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.
This post may also be read at Red, Brown, and Blue—a multicultural political commentary news site.
Ewww, gross! I know, I know. If you’re like most people you probably don’t want to think, hear, see, or say the term.
I think it’s funny, not so much that the study of economics is inherently humorous, but rather that we have taken something so nuanced and complex and simplified our understanding of it to nothing more than “supply and demand.” It’s about time we became more critical of a system that has such wide-ranging effects in our lives and helps shape the way we see and interact with the world. It’s about time we became more creative in the ways we address the economic issues that have plagued us for so long that the terminology has infiltrated common language (e.g., market, globalization, economy, interest rates, taxes, etc.).
After losing interest in economics during my undergraduate studies, it was renewed the moment I discovered Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics (I definitely recommend the book and the podcast,Freakanomics Radio). As I read the book I kept thinking, “Yeah, this is an economic analysis of this situation.” Although I enjoyed the book, I couldn’t put my finger on quite what it was that made it feel like such an important read. Of course the author kept the narrative interesting—in it he writes about sex, drugs, crime, and poverty. If he had added gummy bears I’d be all in. I finally realized, though, I found his relentless questioning of established institutions the most important constant. Many of us have lost our childlike drive to ask questions. After being told something so many times, we eventually believe “it is what it is.”
The problem with passively accepting what we’re told is that, in doing so, we perpetuate and excuse a lack of understanding and appreciation of the subject matter. We often see this lack of understanding manifested as stereotypes. Now, sure, the average person needs to know exactly how a Lorenz curve describes equality about as much as the average person needs to be able to explain every part of the process that makes your hair stand up when you drag your feet across carpet or play with balloons. However, we do need a basic understanding of economic concepts. The oversimplification of economics is detrimental because it allows us to be complacent when we should be active. We tend to accept things to be true just because we have been told that in some way, shape, or form we will inevitably reach equilibrium. We believe that it will all just work itself out. This thinking is dangerous.
We live in a society where unemployment, deaths of workers, and irreversible environmental and economic damage are considered externalities (which means a secondary or unintended consequence) that need to be internalized by paying settlements and fees rather than providing a system of change to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
Let’s delve a little deeper into the concept of externalities. Wikipedia says: “In economics, an externality (or transaction spillover) is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit. A benefit in this case is called a positive externality or external benefit, while a cost is called a negative externality or external cost.”
According to this definition, if we must reduce potable water in a rural town by 30 percent, subject marginalized communities to inhumane working conditions, or convert once lush lands into toxic waste dumps in order to produce goods for our ever-increasing consumption diet, then it just “is what it is.” What’s ironic is that this concept only truly applies to industrial and commercial organizations. If, for example, I caused half as much damage in the pursuit my own success, those “incurred costs” wouldn’t be called externalities—they’d be called crimes. While some of those crimes might only require I pay a fine or commit to community service, many would call for my incarceration. The real difference is that I wouldn’t be permitted to repeatedly commit those crimes, whereas businesses are. Now, I am not anti-business or anti-corporation. I think that a lot of companies are doing a lot of good things. I think, for the most part, we are doing the best with what we know. But there is always room for improvement, always a reason to strive for better.
The preliminary count of fatal work injuries in the U.S. in 2010 was 4,547 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). I think we owe it to at least 4,547 families to keep working. They’re not externalities. They’re people. Let’s really look at the economic and value systems we have in place and make them better. Take action. Make changes. Make them work for us, not the other way around.
Last week I attended orientation for Bainbridge Graduate Institute as a member of Cohort 10 (C10). On the third day, we were asked to have a “silent morning” and reflect on why we have chosen this path. I found a large rock on the shore of Channel Rock and sat there. The following short story is what came to mind as I reflected and meditated:
I didn’t end up where I thought I would. But when I arrived, I knew this was where I needed to be. It wasn’t the view, or the sounds, or the sun that brought me here. In fact, it was slightly cold, slightly murky, and slightly dark. No, it wasn’t those things, but rather it was the feeling that this is where I belonged, here, in this moment—the feeling of peace.
Not long after I arrived did I become acutely aware of the living and non-living beings who welcomed me into their company. “Strangers we are not,” they told me. “For we have been here all along, waiting for your arrival. Welcome.”
Closing my eyes, my consciousness transcended from the acknowledgement of those around me to the connections we share. “We’re not here for you,” they explained. “And you’re not here for us. We’re just here…existing…for each other. For without me there is no you, and without you there is no me. We all come together, and through appreciation, we combine to make this world beautiful. Remember that, as you pursue all of your endeavors. We may appear to be stationary, but we arrived here too, just as you did. We will continue to exist, and the things we do, however inconsequential they may seem, will affect you; just as the things you do, however inconsequential as they may seem, will affect us. Keep that close to your heart, mind, and soul thus we may continue to not only co-exist, but co-appreciate. And please, remember to come visit, for we love you more than you could ever know. If not us, our descendants will be here to welcome back you and yours. Peace.”
So I sat and I thought…and sat…and thought…
The word slight, which I used earlier, suddenly became more significant in my thoughts. Earlier I used slight to describe what I was sensing. Now I realize that it being slightly all of those things helped me reach a higher plane of consciousness. The temperature was just cold enough for me to breathe more shallowly. The wind blew just hard enough for me to feel it. The water flowed just loud enough for me to hear it. The small rocks shifted under my feet just enough to make me feel unsure. The sun was just high enough for me to notice the darkness. They all came together for me to take notice of everything around me. They came together to say, “Hey, we’re here,” and nothing more… “We’re here.”
I guess the word I was looking for was gentle. No, better yet…peace.