Graduated And Clueless » Personal Development

How to Live on Purpose

Jeff — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:15:16 +0000

Photo Courtesy of 96dpi (flickr)

Accidents happen. Your life, however, shouldn’t be one of them. When I imagine someone who truly embodies a graduated and clueless lifestyle, I picture a wanderer, someone with no direction, no purpose, and no real understanding of anything beyond the present moment. This person probably has a history of success and productivity but for one reason or another has no real focus at the moment. In addition, this clueless chap has no idea how to begin the journey to discover a future life worth pursuing. Don’t get me wrong, living in the present is the best and only way to live. All life is lived in the present. The past is a memory and the future is a projection, both of which only exist in our mind and that take us away from the present moment. Therefore, the goal is to make our present moment more useful, more productive, more purposeful, driven, and meaningful. Ultimately, your mission is to live with great intention in all things you do. Living on purpose is grounded in clarity of thought, clarity of intention, and clarity of action.

Clarity of Thought

Thinking is not natural. In fact, real hard core thinking is a very refined skill that most people rarely engage in. In order to utilize the vast power of our brains we actually have to make an intentional decision to think. Creating clarity in our thoughts occurs as we clear out the clutter that mucks up our daily decision making. To clear out your thoughts you have to think about that process and do it. A practical application of this could be journaling, brainstorming, or thinking out loud. You can greatly enhance these processes by drinking green tea, cleansing your digestive system, practicing yoga, doing vigorous cardiovascular exercise, and/or getting enormous amounts of sleep and relaxation for many days in a row. The key to these exercises is repetition. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Make it a habit to think. Make it a habit to clear your mind and think thoughts because you chose to and not because you just happen to. Thinking clearly doesn’t happen on accident. ‘Aha!’ moments can occur randomly, but you can dramatically increase their probability by clearing your mind as often as possible.

Clarity of Intention

After spending some time clearing the junk out of your brain you will be thinking with the highest possible clarity. This is a very exciting and possibly overwhelming experience because your brain will feel like it’s on fire! You will experience a rush of thoughts, enormous amounts of positive energy through enhanced endorphin and adrenaline rushes, and a general sense of peace and happiness. To enable your clear intentions you have to weed through the many useless thoughts that are flying through your brain. Keep the good thoughts and discard the less desirable ones or write them down to save them for later processing. Intention is the act of making a conscious decision. Thinking should not be an accident. Make it purposeful.

Clarity of Action

Group your best thoughts together and make a clear-headed decision about what must be done. Your intention alone to act on your thoughts should make you very excited. At this point you probably have a many wonderful ideas and narrowing down your best thoughts will be difficult. You will be tempted to act on many or all of them, but resist it. Act only on the top ideas that will yield the best results. Make a prioritized list and focus on the most radically effective ideas only. Then set out to make a plan of action to complete the #1 idea that will change your life more than any other. If you’ve made a great decision you will feel empowered by doing so. Doubt will creep in later, but you must fight through it. Clarity of action is a reinforcing behavior because you will want to continually take more positive, powerful, and permanent action steps. Remember, activity breeds activity. So, as you act on your best ideas you will feel motivated to continually moving forward in a positive direction. Much like when you’ve broken through the wall on a long run, all you want to do is continue running without any thought of stopping. This is ideal. Create a situation where your productivity and efficiency is so high and so unstoppable you are not just “in the zone” for a short time, you are experiencing it all the time.

Living on Purpose

In my own life I strive continuously to create clarity in all situations. I will attribute the vast majority of my recent clarity to my dietary changes and exercise habits. I switched to an organic, vegetarian, all natural, and whole foods diet. I am also on the way to becoming a vegan. I run multiple times a week and I’m training for another marathon. I drink tea more than coffee and I eat considerably less than before. I drink green smoothies very often, which cleanse my body rapidly and springboard me towards purposeful action as efficiently as running does. I have noticed that my greatest moments of clarity occur in the late afternoon to early evening when I am hungry, tired, and slightly buzzed on caffeine. In those moments I can think with impeccable clarity and make decisions with ease. I have similar sensations an hour after I wake up and that is also when I have the most energy. My most productive hours of the day are between 7 and 10 in the morning. Learning to recognize your own best hours of productivity will help you focus by scheduling your most important tasks in that time block.

If you have reached the point where you are living on purpose each and every day, you will be making clear intentional decisions based on intelligent thoughts that produce powerful results. You will take bold, purposeful action and your energy will swing into overdrive as you pursue the optimal direction for each major area of your life. Living on purpose is the only way to create long-term success. It’s the only way to become financially secure, to lose weight, to move forward in your career, to develop lasting and meaningful relationships, and to create the life you actually want, not just happen upon. Don’t just go through the motions each day, choose to go to work. Choose to socialize with people who support and encourage you. Choose to pursue a better life than you are living today. Choose to maximize your own life and let others choose what they may. Make it your mission to live on purpose in each and every moment. Don’t let life happen, make it happen.

The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Help Yourself by Helping Others

Jeff — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:14:11 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Mark Sebastian (flickr)

Life is based around your ability and willingness to serve others. It may not seem that way as you grow up because most people are serving you. As a kid, your parents put you first, or at least they should. In school, your teachers make every effort to help you grow. However, as you’ve probably noticed, in the real world and in business, you don’t have an advocate. You don’t have someone holding your hand through the process. You’re on your own and you have to make the experience amazing for yourself. The most direct, efficient, and effective way to maximize your own experience is to focus on other people. It sounds backwards but it works every time. Think about exercise where you actually tear down your muscles in order for your body to repair them. It seems counter intuitive, but the result is that your muscles grow back stronger than before. In order to reach the life that you want, whether in your career, finances, relationships, physical ability, or otherwise, always find ways to put others before yourself and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Help Your Boss

Want to get ahead in your job? Stop doing things your way. Go to your boss right now and ask them what the #1 most important task is that you could be doing. Quiz them if you have to and with the help of your boss make a list of every important task you two can brainstorm. Prioritize that list and begin to work on the first task at the top of the list. Do this exercise as often as possible so that you are spending 100% of your time working on your boss’ top priorities for you. Stop doing everything else that is not important. The result will be an enormous change in your career. Soon you will be known as the go-to-guy or gal in your office and a promotion will be close at hand.

