strong via pushups and pullups. However I’d like to lose at least 5 pounds next month. Hoping to find a reasonably priced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Muay Thai gym to relieve stress and give me an interesting excersie option when the weather gets cold. This should be interesting based on my following update…
-I know where I’ll be living now… Madison, Wisconsin! As most of you read, I got a great job in a great city and I’m moving! Quite a relief to have a solid long-term gig to be excited for. I need to find an apartment to live in sometime in the next week, so wish me luck on that end! I’ve found some that I really like so we’ll see! Need to get in touch and put some money down.
-Time management is rocking so far. I quit my job and I’m knocking things off of my to-do list left and right. The apartment is getting packed!
-I believe my sleep average has gotten up to 7 hours a night. When I get to Madison I want it to be 8 hours. Wishful thinking? We’ll see!
-Not spending much dough besides on moving expenses. Saving account should look better come Holiday time.
How is everyone else’s month going so far?
The Silence Is Broken, My Bags Are Packed and My Smile is Wide
So here’s the score: I’m moving to Madison, Wisconsin.
I’m going to be working for a company called Brazen Careerist which is a social network that helps folks from Generation Y find and develop meaningful careers as well as assist their employers in understanding and retaining them.
I’ve been working on a contract basis for Brazen Careerist as a community content editor and will start my full time position in Madison on October 5th.
To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I’ve never worked for a genuine startup before. I never thought I’d be working for some of the folks who inspired me to start honing my social media brand and really tease out and pursue my passions. I’m honored to be working with such a kick ass crew.
I’m cognizant of the challenges that lie ahead for me; relocating to a city over 1,000 miles away where I don’t know anyone too well yet and jumping into a job role that has very high expectations associated with it.
The entire team at Brazen Careerist has been extremely helpful in prepping me for my move, even helping me look for and secure housing! I know that on top of all this, I’m coming into this situation with pressure to perform in a big way. I know what’s expected of me and I’m looking to meet and exceed those expectations soon.
So, when am I leaving? I suspect I’ll be on the road westward between September 28th and 30th. I’ll be chilling in the Brazen Careerist office getting my bearings straight and getting settled in once I get there and officially starting work on October 5.
My last day at my current job at TNS-MI Cymfony is next Wednesday, Sept 23. I’ll be in and out of Boston getting my life together for the move. Looking forward to spending some time with folks who are free before I leave. If I don’t catch you now, I’ll be back to visit again soon.
My door is always open, too. Standard policy with me.
Residual Summer Heat and September’s Goals
As part of Rebecca Thorman’s Monthly Goal Meetup, I’m going to list some goal I hope to reach in the coming months.
It’s funny how this past summer has been slightly vacant of tangible goals. For the past couple years I’ve been riding myself all sorts of hard in trying to take small steps towards a better life/career. I think I’ve done exceedingly well with the cards I’ve been given, but I know I have a long way to go. I guess I took the past couple months to recuperate from an overall hectic Spring and recalibrate my path forward under current circumstances.
My Goals For September:
- Improve this semi-fitness craze I’ve been on. It’s been peacemeal at best for a little while, where I’m either eating well and working myself ragged, thus neglecting my work, or vice versa.
- Optimize my time management. I’ve had a considerable ammount of work added to my plate and I’m nothing less than thrilled about it. However, I’m still running on adrenaline to get it all done and I’m aware that there’s a better way to get it all done so I can have more time for myself. That’s important for the rest of my goals.
- Get more sleep. This doesn’t need much explanation. Better time management should help.
- Plan out my location in the coming months. Whether I stay local or not, my living situation is up in the air. I’m good at living in limbo, but it’s not my preferred mode of existence.
- Build my savings account and pay down my rotating expenses. More savings and less debt leads to less gray hair, so they say. I believe ‘em.
Personal Branding Limitations – Wanting To Do Too Much
Much conversation surrounds the topic of personal branding in an economy where way more people are looking for jobs and companies seem to be hiring less often. Sticking out in a sea of applicants is becoming harder and harder if you’re not willing to give up the lazy practice of just sending out cover letters and resumes to nameless job openings. Dan Schawbel has really helped bring personal branding discussion to another level and given people ideas on where their job searching and career development strategies could be bolstered. However, I’m finding that my personal situation is becoming slightly too complex for the bread and butter personal branding advice that I’m seeing flood the interwebs every day.
