Pursue the Passion is interviewing a freelance radio journalist this Wednesday…What question would you love to know the answer to about what they do for a living?

If you submit a question, we might ask it.  Then you’ll be able to see the edited version of the interview this Friday!

As we get 2009 underway the number one thing on most of our minds is the economy. We read about new stimulus plans, falling stock values and Wall Street scandals on a daily basis; yet most of still struggle to understand what needs to be done to spur the economy forward.

The truth is that these problems are far more institutionalized and systemic than we initially thought. The U.S. economy is not facing a crisis of confidence but the free markets reaction to our hysterical over confidence.

Below is a link to an article by Michael Lewis published in this weeks NY Times Op-ed section. Michael Lewis is the author of the book “Moneyball”, about the secrets of the Oakland A’s revolutionary draft strategy, and the most interesting financial writer I’ve read. Check out the article and let me know what you think…

Article–LINK

It’s the first Friday of the New Year, and here’s the 5 things I’m excited about…

1) I’m excited about seeing the results of SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) conference seeds planted. Tis the season to take advantage of SHRM “Call for Speakers” proposals across the country. Zach and I have submitted proposals to about 35 different states thus far…and I’m excited to see if anything comes of it. The majority of the proposals we submitted were entitled ‘Gen Y @ Work: An Inside Look at What Our Generation Wants.’ But we also had quite a few ‘Pursue the Passion’ proposals for good measure.

The ones I’m really holding out for- Atlanta, North Carolina, and Portland.

2) I’m excited for 2009. I plan on becoming much more in tune with the web and utilizing some of the tools that are out there. This includes learning how to build a website (next weekend I’m going to coding camp), exploiting facebook, and webinars.

3) I’m excited the San Francisco Giants signed pitcher Randy Johnson. The Giants don’t look that bad on the mound now. Lincecum, Johnson, Zito, Cain, and Lowry/Sanchez.

4) I’m excited to try and make money for the first time in my life. When Pursue the Passion was created, it wasn’t intended to make any revenue. It needed enough donations and sponsorships to just scrape by. Then it became a program of the Jobing Foundation and was funded by a grant. Now, we’ve got to justify those investments with a little thing called return on investment. And in a recession 2009, that return doesn’t just mean ‘creative marketing.’ The means? Webinars, Speeches, and Sponsorships.

5) I’m excited for the Holidays to be over. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been great. But I’ve got to get back into the swing of things and find the groove again. There’s too much stop and go and chocolate in the season, so I’m glad it’s over.

What are you excited about on this first Friday of 2009?

Happy New Year!

As 2008 comes to a close I look back in wonder at the last year and the events that transpired to bring me where I am today. 2008 was a big year for myself, our country and the world. I can’t begin to imagine how 2009 will take shape but I’m excited for the unpredictability and serendipity that has characterized my life up to this point.

Many of us will look back at the events of the past year and compare the reality to the ideal. Did we accomplish the things we set out to do? What opportunities were lost or found? I try to examine the past objectively, but not dwell on it. It’s my hard data; the precedent I use for my qualitative and quantitative life analysis. But, in general it doesn’t serve to excite or motivate me. The future on the other hand…

I find that thinking about the future is a great source of excitement; bordering on anxiety. Most of us probably feel that way and it’s not expectation that creates this feeling but the prospect of the unexpected. Many things will happen over the next twelve months that we cannot begin to anticipate and many things will happen that we can. The important part is that we observe our unique ability as humans to experience these events and influence them.

Resolutions are great but they do not lend themselves to the serendipitous and unpredictable nature of the world. That’s why I try to think of some general motivations and let those drive the organic process my life will take. Control is an illusion; but ignoring our obligation to influence our circumstances would be to take for granted what it is that makes us human. It reminds me of the old saying, “…grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It’s a very difficult balance, the practice of which can largely determine our happiness and success. Pursue the Passion is part of a larger movement that works to help us refine these traits and play a more active role in the events that shape our lives. With this said I wish you all serenity, courage and wisdom over the next 12 months and look forward to sharing our stories in the process.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2009!

I believe the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again. To keep myself from going insane in the quest to publish a Pursue the Passion book, I’ve experimented with a variety of other ideas to present the information we gathered.

Perhaps the sample chapter below could be bordering on insane, but, I want to know what you think.

Pursue the Passion- A Sample Chapter Pieced Together By Being Oh So Clever

There was a little monkey named Julius.