Help Your Significant Other

If you are in a relationship that means a lot to you, there is only one thing that other person wants: attention. They want to feel that you care about them and that you will stop whatever you are doing to help them, listen to them, respect them, and feed their ego whenever possible. If you are having trouble in your relationship and it feels natural to point fingers, stop and resolve the issues with a little love. Put the other person first and watch how your petty problems disappear and your relationship blossoms. Don’t forget that this same principle applies to relationships in your family, amongst your friends, and with co-workers too.

Help Your Customers

If own your own business, work with directly with customers often in your job, or work around many co-workers, this simple policy will be very effective: You don’t matter because your customers are more important than you. If you’ve ever worked in retail, restaurants, or had an angry conversation on the phone with any customer service representative from any major corporation, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The customer may not always be right, but that’s not important. What’s important is that the customer feels like you are really listening to them. There’s a neat trick that will make this easy for you, actually listen to them. It sounds simple, but trust me, listening is an acquired skill and takes years of practice. Harness your ability to listen to others and watch as they open up to you and your agenda.

Help Your Community

Make an intentional decision to give back to others who you expect nothing from in return. Go out of your way on occasion to help someone out who probably has no ability to help you. This could be a stranger, a charity, an organization, a neighbor, or someone close to you who is struggling. Make it your goal to find a way to help that person or group without any expectation of a returned favor. This could be as simple as automating a monthly donation to a charity, volunteering at a shelter, or returning a stray cat to its owner. FYI, I did find a cat my neighbor had lost and after I returned her I found out she had fleas, which have since infested my apartment. Sometimes karma is a bitch, but I would do it again.

Bottom Line: You get out what you put in. If you want to improve your experience, put in more effort and prioritize others before yourself. I have noticed that at my current job, the more work and effort I put into the business, the more rewarding the experience is for me and others. The same thing happened in college only on the opposite spectrum. I noticed many freshmen who hated their experience and many of them earned bad grades, transferred schools, or dropped out completely within the first year. The majority of their bad experiences were the result of their own lack of effort and a singular focus on expecting others to help them. Had they simply sought out opportunities themselves to get involved and contribute more, they would have received wonderful returns.

Make it your intentional decision to seek out ways to serve other people in profound ways. Profound does not mean expensive, difficult, or dangerous. Just show someone else that you care.

The Therapy of Writing

Jeff — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:44:21 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Markus Rodder (flickr)

Writing snuck up on me as a thing that I now do. I never considered myself a writer and I never would have guessed that I would have started a blog, be in the midst of writing a book, or actually planning a career based on new ways to connect with others through my writing. It’s a whirlwind of newness and awesomeness that I stumbled upon a few years after college. I’ve been writing all my life but always for someone else, teachers mostly. I spent years writing essays, short stories, plays, articles, and other knick knack pieces for school and work assignments.

I started a journal three different times and I’ve never maintained it for more than a couple weeks. I don’t do journals. It doesn’t work for me to simply sit and write about my life in hopes that I can garner some insight into my subconscious. The irony is that I just described this blog. Yes, I did. This blog has really always been a journal, an online diary, a therapeutic methodology for sharing my thoughts with the world, and I do it mostly for my own benefit. Sure, I love connecting with other people through my posts. I love writing my book and fantasizing about becoming a New York Times best-selling author. The reality is that I have gained way more in my own life from the act of writing, than from the responses I receive from the writing. I’ve grown more as a person from the work that writing requires than from any form of notoriety or fame.

I check the stats of my blog traffic like a maniac, literally multiple times a day. I think about ideas for new blog posts at every waking moment, even when I’m in the middle of something completely unrelated to the topics I normally write about. I make a conscious effort to always write down my new ideas as soon as I get them because I usually always find a good use for them. Some ideas end up as blog posts, others just as a to-do item for later, and many have been included in the rough draft of the book.

Blogging has literally turned my brain on. I don’t think it was off before, but I am very aware of my own consciousness and the way that I think now. Writing has made me more self-aware, more in tuned with the world around me. I notice how people interact with each other, how they and I see the world, and most importantly, what the world around could become if I only gave a little thought to it. The simple act of typing what I think has taken the randomness of my brain out of my head and slapped it onto a computer screen for me to look at with fresh eyes. My logic seems to have improved. My ability to communicate has certainly been amped by the act of putting thoughts on the page. My plans for the future have been jacked up with enormous goals and ridiculous ambitions that I may never have considered before.

I’m not saying that my writing by itself is a god-sent talent because it is definitely a huge work in progress. Writing is a skill, an art to be crafted, a maniacal torture at times, and a tedious journey to discover your true self. Through my writing I have been able to make ambiguous thoughts more concrete, and that alone gives me confidence and amazing clarity. I feel empowered when I am able to understand my own tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, and passions. Writing connects me with the other guy inside my head. The other me that I never seem to really get.

The greatest struggle I have faced as been the logical organization of my ideas into something that others could understand and actually want to read. I have no shortage of ideas, notes, or random post-its with scribbles on them. I have tons of those. What I work on is taking all that gibberish and compiling it into something worthy of reading. It’s an unfathomable challenge to effectively communicate an innovative idea to a complete stranger unless you have incredible confidence that you can make your insanities appealing. Let’s use that last sentence as an example. I used way too many big words and the sentence is too long. Does it communicate what I wanted to say? Mostly. Is there a more effective way to say it? Definitely.

If you’ve never considered writing as one of your talents or even one of your interests, give it a shot. The benefits are really incredible once you get in the flow of spilling your brain often. All it takes is a little commitment to do it often enough that you begin to see results, much like exercise. Practice, train, rehearse, and perform. Give yourself a public forum to share your thoughts. Chances are that the quality will increase and other people will have an opportunity to peek inside your brain while you do. Write a blog, a book, an article, a sentence. It doesn’t really matter. Just write.

