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.
The following is a letter provided by good friend Alex Rutledge asking for the preservation of Olivewood Cemetary. He is an activist in his community and works to bring education and opportunity to the underserved populations of Houston.
I’m a supporter of Descendants of Olivewood, the group of volunteers and Board Members dedicated to the preservation of Olivewood Cemetery, a historic cemetery in Houston, Texas. I want to share with you a simple way for you to help support this organization. If you haven’t heard about Olivewood Cemetery, the following links to a recent article from the Houston Chronicle and Mini-documentary posted on Youtube, explain the history of Olivewood Cemetery:
Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7419890.html
Mini-documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM3lg_87aFQ
If you are interested in helping Olivewood achieve its goal of becoming a museum and educational center, you can download the GoodSearch — Descendants of Olivewood toolbar at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/descendants-of-olivewood
Each time you search the web with GoodSearch’s Yahoo-powered search engine, about a penny will go to the Descendants of Olivewood, the Board Members of Olivewood Cemtery. If you want to see how much money has been raised so far, you can always click on the “Amount Raised” button. So far, Olivewood has raised nearly $4.00 through 400 searches through Goodsearch.com. The Descendants of Olivewood aim to register at least 200 people before January 2012 to Goodsearch, which could potentially raise between $1,500 and $2,000 if each volunteer searched online two times a day. Also, every time you shop online at 2,000 participating stores including Amazon, eBay, Target, Apple, Staples, Expedia, etc., a percentage of your purchase will be donated for free! The site also has thousands of money-saving coupons!
There are many legal and logistical steps the Descendants of Olivewood must take before they can build a museum near the cemetery. The Descendants of Olivewood have applied for grants, sought donations, and held fundraisers, some of which have contributed to the goals set for the cemetery. However, the cemetery must be secure before any more donors will consider granting more money to build a museum at the cemetery. Currently, one of the top priorities of the Descendants of Olivewood are to hire an engineer to survey the land in order to build a fence, which will both secure the cemetery and legitimize the organization’s efforts and vision in applying for grants. Foundations and donors will be less likely to grant the Descendants of Olivewood if the cemetery is not secure and open to vandalism and theft.
Therefore, Goodsearch is the simplest and easiest means at the Descendants of Olivewood’s disposal of raising the necessary money to hire qualified professionals that can cut back the brush allowing room for a fence, survey the land the cemetery is on, and build a fence around the cemetery.
To give you a sense of how the money can add up, the ASPCA has already earned more than $30,000!
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
The Descendants of Olivewood
Resources:
I happened across Todd O’Neill about a year ago at a Gemini Ink discussion on immigration. His extremely calm, yet focused, demeanor struck me as interesting. The co-owner of C4 Workspace, O’Neill is all about strengthening community by bringing minds together. He is the license holder of TEDxSanAntonio, a conference that has created a great deal of conversation about what people are capable of doing when we think beyond ourselves.
Resources:
- Twitter: @toddfromnj
- Download the video