It s a shame I've been sitting on this book for about two years now. A friend of mine gave me Never Eat Alone , by Keith Ferrazzi a couple years ago (thanks Rey), and it s been on my bookcase ever since. It was resting there not because I didn't want to read it, but because I already had so many others in the pipeline. I finally got around to reading it last month and I definitely recommend it. In very simple terms, Ferrazzi explains why networking is important and how to do it. From how to make call lists to planning dinners to personal branding to goal setting, it s all here. He also maintains a valuable blog .
Inevitably there will be times when you have setbacks or things don t go your way. Maybe you didn't get a job you thought you were sure to get. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly, didn't win a contract, or lost a major client. Your car always seems to break down right after you've had some other unexpected expense. These kinds of situations immediately place us in crisis. They don t feel good, but sometimes they re what we need in order to grow. The beautiful thing about crises is that they force us to take a step back and reevaluate what s going on in our lives and rediscover what we truly want and need. When we get over that initial shock and feeling of disappointment, we might realize that maybe that job wasn't really the best for us anyway. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you really wanted to spend your life doing. Maybe that friend was holding you back instead of pushing you forward. The way I deal with crises of these sorts is simple: If something doesn't go my way professionally, I try to create a situation that would be more rewarding than the situation originally planned. A while ago, I was offered a job that looked very promising. After I accepted the offer, they pushed the start date back three times, later informing me (via e-mail) that they wanted to bring me on in the near future but I should feel free to explore other options. I was extremely disappointed. I felt disrespected and angry, but decided to make the best of the situation and follow my dream of working internationally. I then flew to Santiago, Chile and had great professional and personal experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Later, reflecting back on the original opportunity, I realized that working for a company that avoids a start date three times and then can t pick up the phone to explain the situation is probably not where I need to spend my time. Use setbacks as an opportunity to put your goals in order and act on them. In the moment, it s difficult to look at a setback as temporary, but they are. They happen to everybody. It s how you respond to them that will determine how they affect you.
Normally I don’t attend webinars. They seem to neglect the value proposition altogether and instead opt to provide some lengthy, boring pitch for services. That’s why I was skeptical when I sat down to watch the Mobile Marketing webinar hosted by Common Sense, a technology products and services company with offices in the United States and Argentina. I’m glad to report that I was pleasantly surprised with the session. The information was insightful, helpful, and actionable. At the end, they even provided links to—wait for it—other websites. After the session was over, they made the entire presentation (with transcript) available on SlideShare. If you’re interested at all about how mobile marketing might help your business check out the slides from the presentation below.
Yesterday I mentioned I would write a little more about the Munny Maker fundraising event that took place this past Saturday at the Fine Silver Building in San Antonio. It was both hosted by, and for the benefit of, AIGA San Antonio. AIGA (American Institute for Graphic Designers) is a professional designers’ association. In Texas, they currently have chapters in Dallas, Austin, and Houston, but not in San Antonio. The design community in San Antonio is working to hard to start an officially recognized chapter of their own. I must say, they have put in some tremendous work, and it’s starting to pay off. The guest speaker was Brian Flynn, one of the top designers in the States, founder of Hybrid Design, and, might I add, a pretty cool guy.
Since I’m not a designer, at first I planned only to attend the event, but when I saw the tweet asking for volunteers I decided to see what I could do. For me, volunteering at events is much more rewarding than simply attending them. I like being able to see all the passion and effort that goes into coordinating and executing events such as this. Also, the people that put these things together tend to be the those willing to go the extra mile—the kinds of people I like to be around. I got a chance to meet some really cool people I otherwise might not have the chance. Among them were Rolando Murillo or Murillo Design, Cesar Rivera of Chimaera Design, and Karmen Vidal of Picoso Creative, among several others. These are the people you often hear about in the industry, but It’s cool to work alongside them and see them with their hair down.
Munnies were crafted by both local and non-local designers and sold during a silent auction. Some of the top munnies went for over $100. Check out some of my favorites below. Good luck AIGA San Antonio! Feel free to let me know if you need any help with future events.