Julius didn’t know what to do
Or which passion to pursue
So he decided to hit the road
Just him and his crew (Picture of Julius with Puppy, J. Fox, and Noah)

What they would do
For the next month or two
Is find cool jobs
And do an interview (Picture of Julius envisioning the crew doing an interview)

They hopped in the bus
And without great fuss
Headed to California
Without a compass (Puppy driving, Julius waving goodbye to his monkey friends, Noah listening to music, J. Fox with a map upside down)

As they drove through groves
And around rocky roads
They came to a beach
To a store within reach (Julius pointing from the beach to the store)

They looked through the door
And couldn’t believe what was in store
Because they saw all the ice cream in the world
From ceiling to floor! (picture of all the ice cream in the world)

A chef in the back
Stirred sugars and paste
And then scooped it up
Making sure it was fit to taste (picture of the ice cream guy)

Julius asked him for an interview
The chef said it was cool
In fact he was doing something similar
When he was in school

I was pursuing my passion
While my other friends watched TV in bed
I studied hard and eventually
That’s what got me ahead

Now I eat ice cream
Day in and day out
I just create new flavors
And I never want to clock out (ice cream guy doing something magical)

The chef gave them some samples
In cones and in cups
And off they went
To where the next interview was lined up (ice cream guy waving goodbye, Julius and team eating ice cream and going back to the RV)

With the new year almost here and an entire class of fall graduates preparing to enter the work force I’ve decided to post a list.  This time of year it’s not uncommon to recall the events of the last 12 months, forecast the events of the next, and subject them to our own qualitative and biased ranking system.  The 5 biggest sports events of the year; the ten best news stories of 2008; 10 ways to get the most out of 2009; and know I’ve decided to enter the fray.  I thought about putting up my new years resolutions but decided that, not unlike a wish, if you say them out loud they won’t happen.  Instead what I’ll do is give a fairly credible but completely unjustified projection of the top five professions for 2009.  Not the five highest earning and not the 5 most fun, but a comprehensive aggregate ranking that takes all of these factors into account.  Ideally when you’re done reading you will be able to select a profession from the list and never have to make another subjective professional decision again.  I’m talking about answers here people and I’ve got ‘em.  So enjoy, but if I solve all you’re problems, leaving you board and yearning for conflict, don’t blame me.

5. Biology Student – Being a student is a job, low paying, but a job just the same.  And at a time when the market isn’t rewarding workers at a level commensurate with were we’ve been in the past, or hope to be in the future, why not re-invest in your professional skill set.  Any undergrad biology study will set you up for recession proof work in fields of high demand and compensation.  Additionally it allows you to increase your marketability and learn more without knowing exactly what you want to do.  A fundamental bio education will set you up to do anything from nutrition, to bio-medical research, to being a nurse or doctor.  You’re not tying yourself into a specific environment or job role, but you’re still making yourself valuable.  Not a bad deal.

4. Bartender- Not bad work if you can get it, especially during a recession.  While the service, hospitality and restaurant industry will surely suffer in the next year the old fashioned bar keep will weather the storm.  It’s a romantic, transient profession to have during hard times.  You get to be the common mans sounding board, listening to their stories of tragedy and triumph, experiencing America’s cultural narrative first hand.

3. Mathematician- We’ve been watching the widespread consumerism that has driven our service economy implode and it’s time to get back to hard skill sets.  America can’t allow other countries to invent and create technologies while we simply market and consume them.  Let’s bring production back home and reap the resulting benefits.  With this said there will be an increased need for those with a mathematical acumen in a diverse array of industries.  This is about building a fundamental skill set and adapting it to the environment and industry that you have a passion for, narrowing your focus while increasing your options.

2. Pro Ball Player- The drivers of pro baseballs micro-economy must be the exact inverse of our countries as a whole.  While wages, prices and employment have all taken a nose dive the Yankees have dropped almost half a billion dollars in the past several months signing free agents.  If you’ve got a bat or an arm 161 million over 7 years sounds good to me.

1. Environmental Engineer-  The only downside of entering this field now…. you’ve missed your chance for early adoption.  With this said, there should be plenty of work for individuals with engineering skills and an understanding of emerging energy technology.  Almost every plan for stimulating our domestic economy includes an alternative energy component and by getting into a field on the upswing you’re setting yourself up to take advantage of opportunity that doesn’t even exist yet.  You can work outside or inside; at a desk or in an industrial facility; in sales and consulting or R&D; figuring out which is right for you should be the fun part.

So there’s the list.  The unqualified ramblings of a man still recovering from his Christmas Holiday; or the amazing premonitions of an employment oracle; we’ll know in 12 months.  But I can tell you this, with every crisis we encounter there is a seed of equivalent benefit.  The coming year should provide immense opportunity for equivalent benefit.

It’s Friday, which means I’ve got to share 5 things that I’m excited about with you. Here’s the rundown on the Friday after Christmas.

1) Ice Skating. Today I am getting suckered into going ice skating at Snoopy’s ice arena in Santa Rosa. Gotta keep the girlfriend happy.

2) Getting Back to Work. The one thing I don’t like about the holidays is it takes away time to actually sit down and work. I’m a workaholic. I’m excited about getting back into the swing of things next week and finishing a book proposal, booking our first webinars we’ll be doing, and tidying up loose ends going into ’09.

3) Daniel and Kristy. After seven years of dating, my best friend Daniel Weber decided to drop to a knee and ask Kristy Sather (one of my favorite people in the world) to marry him. I’m excited for them, and for the possibility of future NBA basketball stars. Dan is 6’5, Kristy is 6’2.