Bold Action That Will Radically Improve Your Life

Jeff — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:06:22 +0000

Photo Courtesy of egarc2 (flickr)

Bold action is the one remedy for really obnoxious problems. It gets you out of bed in the morning. It eliminates mediocrity. It produces success that you have been dreaming about. However, bold action requires risk taking, bravery, and a willingness to fail. Being willing to put yourself on the line for what you care about and believe in is one of the fundamental building blocks of bold action. In the last few months of my life I have experienced radical change and vast improvement in many areas, due in no small part to my own willingness to take bold action as often as possible. What is bold action? It’s doing the big stuff, the hard stuff, the stuff that you know will change your life but that you have put off due to any number of excuses. Bold action is difficult. It’s time consuming, expensive, risky, and may back fire on you for any number of reasons. Why would anyone want to take bold action? Because it get results every time. Seriously. Bold action will almost always produce a result that teaches you a grand lesson, creates enormous success, or at least provides the basis for a really great story to tell your grand kids someday.

Characteristics of Bold Action

What does bold action look like? Could you recognize bold action if you saw it happening? Could you see it in your own life or the lives of those around you? Do you take bold action often or does the thought of it make you a little nervous?

On a practical level, bold action could be quitting your job, starting a business, going back to school, completely changing your diet, training for a triathlon, planning a trip around the world, ending a bad relationship, swimming with sharks, or even admitting to yourself that your life is heading in the wrong direction and now is the time for change. Bold action doesn’t necessarily have to be so cliché. It’s personal. You decide what bold means to you. It could be as small as getting to work on time or as big as donating all your clothes to charity. Whatever bold action you choose you must be committed to it, have a plan to see it through, and make it a habit to always seek out new bold opportunities every day.

What Bold Action IS

Bold Action is a valiant effort to do something for the first time
Bold Action is striving for significant improvement in one or many areas of life
Bold Action is daunting in the eyes of many and exudes great fear
Bold Action is exciting, exhilarating, and worthy of your full attention
Bold Action is life-altering and unforgettable
Bold Action is powerful enough to stretch your abilities and your mind forever
Bold Action is defining of who you are, how you live, and if you’re worth remembering

You know what to do, now go do it!

As you’ve read through this description there is no doubt you have thought of many areas in your life that need significant improvement or you’ve fantasized about accomplishing incredible feats. Either way, this is your chance to get moving! You now know what you want and want you need to work on to radically improve your entire life. Now go do it! Change careers, eat healthier, start that business, run that marathon, dump that worthless boyfriend or girlfriend, make a plan to change your life, and don’t wait until tomorrow to get started. The easiest way to get moving now is to make a decision immediately. Then write that decision down and follow it up with a simple step-by-step action plan for the next seven days. After that you should be able to make significant progress and create a firm long-term plan to guarantee your own success. Your biggest goals will only happen with steady focused progress over a long period of time. During that time you will grow immensely and change everything about your life. But this will only take place if you make the decision to grow NOW! Literally, your life will not change until you do. Don’t wait for someone else or a circumstance you can’t control. Find what you CAN control and make that your first action step.

Take a look at the recent action I have taken in my own life and the bold action I have planned for the future in the lists below. Then create your own list. Think back to what bold action you have taken in the last six months. Write down every major change you can think of that required you to make a bold decision and take bold action. Don’t include stuff that happened to you, only the stuff where you happened to it. Then begin to dream by including a list of every bold action you plan to take in the next few years. Your action steps in the next seven days should be the beginning of these long-term goals. When you look back at what you’ve accomplished it will seem very easy in hindsight. Remember that all daunting challenges seem difficult until you get started. Your success will only amplify as you embrace bold action as a characteristic of your own personality. Become the kind of person who makes extreme choices. Surprise your family and friends. Defy the status quo. Be different. Be bold. Break through your cluelessness and live the life you’ve always dreamed of!

Jeff’s Recent Bold Action

Got my first dog, a pug named Benny
Started my legit business: Blue Fire Truck Enterprises LLC
Became an organic flexitarian (which means I eat mostly natural vegetarian food)
Joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program
Ran the Country Music Half Marathon for the first time
Ordered my first iPhone

Jeff’s Bold Action Planned for the Near & Distant Future

Run the Twin Cities Marathon – Oct 3rd, 2010
Publish my 1st Book – Fall/Winter 2010
Join Toastmasters – 2011
Pay off all debt – 2011
Become a raw vegan – Summer 2012
Buy my first home in cash – 2014
Become a leader in Personal & Professional Development – 2015

Living Outside the Box: 30-Day Trials

Jeff — Wed, 26 May 2010 22:30:05 +0000

Photo Courtesy of sindy (flickr)

The most effective way to try anything new is with the expectation that it will be temporary. Trying new things forces you to overcome fears, jump into the unknown, and risk failure. Knowing that something new will only last a few weeks will allow you to open up fully to the experience. In the last few months I have completed a few 30-Day Trials and they have been incredibly successful. 30 Days is a great time frame because a month seems so short, yet it has just enough time to allow you to form a new habit, adjust to a new lifestyle, or even make a positive, powerful, and permanent change in how you live. If you attempt something new just once, you don’t really know how it could affect your life on a daily basis. Having the time minimum of a certain number of days forces you to continue past the initial wall of fear and judgment. 30 Days lets you open your mind to the possibility of you living with your new decision on a permanent basis.

The real goal of a 30-Day Trial is personal growth. You want to be able learn from the experience, increase your self-awareness, and come away with new knowledge that makes you one step closer to a long-term goal such as running a marathon, moving to a new part of the country, or changing careers. If the experiment doesn’t challenge you in a significant way, keep brainstorming. Start by looking at examples from others and examining the habits of successful people. Look to your mentors and experts in your industry. Pick out something they do that you believe would greatly benefit you. Try just one thing at a time and see how it work. Put your full energy and resources behind the trial to maximize its effectiveness and to give you an authentic perspective on how it could change your daily life.

I recently completed a 30-Day Trial growing a sexy beard. It wasn’t a huge challenge, but it was personally important for me to test my masculinity. Seriously. I wanted to know if I could grow a legitimate beard. The end result was that I could, but I didn’t like it. Beards aren’t for me. I like the idea of a beard more than the itchiness, scruffiness, and scraggly appearance. Ultimately, I prefer a clean shave or a 3-day stubble.

At the moment I’m in the middle of a 30-Day Trial with Green Smoothies. I won’t even hesitate to say that this has been a HUGE success! I will definitely be continuing this lifestyle long-term. The health benefits are incredible and I love my new focus and energy. I have also read a few books on food, joined a CSA, and switched over to eating mostly vegetarian and organic foods. I won’t go on too long about this, just check out the blog post.

