Leading the Future with Passion.

Social Media and new media and web2.0 and anything else you want to call it, isn't just changing the way we market and advertise our businesses, it's changing the business model itself.

I've read in a few places that our generation of college graduates has a sense of entitlement. We're not as hardworking as our predecessors because we don't understand that we just need to do work and passion is a luxury- the way things were back in the day. But c'mon all you employers out there- we're not morons. Anybody who's got a job right now knows that they're lucky to have one- let alone one that can pay the bills, and we'll do what we need to in order to get by and grow into our goals.

At the same time though- we're freaking geniuses.

Most of us, if we're lucky, have had access to the internet since our pre-teen years. We've grown up and developed with it. In many cases, our education backgrounds revolved around it- not necessarily taking new media courses in college- as that curriculum is still evolving, but taking classes that require us to be on and utilize the internet for just about every assignment. I'm not ashamed to admit that I never once borrowed a library book on my college campus. I didn't need to- and I did quite alright, and my graduating GPA is proof. We've been partaking, and if we're smart- observing, the way things are changing. If you've been reading, paying attention to the world around you, keeping up with current events and taking into consideration which businesses are succeeding and which are failing, I believe it's easy to see that the future of success goes hand in hand with passion. Passion and confidence in whatever it is your selling or whatever service you're providing. Enough passion and confidence that evolving it comes natural and you can focus on the people you're selling/providing for- because that's where the world is heading- if it's not already there.

There will always be people who have to do work that doesn't make them happy, especially in times like these, but being a successful leader means being passionate about what you do.

Anything you want to do, do it. Want to change the world- there's nothing to it.

Lyrics from "Pure Imagination" b Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, written for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

I went on an interview last week knowing that I was unfit for the position before I sent my resume to the post. The position was a marketing assistant who would be responsible for all social media campaigning and helping the VP and director of marketing with their SEO efforts. The interviewer asked me a bunch of questions about a bunch of stuff that I don’t know much about. He knew he would get inexperienced people as a result of how little he was looking to pay- but he pointed out at the end of the interview that it seems that I lean more towards content generation and I seemed to seal my “Not right for the position” envelope when I said “Yes, I love to write.”

That was the first job interview that I went on that I wasn’t offered the position- and I’m ecstatic. Though he was offering little in the salary/benefits arena, it was still much better than the position I’m currently in (which, at the current moment, is the cause of many premature gray hairs) and it would push me to be more of a marketing assistant and less of an admin assistant (not that I don't get to do content creation as well- but I'm not pushing the envelope as much as I wish/should be doing right now). I don’t know if I would have had the strength to turn down a job offer, even though I knew it wasn’t right for me.

As job postings seem farther and farther away from who I am, I feel more and more like I’m going to be stuck in this windowless black hole, but where I need to be isn't going to find me through a posting. I'm officially on the hunt for that sweet-ass agency/firm that screams out to me.

Any web developers/ designers in NYC feeling the same way about the job hunt? Check out the portfolio and office walk-through in the video on The Wonder Factory's website.

Any cool offices you love? Something that makes you go "OOO...I could be uber productive there..."

The Abyss.

Those generally aren't associated with positivity, but I'm going to swirl things around a bit.

Ladies and gents (if there are still any of you out there) I owe you my most sincere of apologies for falling off the face of the earth- or into, dun dun dun...the abyss. Truth be told, I was planning on developing something a little different, but it appears as though I may be able to stick around.

Since we last spoke, I've done quite a bit of moving and transitioning. So I decided, again- probably to my own demise- to bring you along on my pubescent-ly awkward journey for your amusement.

1. I moved out of my parents place into a beautiful apartment with an old friend. It's wonderful for all the reasons that moving out of your parents' house can be wonderful and because it's just a great place for a great price. I got lucky and I'm extremely grateful. Also...I found that living independently (but still close to my family) is well worth the fairly regular freak outs I have because I can't remember which bills I've paid and which I haven't...or my usernames/passwords for all the accounts I would need to monitor said fiscal responsibility. (Are you guys using mint.com? If I could give the creator a big ol' hug, I would.)
   
2. I have slowly spiraled from loving my job to loathing it. I was naive (still am) and unfortunately made an employment decision without doing the proper research. I didn't take the time to really consider my options in terms of long-term fulfillment, which, ironically enough, was my only set-in-stone career goal. I had a temporary lapse in self-awareness and believed that full time "Director of Marketing" at a web developer was closer to what I wanted to do than part-time "Editorial Assistant" at a financial website. (Completely ignoring the fact that when I graduated I said I wanted nothing to do with marketing. C'mon...DIRECTOR of anything sounds sweet, no?) No. Fresh out of college with no guidance is asking for disaster. Frustrating, over-bearing, white-knuckling disaster. Well, unless you're extremely underpaid. Then it's frustrating, over-bearing, white-knuckling, animosity-producing disaster. I'm not sure if I can call it a learning experience past now knowing a little more about how to evaluate my employment situation- that is- when I'm being interviewed and they ask "Do you have any questions for us?" I now know what to ask. As for learning anything about marketing.... well, whatever I read on all the blogs I surf so...yeah. Just a warning for those of you applying to boutiques and smaller- don't let them taunt you with titles, it means nothing. I'm not the director of marketing- I do everything for them (from copywriting to web content to tech support to scheduling conference calls) and I get paid less than the average part-time copywriter in South Florida. Another note- if you've got the opportunity and the power to negotiate, asking other people what you should be getting is great guidance, but you know what you need- don't cut yourself short. It only contributes to that fun disaster stuff I mentioned above.
   
3. So, after reading 2, I guess it goes without saying that I've moved back to the web to do more than giggle at PoWM... I'm job hunting again, but I'm going about it differently this time. Sure I glance at craigy, my old friend, and career builder and monster...but now I am doing the networking and exploring and posting and responding and freelancing. On all of this, I'll keep you posted.

But I think the most important move I've made isn't quite as obvious. My ultimate goal in life has always been to just be happy. Just be happy. Except, well... I always thought that if I was just happy that I'd be content and boring and wouldn't push myself or motivate myself. I never really took the time to figure out what happiness meant to me. The closest I can get to describing what I was expecting is when you finally spin that purple 4 and when you cross that last orange space, you opt for Countryside Acres because you think you've got enough of the orange tiles that you can leave Millionaire Estates for someone else.

Considering Milton Bradley ain't my daddy, I spent a long time spinning in circles.

And, somewhere in the abyss, in the past 4 months or so, I slowly realized that happiness is found in the little things. It's a particularly purple sunset. Or turning on the radio just in time to hear your favorite song. Or laughing so hard you can't feel your legs. Or conspiring against your parents with your younger siblings. It's a balance between appreciation for all of the wonderful things in your life and being creative enough to think of ways to make things better.

So even though I'm putting up with a whole lotta B.S. - I still found a little window to be happy and I'm being productive.


So- tell me, what made you smile today?