Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness

Students of the World: Write a Letter

The Students of the World team received the letter below. They followed it up by posting a heartfelt, appreciative response. Melissa writes:

Your letter reminded me how important it is to encourage others, and that words of encouragement are often catalysts for the stories of progress that we value so much.

Explorers, how soon do you suppose Melissa and her team are apt to forget this kind gesture? Not very, right? What lesson can you take away from this?

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Capture Your Flag: "Where are you seeking advice and coaching?"

Erik Michielsen, founder of Capture Your Flag, asks Joe Stump, "At this point in your life, where are you seeking advice and coaching?" Erik evokes two plus minutes from Joe chocked full of ideas and wisdom. 

Before I start...Joe uses the term mentor. Please try and not get hung up on this word. Think in terms of Guide to begin with. 

"At this point in your life..." Joe highlights this key part of Erik's question by explaining how his career and job related needs have changed over the years. He now thinks in terms of domain specific coaching. As a manager, he seeks management-related advice from managers. As a dad he seeks advice from other types of people. 

As an Explorer just starting out, you ask, "how is this info of value to you?"

Although you have your hands full with school, work and other activities, it's a good idea to form coaching-type relationships with people for subjects other than career exploration. Say for instance personal finance. You wouldn't have to devote the same amount of time as career exploration and its ROI to you is incalcuable. 

Jedi Council - Joe talks about his Jedi Council. I strongly encourage you to set up your own Jedi Council. Here is a fitness professional describing how build your own.

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Old Adults and Young Adults

Young Adult - I trust that you are capable of determing who a young adult is.

Old Adult - If you're not a young adult you're an old adult.

This is my simple way to determine the difference. That's it.

 

Students of the World: "See the World in the Realm of Possibilities"

I am uber excited about Students of the World! I can't remember the last time I got an organization so quickly. Their mission is to shine a light on progress. They do this by increasing support and awareness for organizations who are improving the lives of others.

There is a very powerful lesson for Explorers here...

Students of the World 2011 from Students of the World on Vimeo.

In order for Students of the World to shine a light on the progress of others, they must first seek out those stories. And here's the thing, storyseeking is not a checklist item, it's a way of life. These young folks are in active pursuit of their curiosities.

As you the Explorer, explore career pathways or enhance the one you're already on, feel the passion of the Students of the World team. Strive to connect with your own storytellers at this level. See the world you've yet to explore in a realm of possibilities.

Explorer

Consider yourself an explorer. I personally love the word student. I myself am a student, a student of life. But I think there's a cultural perception to link students with conventional educational institutions e.g., student = school. And for the last thirty years, we all know about not only the perception of traditional schools, but also the reality.

Student

Aside from the relationship between student and school I just spoke of, my stumbling block to use this term is that it implies recipient... as in being on the receiving end of a teacher. Culturally, perceptually and of course literally, there is no verb association with the term student. The implication is a student is, she exists. No verb. No action.

Explorer

While the term explorer is also a noun, it evokes action, adventure and discovery. And really, if you're a person who satiates curiousity by proactively pursuing knowledge, information, wisdom and connection, aren't you also an explorer?

The Difference Between a Guide and a Mentor

You're thinking about becoming a physician's assistant. You know you want to help people but you're really not sure what a PA actually does. You muster the courage to contact a PA and set up an appointment for a half hour of her time. After that phone call you were actually quite surprised that she agreed to meet with you.

Your half-hour call with Liz went by in five-minutes. Liz agreed to answer future questions. She also gave you the name of another PA working in a different field of medicine. Time spent with Liz was enlightening. You can't wait to continue exploring.

At this point, Liz the PA is a guide.

At a recent party one of your parent's friends strikes up a conversation. Bob happens to be a PA. For some reason Bob sees a younger Bob in you. As you are an Emma, you temporarily dismiss any weirdness. You run into Bob a few months later and he invites you to spend an hour with him at the office. Bob senses your curiosity and enthusiasm. He offers to meet with you on a regular basis to help guide you through school. In return you agree to be prompt and give him your undivided attention.

Bob is a mentor.

Guides - It's up to YOU to get the guide to move from a noun to a verb. You are responsible to find them. You are responsible to set up the appointment. You are responsible to interview in order to secure information. And YOU are responsible to maintain the connection. For the sake of career exploration, there are two reasons to enlist guides.

1. To provide career and job related information in regards to their particular field of interest.
2. To provide career and job related information that will help you advance in that field.

Following your initial conversation, you ask if it would be okay to contact them in the future with questions and ask if they would be willing to refer other people who might be interested in talking with you. You thank them for their time and get a handwritten thank-you note in the mail to them by 5:00 p.m. of that day.

We'll be talking in the future about how to optimize conversations with guides and how to stay in contact with them.