A few months ago I went a little crazy and started running at 5 am, before I went to work. It was an amazing experience and I really fell in love with the early morning. The trial was difficult to maintain because my life was very busy at the time, but I really felt better every day I ran. I ended up going back to evening exercise routines and that has been more effective for my current lifestyle. I don’t regret the 5 am experiment because it taught me a lot about my own self-discipline and habits. I will be repeating this 30-Day Trial again someday to see if it sticks permanently.

Be Creative & THINK BIG

Experiment with something you have always wanted to try but have been putting off. Don’t pick something easy. Think outside the box and find something extreme. Radical change will be the best method to dive in head first and experience a whole new life. Changing my diet was very extreme because I have a close relationship with my food. I tended to eat whatever I want in huge quantities all the time. Now, not so much. I have completely altered my perspective on what I eat, when I eat it, and especially how much. Getting creative will boost your ability to think critically, act courageously, and live fearlessly. Just do it!

Remember You Can Quit AFTER 30 Days

Quitting is not failure. Failure would be never trying at all. Remember that the goal is personal growth. Even if you find something that doesn’t work well, now you know. Growing a beard didn’t work for me. No biggie. When I was in High School I colored the front of my hair bright blonde. It looked ridiculous. No biggie. Now I know. My first job out of college was a terrible door-to-door sales experience that ended in less than 9 weeks. No biggie. I’m smarter and more prepared than ever because of that job and the many others I’ve had since then. Quitting is not the end of the world and attempts that are not successful should be celebrated because you made the effort that most would never even consider.

The Pursuit of Nobility

Jeff — Mon, 24 May 2010 11:00:38 +0000

Photo Courtesy of stevechasmar (flickr)

As a part of TLC Book Tours I had the opportunity to read and review Tim Daniel’s new book, The Pursuit of Nobility. As the author describes his book, it’s about liberation. It’s about a personal journey to free yourself from the massive amount of people who are simply sustaining society, and join those who are pushing society forward. Tim describes the Nobility as problem solvers, creators, and seekers of a greater challenge. Here at Graduated And Clueless I write blog posts about personal development, growth, and topics beyond the simple job search. The Pursuit of Nobility closely aligns with my mission as it addresses a higher calling in life, beyond maintenance, above the crowd, and into a whole new world where the Nobles cause real world change.

One of the most fundamental questions in life, and especially important to recent and clueless grads, is why? Why am I here? And if I ever figure that out, how will I achieve what I am supposed to? Tim Daniel addresses these topics head on in a way I have never heard before. The calling of the Nobility is not for everyone, but if it’s yours, you have your work cut out for you. His book intertwines fiction with commentary as he address the journey of a Nobleman and his pursuit of significance. It’s an interesting story that personifies the journey and provides a highly realistic view of the obstacles, difficulties, and ultimate glory of the Nobility.

Personally, the idea of the Nobility really resonated with me. I have always held the view that my life now is a training ground for a future battle, one in which I will have a higher calling and ultimate purpose. Let’s get real, there’s a reason I started Graduated And Clueless and there will be a reason I someday move on to something even greater. I don’t mind knowing that, in fact, I accept and enjoy the fact that my work now is temporary and eventually I will pursue a new challenge that will allow me to grow even more, both personally and professionally.

I find that Apple’s commercial from the ’90s really holds true to the Nobility.

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
They can change the world,
Are the ones who do.

- “Think Different” Apple

If you’re interested in The Pursuit of Nobility, check out Tim Daniel’s website, thepursuitofnobility.com, or buy it on Amazon.

How to Grow a Sexy Beard

Jeff — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:00:22 +0000

Photo Courtesy of modobs.wordpress.com

Beards have been a part of every society since the beginning of time. Beards carry strong cultural meaning and are typically sources of great power. Beards are cool. Beards give you an incredible swagger. Beards can be sexy, if grown properly. There are at least 15 different styles of beards (according to Wikipedia) with common characteristics, though you could always customize your own style. The 15 styles include the full, chinstrap, sideburns, Donegal, Garibaldi, Goatee, Junco, Hollywoodian, Reed, Royale, Stubble, Van Dyke, Verdi, Neck beard (Neard), Soul Patton, Mutton Chops, and Stashburns. For our purposes we’ll focus on the George Clooney, which I’m identifying as halfway between the stubble and the full. George Clooney has won People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive award twice, so I think he’s qualified to represent a sexy beard. I have some personal interest in this blog post because I have recently begun growing my own beard. I’ll post pictures if I don’t turn into a yeti.

“There are two kinds of people in this world that go around

beardless—boys and women—and I am neither one.”

- Greek saying

According to Wikipedia, “In the course of history, men with facial hair have been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom and knowledge, sexual virility, masculinity, or high social status; and, conversely, filthiness, crudeness, or an eccentric disposition. In many cultures, beards are associated with nature and outdoorsmen.” Personally, I’m a big fan of all these descriptions. Beards have incredible breadth and flexibility. FYI, the study of beards is called pogonology.

Remember the episode of Family Guy when Peter grows a mustache? Peter claimed that he joined a special community, that his mustache consumed his entire personality, and that people with mustaches look out for each other. He was right on the money. However, beards by themselves are not sexy. If you are sexy without a beard, you are much more likely to grow a sexy beard. So, if you don’t currently consider yourself sexy, work on that first. Or, just grow a beard to cover up your face and create your own sexiness. Either way, just don’t blame me if your beard makes you look worse than where you are now. Beards are a source a pride and you should be prepared to get some attention. Maybe you’re growing a beard to boost your confidence. Maybe you’re growing one so that no one will notice you. Maybe you’re bored or simply too lazy to shave. Whatever your reasoning, if you decide to grow a beard at least be ready to make it as sexy as possible.

1. Plan the Beard in Advance

Before you begin your bearded adventure, get some advice from the bearded experts. This shouldn’t be too hard. Go to any public place and find a guy with a beard you really admire. Make sure it is well groomed or at least closely resembles the look you’re going for. Be careful not to stalk anyone in the process. Also, don’t worry about asking strangers questions about their facial hair. I’ve never met a guy who didn’t like to talk about himself. You will make the guy’s day by simply asking him how he managed to create such a stunning piece of artwork on his face. Once again, be careful how you phrase that question.