I want to do too much. Anyone who knows me well might critique me with having a million irons in the fire at any given moment. I look at that as my key to current and future success. Through osmosis and relative early adoption, I’ve been blogging and thinking self-critically for several years now. It wasn’t like I was suddenly on the scene giving advice to people about their lives and being featured on blog networks; I started blogging while I had a full time job and learned as I went along.
Since I started blogging and thinking myself as a brand, as well as a rather funky homosapean, I’ve switched jobs a couple times, completed a ton of freelance contracts and currently find myself working a full time job as well as being a community editor for the best Generation Y job seekers social network on the web. I work and I work and when I’m finished working at the end of the day, I work some more. I’m passionate and probably a bit nuts, but I know that at some point a few years ago when I decided to pursue my career in marketing and social media, I committed to myself that I wasn’t going to go at it half-assed and that I was going to ride this strange ride until the wheels fell off.
Do you ever get so busy with something you love doing that you forget why you started and need to take stock of what you’re all about again? Ryan Paugh’s blog post about launching the new Brazen Careerist social network struck me when he wrote about a gut check he had with Penelope Trunk regarding the scalability of his job.
I pulled Penelope aside a couple weeks ago to talk to her about this.
“How exactly does a Community Manager scale?” I asked.
“Where does his/her career path lead?”
“Ryan, you’re doing a great job,” she reminded me.
And I realized that I know exactly how to scale my job. Well, not exactly. The Community Manager role in business is still a little young to know the exact path, but I know that it involves growing along with the Community and continuing to be a voice to as many as possible even when that number rockets through the thousands, to the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions.
You know… personal branding still rocks in my mind. I personally know many people who stand to benefit from it if they simply take a little time and make some effort in branding themselves. There is tons of good information out there for newbies who are looking to get into this new, big world of social networking and career development. As for me, I’ve done it, I am doing it and now I’m sort of scratching my head as I work my butt off trying to figure out what’s next.
I’m probably not going to read “it” in a blog or get “it” from a coach. The “it” factor for me won’t be purchased in book for either. No, I’ll probably attribute the long days and nights of work and a rigorous daily mental regimen of self-critique to my Ah Hah!” moment when it comes in the middle of the night or early in the morning.
I liken this moment of growth to something I’m quite fond of; pushups. You do them every day, no questions. Perfect technique, burning muscles, boredom, repetitiveness.. you simply do the damn pushups every day. Your numbers rise, 20, 30, 40, 50… 50… you can’t get past 50! Weeks pass and 50 is pretty much the last number of pushups you can do before your muscles quiver and you fall on your face. Why keep doing them if you know that no more are coming? Finally you decided to take a day off, you’re disgusted with yourself, you relax, you don’t worry about how your arms and chest look for just one day and then the next day, you’re back on the band wagon and what do you know… you just did 65 pushups and you know you could probably do even more. THOSE are the types of moments I live for.
Brazen Careerist Kicks Ass, Not Just Because I Said So
Not everybody blogs, not everybody social networks and not everyone is hiring, but if you’re in Generation Y and interested in finding a good job or any of the previous mentioned things, Brazen Careerist is definitely a site you want to be on. They just launched their new social networking platform and it looks great!
No single website has opened up more professional opportunities for me. Personally, I am a fan of writing and reading blogs, so I’m engaging in a community that values interaction between one another. If your ideas and perspectives on being young and struggling to make it are on point, they’ll let you know! If you’re offering advice to people who may be going through some of the challenges you’ve face in the past, they’ll appreciate it there too!
Plus you never know who’s on these board, reading these blogs, contributing to group discussions. The potential employer of your dreams may be on Brazen Careerist looking for new talent. The ones who do come to Brazen Careerist realize that it is a persons ideas that make them valuable, not necessarily two years of office experience, a 3.45 GPA and references from a college internship.
I suggest you go and check out the site, do some networking, set up a profile and if you have a blog, syndicate it through Brazen Careerist’s feed! I’m the Community Editor, so if you have any questions about publishing posts or anything else, hit me up. Otherwise, I’ll see you on there!