Mentors - I think today's society places way too much pressure on young adults to have a mentor. If you don't have one today, no worries.

A mentor offers significantly more than a guide. Both in terms of time spent and advice given. The relationship is more structured and systematic even if it is amongst friends.

At Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness however, we're going to concentrate on guides. Ironically, if you do a good job of cultivating guide relationships and move forward with passionate curiosity anchored by respect, you might have to fight off folks from wanting to be your mentor.

Image: Woodturners of Southwest Missouri

Working with Guides: Show Gratitude

After a guide or mentor has given you her time, offer a heartfelt thank-you. And by 5:00 p.m. of that day, have a handwritten thank-you note in the mail to her. If an Act of God causes you to miss this deadline or you met with that person after 5:00 p.m., get it out the next day. No exceptions.

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Create Your Own Mentor Program While in School

There's a fair chance that your school doesn't have such a detailed and focused mentoring program as the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. 

For the sake of this discussion, let's assume that you know exactly how you will apply your degree in terms of employment after college. This is going to be so easy your first inclination will be to make it more complicated and difficult.

Go out and find someone in your prospective field* or someone who has retired from it. Ask if they'd be willing to meet with you twice per month throughout a semester. Your intent is simply to learn about the field. While most seasoned professionals will take control and guide you along, you still want to make sure you're covering essential details. Following QUT's lead, use the bullet points listed here under the Responsibilities section as a reference point.

*So few professionals are approached by young adults for this purpose that as long as you approach one with respect, enthusiasm and visible curiosity, the chances are pretty good that a perfect stranger will help you (let alone someone with whom you can make a connection with). I spent twenty-five years in professional management. I was never approached in this manner.  

Team Dan Pink, Connecting & Carol Ross

I'd mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I'm a member of Team Dan Pink, whose mission is to help Dan promote his new book. I've had some time to explore other team member's Websites. Something inside began to Panama Canal a neuro-pathway in a remote corner of my brain, but I didn't know why. It seemed as if a steamshovel was creating an impression while the overall project was still pretty fuzzy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Things started to come in focus however when I began investigating Carol Ross's site Carol Ross and Associates. Actually, that's not quite true. I completely forgot about Dan Pink and instead became mesmerized with Carol's work. It was like I was looking in a mirror. Well, as much as an old, balding grandfather can who is looking at a sharp, attractive Chinese woman and her stuff. It was like Carol was my female, little sister version of a brother from another mother. If my heart had stopped one more time from all of the similarities, you wouldn't be reading this right now.

Contrary to what you might think here in cyberspace, I am an introvert's introvert. I sometimes talk myself out of personally connecting with folks I see online. Not the case with Carol. I couldn't wait to talk with her. It's funny how inhibition melts away when overwhelmed by commonality. 

I had the pleasure of talking with Carol yesterday. When she told me how intrigued and fascinated she is with and by the folks on this team, a rubber mallet struck me upside the head. I had become so lost in Carol's Website I'd totally forgotten why I came there in the first place...our connection with Dan and his work. We probably could start and finish each other's sentences in regards to Dan's Whole New Mind philosophy. 

I've connected with people who've had no use for me and let me know in no uncertain terms. You can probably just imagine how this experience affects dave-the-introvert. I've forced myself again and have been slapped down or completely ignored again. I'm not a warrior here. For every person I connect with I pass on five others. But I can tell you, if I had to go through all of that crap in order to connect with a person like Carol, I gladly do it all over again.

The moral of this story is if you're an introvert like me, don't get discouraged or take it personally when people don't connect with you. Keep moving forward. You'll meet a professional like Carol. And when you do, the road you've traveled won't seem so bad and the one if front of you looks a whole lot brighter. 

The lesson of this story is when a steam shovel is furiously burrowing a neuro-pathway in your brain about synaptic connections to like-minded people, stand by with diesel fuel and be ready to connect.

To Sell is Human Meets Field Notes' Aaron Draplin

Commemorating publication of his new book, To Sell is Human, Dan Pink is including a limited and customized edition of the Field Notes Memo Book. Here is the rest of the freebies you get if you pre-order the book before December 31, 2012. Should you decide to take advantage of this one time offer, simply follow the What You Need to do directions in Dan's post.

You know, this isn't about spending sixteen dollars and some odd change for a book. It's learning about a mindset that will help you navigate society today, in the 21st century. It's tapping into the essence of what makes us human and using it to communicate with others. And to get a feel for what humanness looks like, I'd like you to meet Aaron Draplin, creator of Field Notes. Talk about a guy, a regular guy. I love Aaron's passion-to-know!!

Tell me that you don't want to collect something after watching Aaron. I dare you. 

Field Notes Brand: From Seed from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

Aaron is the kind of guy that Dan partners with? That's reason enough to buy his book! Again, go here to take advantage of the freebies and pre-order your book.