2. Share Your Plan with the World

Get on facebook, twitter, and put an ad in the newspaper. Let everyone know your plan to make magic with your hair follicles. People like to hear about others who are taking their life by the horns and kicking ass. Announcing that you are growing a beard should yield the same reaction as climbing a mountain, running a marathon, or taking off your training wheels. Alternatively, you could grow the beard while on an extended vacation and show it off when you get back. Your choice.

3. Start with a Clean Shave

To maximize the sexiness you’ll need even growth from beginning to end. Start the process by shaving every hair off your face completely. You’ll also want to get a haircut that same day to really have a clean starting block. Take pictures and celebrate. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Today you have shaved for the last time. The sexy beard awaits you.

4. Buy a Beard Trimming Kit

Without the proper resources you may as well consider yourself Al Gore after the 2000 election. Sexy beards are intentional. In other words, George Clooney didn’t accidentally end up with a sexy beard, he made it happen. He took care of it and groomed it to perfection. Beard trimming kits are cheap. You can probably get one at Kmart for less than $15 bucks. I would recommend investing in a nicer one. Don’t let your finances, or lack thereof, stand in the way of your dreams.

5. Let it Grow

Don’t touch the trimming razor . . . yet. Beards grow faster in the summer and the overall speed is greatly affected by your genetics. This is the phase where others will begin to take notice. Enjoy the moment. This is where people you know will begin to question your sanity, compliment you on your awesome decision, and/or give you peculiar looks when you’re stroking your own face way too often. Try not to look in the mirror too often because you’re natural inclination will be to shave something, trim a stray hair, or get rid of it completely. Just let it grow.

6. Trim Conservatively

After a few days or even a couple of weeks of growth you may want to begin the trimming process. Depending on what style you chose in the beginning, now is the time to begin to cleaning up the mop on your face. Clean up the neck hair and begin to trim around the edges to give it shape. Do not shorten the hairs anywhere. Just clean up the edges, unless you’re going for the authentic George Clooney, then leave the neck hairs unscathed. After a few weeks or possibly a few months, depending on your preferred length and the speed your hair grows, you will need to bust out the trimming tools and make the hair length even across the the entire surface. This is when the beard finally takes shape and you can witness your masterpiece.

7. Show it Off

Ta-Da! Your sexy beard should be complete and it’s time to take pictures again. Don’t forget to share the pics on facebook, twitter, and annual holiday cards to the entire extended family. This is a moment of pride and joy, like a college graduation or a real bad-ass bar mitzvah. Never forget the moment you decided to grow the beard. You evolved that day and now you get to revel in your progress. Congratulations.

7 Ways to Get Noticed

Jeff — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:58:03 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography (flickr)

In a world of constant connectivity and insatiable appetites for information, you’d assume that getting noticed should be easier than ever. So why do you feel a strong desire for validation and why aren’t you getting noticed more often? Lusting over validation is very common; whether it’s healthy or not is up for grabs. Getting validated doesn’t happen nearly as often. Assuming you’re overall objective is to get noticed, the primary method to do so is by violating expectations. This means doing something that others won’t see coming. You’ll have to be different, weird, and completely willing to take risks. The best part is that once you fully master the ability to surprise and inspire others, you can apply that skill set to many aspects of your life.

Getting noticed can vastly improve your job search, business ventures, financial success, social encounters, eating habits, physical health, fashion, confidence, or any other area you want to improve your presence. Imagine being the person in the office or in class that others flock to because you have something to offer. Imagine being the business owner that customers and competitors can’t seem to get enough of. Getting noticed can put you on the map in whatever way you desire. Decide ahead of time exactly what you want and then use the steps below to make that goal a reality.

How to Get Noticed

1. Wear Bright Colors

I am notorious for wearing bright blue shirts all the time. Not only do I love the color but other people seem to love it just as much. I always get compliments on the shirts because you can’t ignore them and they make people smile. This works well year round, not just in the spring. Bright colors make your personality shine. They open you up for conversation and make you more approachable. Spend a few bucks on some new clothes and watch the magic happen.

2. Get Naked

You can do this literally if you want, just try not to break too many laws in the process. The goal is to step out of your comfort zone as often as possible. People who get noticed are willing to put themselves on the edge of normal because they realize as soon as they get there that other people tend to respond positively or not at all. On the edge of life you’re less likely to find negative people because they’re usually hiding in their bubble and won’t dare take a risk. Even if you have negative experience, it probably won’t kill you. I won’t say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger because your growth is a choice. If you choose to let negative experience knock you down then they will. You have to choose to step out on the edge and choose to become a better person because of it.

3. Identify What’s Normal and Do the Opposite

Normal is boring. Normal is easy and way too comfortable. People ignore normal but they flock to the weird. Niche groups are where it’s at. Become the big fish in the small pond. Find a small group of people doing something you have a wicked passion for and get intensely involved. People with passion get noticed. People with weird passions get noticed even more. Normal people don’t have passion and they stick to activities that everyone does. Examples of weird niche groups could include raw vegans, tango dancers, ultramarathon runners, living without debt, impromptu acting troupes, or anything else that challenges the status quo.

4. Claim that You are an Expert

Everyone loves a great expert, or at least someone who claims to know something you don’t. If you want to get noticed in your job or business, make a claim that you are an expert at something others are interested in. Spend some time teaching them and you’ll gain popularity as a person of value. To get a sample of this, study other people who you can’t seem to ignore. Some experts have PhDs but many simply have social appeal. Today’s expert has been in the media, has authored a number of books, and probably has a winning charisma that captures your attention with ease. Expertise is subjective and to get noticed in your industry or niche will require some research on your part. So get out there and find someone to copy. Check out How to Become an Expert – Fast! (Part 1) for more info.

5. Become an Open Book

Your life is not private anymore. Even if you’ve spent every effort to hide yourself from the Internet, you can be found. So embrace the change and recognize that privacy is all in your head. Open your life to the world, reveal personal information on public spaces, and share your story. You don’t have to be graphic, but at least share enough to let others get to know the real you. This is especially important if you’re attempting to become that expert we were talking about. People respond positively to others who are willing to be vulnerable. It’s hard to trust someone who you think is hiding something. You’ll make more personal and business connections by telling your story, even if you don’t think anyone would want to hear it.