4) Making New Year’s Resolutions. Change is always exciting, especially when you’re the one making the changes. I’m excited to sit down and do the cliché thing of making 5 New Year’s Resolutions, even though it feels like I do that every week.

5) Using/Wearing the things I got for Christmas. Among my favorites- new sunglasses and a beverage buggy. Thank you Saint Nick.

What are you excited about?

Recently I was contacted by a student in the Philippines about how to give a keynote speech, and what a keynote speech even was. How he found us, I have no clue. But here is my response:

What is a Keynote Speech

A keynote speech is a product that you deliver to a customer while looking them in the eye. That’s why it’s terrifying for a lot of people to get in front of an audience and speak for an hour. Because people are using your product right in front of you.

A keynote speech is a speech; but it doesn’t always have to be. The main point of a keynote speech is to get a message across to an audience. However you do that is up to you. That’s what’s beautiful about the art.

A keynote speech is usually utilized in a conference format. It’s usually the main attraction. Because it’s the main attraction, keynote speakers have to be really, really good at what they do. You know if you’re good judging by the amount of people desperate to talk to you afterwards, the emails you receive, the instant jump in traffic from your website,

A keynote speech is an honor to the speaker. I think a lot of people who give keynote speeches forget that. Many view the opportunity as another stop in the schedule, another few thousand in the pocket, another day’s work well done. It’s really an opportunity to impact someone in the audience for an hour, a week, a month, a year, a life. A keynote speech has the potential to shape the framework of how someone thinks and approaches a certain topic. That’s powerful.

How to Give a Good Keynote Speech

First, know the natural flow of a keynote speech. It starts out with a narrow tunnel of information, gradually expanding into a plethora of information, and then narrows back down again into what was just said.

The best advice I’ve ever gotten on giving a keynote speech is, ‘Tell the audience what you’re going to say. Tell them. And then tell them what you said.’ That’s the framework for a whole speech.

Another good thing to keep in mind is that most people remember how you made them feel, not what you said.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Do get all the information you can possibly get. You need to do a big interview. Find out who the audience is. What are they expecting to learn? How long do you have? What time of day is it? Will people be eating lunch? How many people will there be? Where are they from? And many, many more questions.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Good keynote speeches go through a process of practice, trial, and error. The content has to be created, practiced, and then tried out on an audience. I don’t care if the audience listening to your speech is a hamster. Delivering it to someone other than yourself makes you realize how effective that component of the speech may be.

Do dress nice. Don’t go over your allotted amount of time. And be grateful that you’re able to give a keynote speech.

This weekend both of my roommates were out of town for the first time in about 6 months. What this meant for the newly domesticated me was a lot of time spent with the G.F. Movies, dinner, couply outings of all sorts characterized my last few days. I feel compelled to metion I had a great time, but that’s not the point of this blog.

My point is this… We spent the majority of this weekend going out and spending money in various establishments during the worst consumer Christmas season in decades. With this said I only experienced one example of what I would consider superior customer service the entire weekend. It wasn’t that this individual did anything especially unique or unconventional and it wasn’t that the service anywhere else was sub-par. The fact is there is a very fine line between good and exceptional, but when it’s crossed people notice. The service person who stood out in my mind simply made eye contact, smiled and was exceedingly helpful and polite. I appreciated the holiday spirit and my tip reflected that.

Which is the second part of my point. In the current economic climate it can be easy to be cynical or fearful and it would be naive to suggest those feelings are unjustified. But, if you’re an employee in the service industry there has been no better time to leverage positivity and enthusiasm than now. In spite of the fact that lean times necessitate greater effort, environmental influences can often yield the opposite effect. Don’t be a casualty of you own negativity.

Be the person who works harder, smiles bigger and embodies the service character people expect during the holidays. Not only will it help your employer weather the storm but, if you’re an employee with gratuity based compensation, you may succeed in catalyzing that sweet holiday generosity.

It’s hard to really, truly be excited about things when there’s so many things to be fearful about. But that’s also why it’s important. Gotta be excited about something.

Here’s my 5 things I’m excited about on this Friday, December 19, 2008.

1) I’m excited to see if we just made a $17 billion mistake with GM and Chrysler.

2) I’m excited for the Jobing.com Holiday Party tonight. I’m most looking forward to meeting the people who put up with the people I put up with every day at work. Aka- ‘significant others.’

3) I’m excited to try out some new technology so Pursue the Passion can make some money and survive. Mainly webinars. More incessant promotion on that later.

4) I’m excited about Facebook. I had as close to an aha moment as you can get last night working late night here in the Jobing headquarters. More incessant promotion on that later.

5) I’m excited about going to Vegas for a UofA (University of Arizona) event packed weekend. The basketball team (who knocked off #4 Gonzaga last weekend) will be playing UNLV in the afternoon. The football team, in their first winning season in a decade (7-5) will be playing BYU in the Vegas Bowl that evening. Anyone say sports book?

Bonus: Zach’s Video of the Day, which airs on our homepage every Friday. Here it is:

What are you excited about?