6. Talk to Strangers

Get in the habit of connecting with others, even if you don’t know them. It can be as simple as making eye contact with someone on the subway. Over time you should try small talk with total strangers, keeping the content friendly and inviting. As you advance your skills you can strike up deeper conversations based initially on shallow mutual interests or circumstances. Celebrities are popular because they have a higher perceived value from total strangers than you do. Connect with strangers and you become a celebrity, at least for a second.

7. Focus on Personal Growth by Helping Others Grow

Getting noticed is shallow if that’s your intention. Getting noticed is meaningful, authentic, and fulfilling if you choose to seek it out in that manner. To get noticed in the greatest way possible, like a Mother Teresa, Gandhi, or Kevin Nealon on Weeds, you have to help others. Your personal growth will only begin to make exponential progress when you focus on someone besides yourself. Get noticed for the right reasons. Bad publicity is counterproductive. Harness your strengths are maximize your ability to contribute and you will be noticed and validated in the process.

Losing My Vegetarian Virginity

Jeff — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Photo Courtesy of law_kevin (flickr)

The rumors are true . . . I am going veggie! Ahhhh! No, it isn’t that scary but it is worthy of attention. My decision to eat vegetarian food was spawned out of a desire to eat healthier, be healthier, and feel incredibly better. The real story is that a few important and coincidental revelations took place in my life that sparked my interest in becoming a vegetarian.

How and Why I Made the Choice

#1 – I saw the documentary Food, Inc. Though I was horrified at the way our food industry treats animals, and on a moral stance alone I could have made this decision, that wasn’t it. The real awakening I had was that I was mindlessly putting food in my own mouth every day without considering the consequences. My greatest lessoned learned and my new commitment is that I will become a person who thinks about food. I want to make conscious choices about what I eat and reap the benefits of making intelligent decisions whenever possible. At the end of the documentary the filmmakers listed ways to help the food movement in America, including the simple fact that everyone votes 3 times a day for what they want, whether they realize it or not. In my case, I didn’t realize that what I purchased and consumed was a vote in favor that item. So, if I choose to buy and eat healthier foods, organic foods, vegetarian foods, foods that help the environment, foods that benefit farmers and not corporations, foods that clean the earth and not destroy it, then I will be making a difference with every bite. For the most part, I now choose health instead of cravings, organic instead of processed, vegetarian instead of meat, and life instead of death. When I say life, I mean the way I feel every day. I want to feel alive. I want to experience life in a very conscious and energized way, instead of drowning out my existence with fatigue, indigestion, and hangovers.

#2 – As much as I don’t want to admit this, I have a few pounds to lose. I used to be the skinniest person I knew. I also used to eat whatever I wanted and still manage to hold a six pack with minimal effort. Those days are long gone. I have matured into an adult body that doesn’t respond like it used to and I have not kept up with the changes fast enough. I do understand that simply eating vegetarian foods alone won’t cut the fat, but my awareness of my food choices and increased self-discipline should do the trick. Realizing that I need to lose weight didn’t happen overnight, but the motivation to lose the pounds snuck up on me faster than I expected. I signed up to run a marathon and it’s happening in a few short weeks. At the very least, I’m making this switch to be a better runner and I’ll take the positive health benefits as a sweet perk.

#3 – I bought my dog the best dog food on the market. This is actually the moment I made the decision to go veggie. My wife, Tessa, and I went shopping at a local pet food store a few weeks ago and the owner spent about 20 minutes going into detail about the various types of dog food available and how we could help out our little pug in a big way by changing his diet from grain-based, to grain free, because it wasn’t natural for his body. After the conversation I went home, researched the food, and decided very quickly that I would only feed my dog the best dog food available (FYI, we now feed him Orijen Puppy mix). That’s when it hit me, why would I buy my dog the best food available and not even consider that for myself? It was at that moment that I made the choice to give the vegetarian thing a legitimate chance. I updated my Facebook status later that day with my new revelation and I received more comments than ever. Apparently people feel very strongly about their stance on meat and animal cruelty.

Total Healthy Body Makeover

After making the decision to learn more about food and consciously think about how I eat, I have a wonderful sense of confidence about my future. I am completely aware that changing my eating habits alone won’t revolutionize the way I feel. However, I have taken it upon myself to create a total healthy body makeover, starting with my marathon training that began a few months ago. I am also committing myself to sleeping more in order to reduce stress. I have been doing yoga for years, which helps, but I’ll be increasing that as well. I have simplified my main activities to a few select priorities that will eventually transform the way I look, feel, and approach life.

Right now my focuses include the following: eating healthier foods (mostly vegetarian and organic), exercising more consistently and aggressively (marathon training year-round), sleeping more (at least 7 hours), stretching and breathing more (yoga), writing more (this blog and my book), reading more (mainly personal development books and blogs), and socializing more with my friends, family, and my pug Benny.

Losing My Vegetarian Virginity

When I first made the choice to eat healthier I still had a ton of unhealthy food in my kitchen at home and at my desk at work. So, I have actually eaten much worse than usual in the last week. I didn’t make the first move until yesterday when I spent almost two hours shopping for the healthiest foods I could find. I only live a mile from Publix, who’s slogan is “Where Shopping is a Pleasure.” The funny thing is that it’s true. I really do enjoy shopping there and my experience yesterday was even more magical than usual. As soon as I walked in the store I found one of the small vegetarian sections and read a sign that has changed my shopping experiences forever. The sign said that all of the foods in the entire store are labeled with white price stickers if they’re normal or unhealthy foods, or a brown price sticker if they’re considered to be vegetarian, organic, or extra healthy. This new knowledge allowed me to roam the store with a keen eye for brown stickers. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I did feel a since of arrogance as I pushed my “healthy” cart of food around the store and noticed other carts filled with “normal” food. I didn’t expect that reaction from myself, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for any extra snoodiness.

I’ve listed the ingredients below for my first vegetarian meal and the entire shopping list of everything I bought from Publix. Some of the items aren’t necessarily vegetarian, including the salmon, but I’m still very attached to eating fish. Technically, if I continue to eat fish but cut out other meats I’ll be considered a Pescatarian. Check out the list and point out all my flaws if you’d like. I seriously do need to learn more about this adventure that I’m heading into, so feel free to leave a comment below. At this point I have received a ton of great feedback from many people and I love the support and encouragement.

My First Vegetarian Meal

1 Glass of Plain Soy Milk

2 Veggie Garden Burgers with French Bread and Spicy Mustard

1 Salad (lettuce, spinach, peppers, carrots, veggie cheese, balsamic vinaigrette dressing)

My First Vegetarian Grocery Shopping Experience (@ Publix)

12 Vegetarian Eggs by 4 Grain

Stonyfield Soy Yogurt

Yoplait Smoothie

1/2 Gallon Publix Greenwise Plain Soy Milk

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice

V8 Fusion Passion Fruit

Ragu Traditional Sauce

Smuckers Organic Grape Jelly

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Veggie Parmesan Topping

Natural Valley Granola Bars

Tofurky Kielbasa Polish Links

4 Veggie Garden Burgers

Frozen Green Beans

Nasoya Cubed Tofu

Vegetarian Patch Chik’n Nuggets

Edamame Shelled Soy Beans

Celestial Herb Tea Variety Pack

Publix Spaghetti

Veggie Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Amy’s Texas Style Veggie Burgers

Amy’s Santa Fe Enchilada

Morning Star Farms Starter Meal – Chik’n Strips

Seattle’s Best Organic Blend

Fresh Salmon Fillet

Gardein Veggie Chick’n Fillets

Pineapple – Peeled and Cored

2 Navel Oranges

6 Organic Bananas

3 Red Delicious Apples

1 Loaf Multi-Grain Bread

Seedless Grapes

Fresh Carrot Bunch-Tops

Fresh Green Beans

Fresh Fingerhot Peppers

Fresh Asparagus

Publix Baby Spinach

1 Head Iceberg Lettuce

6 Clif Protein Bars

Feedback

Don’t Forget to leave a comment below. Share your vegetarian story or make fun of mine. Either one works for me. Thanks!

Why I Started My Blog

Jeff — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:55:56 +0000

Photo Courtesy of WordPress

I recently received an email from a college student who is working on a class project where she is analyzing blogs. Her group is focusing on blogs that assist college graduates in finding employment and surviving in the real world. I was flattered that she focused on my blog and she had a few great questions about how and why I got started. I copied my responses below. Feel free to leave any comments or contact me with any questions you may have about blogging, business, or life after college.

Why I started my blog:

Two years ago I read the book, The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, and it completely converted me into an Internet entrepreneur. However, I didn’t know what kind of Internet business I wanted to start or how to get started. A few months later I found a podcast by the guys at Internet Business Mastery. They were very informative and persuasive, which gave me the motivation needed to start my own blog. I began blogging because I thought it would be an easy way to build my expertise in a niche market and help people that I care about. In this case, I chose clueless college graduates. You can learn more about my story if you read the About Us page on my site and the Premiere blog post. In a nut shell, I needed an easy to way to connect with people and share my ideas. I wanted to teach other college grads how to transition into the real world more successfully and then ultimately avoid living mediocre lives because they gave up on their dreams.

How I started my blog:

The technical answer: I got the idea to use WordPress from the Internet Business Mastery podcast. I actually use WordPress.org, not WordPress.com, which allows me to have my own URL that doesn’t include wordpress.com in the title. Plus, WordPress.org gives me full flexibility to design the blog however I want. I bought a WordPress theme from Pagelines and spent a couple months creating the site. I then officially launched the blog on June 1, 2009 with the Premiere post.

How I decided what was important to post about:

This was tricky, but it got easier as I wrote more. In the beginning, I wrote articles about topics that I thought other people wanted to hear about. This worked, sort of. I have since transitioned into writing posts about topics that I am passionate about. Recently, I have written a lot about personal development because I believe it’s incredibly important and useful. I have also written a lot about marathons because I am currently training for one. It helps to write about current topics in your own life because you will have a vested interest in the content.

How I manage my blog:

Because I use WordPress, I can update my blog from anywhere that has an Internet connection. I used to have a website that only allowed me to update it from my home computer, which I now realize seems very archaic. I tend to write 2-3 posts per week and I don’t usually post any on the weekends because I’m usually too busy. I do not give my audience any expectation about when I’ll post anything new, because I don’t want to work under any deadlines. I write best when I feel free to write about what I want, when I want, and how I want. It keeps the content more authentic and incredibly more helpful. If you try to force something, the reader can always tell.

Committing to Personal Growth

Jeff — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:55:00 +0000

Photo Courtesy of paul (dex) busy @ work (flickr)

A few months ago I discovered a blog that has been slowly but surely changing the way I think about my life. The blog is Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina. He also has a book by the same name, which I am now currently reading. His blog is devoted to personal growth, conscious living, and rising above his circumstances to achieve true enlightenment. He is radical and odd at times, but he always makes me think. His website has more than 700 free posts that cover dozens of topics and most of them have very practical strategies for living a more conscious life. It is because of his blog that I created my own statement of purpose (my current version is posted on the About Us page). This is an evolving mission statement of sorts that clearly defines the kind of life I strive to live every day. Though I have read other books and blogs about personal development, Steve Pavlina takes it to a new level that has resonated with me recently in a profound way. I now take personal development very seriously and I have reaffirmed my commitment to personal growth.

Personal development is not self-help. It’s not Oprah’s book club and it’s not new age hypnosis that requires you to be a vegan and live in the mountains. Personal development is the exploration of you. It is a method of self-discovery that challenges you to become more self-aware, to establish your identity, to enhance the quality of your life and your relationships with others, to define and execute goal-setting plans that fulfill your dreams, and it is a way to seek truth in your own existence.

If this is the first time you’ve ever heard personal development described in detail, it may sound like a load of BS. That’s what I thought when I was first exposed to it. It takes a very open mind to understand the full potential that personal development can have in your life. I’ve only recently begun the process and it has been life altering. It’s not easy. In fact, if you take it as seriously as Steve Pavlina, Tony Robbins, or other experts in this field, it can be very painful and extremely challenging.

What does personal development look like?

Growth is unique. Growth is personal. What you do will probably look different than others’ techniques and growth strategies. For me, personal development means running marathons, building businesses, giving to charity, loving my wife, taking care of my dog, spending time with my family, and reading and writing about my current goals and passions. Take a good hard look at your life and begin to recognize what you could do to enhance your day, your week, or even the rest of your life.

How can I get started?

Start absorbing. Begin consuming as much content on personal development and personal growth as you can. Read blogs, read books, listen to audio programs, and attend seminars. Then, once you feel like you have a good handle on what it is, start to implement changes in your life quickly. The first thing I recommend is to start a journal and/or blog where you feel comfortable to share your life in writing. I find writing to be very therapeutic and extremely helpful with my own struggles in life. I use my blog posts as a stress reliever and venting mechanism to let the world know how I feel on any given topic. I do my best not to hold back anything and to always focus on being authentic and truthful. This process allows me to stay centered on the principles I live by and to honor my own commitments to myself and others.

If you’re thinking that personal development sounds extremely self-centered and selfish, you’re right. In the beginning, this process will require you to think a lot about you. However, as you progress through the levels of consciousness you will begin to see how the best way to help others is to first help yourself. Imagine a doctor who never went to medical school. How much help could he really be? Every surgeon must spend years focusing on themselves, their knowledge, their skills, and their passion before they ever set foot in an operating room.

Personal development is one of the greatest challenges you will face as you begin to conquer your own life after college. Unfortunately, it will only get harder as you get older. The tendency is for life to naturally get busier and for priorities to get skewed. If personal development is important to you, make it important. Make it a priority. Make it happen, and make it happen often. Your own growth is in your hands. You have the power to change your life and you should if you don’t like where you are, or if you simply want to see improvement.

Recommending Reading

Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Your Road Map for Success by John C. Maxwell

Jeff Sanders’ Statement of Purpose

To live consciously and with great intention;
To ambitiously pursue my passions;
To break through barriers in search of truth and freedom;
To embrace challenges with patience and wisdom;
To share faith, give hope, and spread love;
To positively influence and inspire others; and
To joyfully and courageously explore my limitless potential.

What Would You Attempt if You Could Not Fail?

Jeff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:30:26 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Pagan (flickr)

This is one of the most powerful questions you’ll ever ask yourself. If you take this question seriously and brainstorm all the possible adventures you could experience, it’s truly transformational. This is one of the questions I asked myself before I decided to begin training for my current marathon. The physical challenge of the marathon is an incredible test of my own self-discipline, endurance, and courage. The possibility of failure is huge because I’m no where near prepared. However, in these kinds of situations I like to break down my options and consider the worst case scenarios. When it came down to it, the worst thing I could imagine would be injuring myself while training and cause permanent damage. However, that possibility would exist even if I was in great shape, so that’s not a real consideration. I could get the dreaded DNF status, better known to athletes as Did Not Finish. That’s not too bad because I would probably end up running a long way and making myself that much more prepared for the next race. It might be embarrassing not to finish, but I’m not running for someone else’s benefit. I’m running this race for me. During my first marathon I raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the extra motivation of running for a great cause actually did propel me further. However, this race, this challenge, is personal. Bottom line, I’m perfectly willing to accept the risks and make this marathon happen, whether I cross the finish line or not.

The funny thing about fear and the possibility of failing at anything is that the worst case scenarios are usually unlikely and typically not as bad as you imagine. When I think back to the worst things that have happened to me, the circumstances were almost entirely out of my control. Alternatively, the situations where I succeeded usually happened because I was willing to push through my irrational fears and make my dreams a reality. I’ve listed some tricks that have helped me overcome fear in the past and allowed me to break through the inertia that is always there in the beginning. The inertia is that dark force of doubt that prevents you from making the first valiant effort towards your goal. It’s by far the hardest part of the process because almost everything seems easier once you get started. It’s possible that you may have to break through many fears and various levels of inertia throughout the process. Most goals worth fighting for have many obstacles to overcome and many forces out of your control. Learning to master the ability of overcoming fear and failure will be vital to your success in anything. Give these ideas a try and let me know what you think. What would you attempt if you could not fail?

Brainstorm a Huge List of Ideas

If you couldn’t fail at anything, what would you do? Make a list of your wildest dreams and then keep going. Fantasize about your ideal career, your perfect day, you great accomplishment, and then think through what it would take to make those dreams come true. Whatever you brainstorm, Do Not include luck. Attempting to win the lottery should not be on your list. The point of the exercise is to bring your life under your control. Outsourcing your power to the forces of luck and chance will only make you feel weak and out of control. Make a realistic yet challenging action plan that makes these goals achievable and exciting to pursue.

Here’s an example from my Marathon Training Schedule. It’s a ballsy game plan, and it’s possible that I won’t finish, but I intend to make this happen one way or another.

Long Run Saturdays
Week 1: 5 miles or 1 hour
Week 2: 10 miles or 2 hours
Week 3: 15 miles of 3 hours
Week 4: 20 miles or 4 hours
Week 5: break
Week 6: 13.1 miles or 2 hours
Week 7: MARATHON (26.2 miles or Bust!)

Try Something New for 30 days

Morgan Spurlock made this idea mainstream when he created the documentary “Super Size Me.” What’s amazing about trying something for 30 days is that it gives you the chance to experience it temporarily and decide if it’s a good fit for you life. It’s hard to fail it you know that the new challenge has a short time frame. It’s like dieting, but the point isn’t to only do the new activity, quit, and then walk away. The goal is to analyze the effect of the 30-day challenge and decide if it’s worth continuing. In this respect, failure could be defined as simply not trying. If you tried something for a month and made the conscious decision not to continue because it wasn’t good for you, that’s awesome. You’re not a failure, you’re a smart quitter. If you knew you could not fail, these 30 days should be a breeze. I tried this philosophy when I began running at 5 am. Check out that blog post here. I have since switched to evening runs, but the experience was fantastic and I’ll probably try 5 am runs again in the future.

Visualize Your New Challenge as a Class Project

This strategy has been very effective for my blog and book writing goals. I think it’s worked well because I had many homework assignments that are similar to the content that I create for the business. My blogs are like short 3-page daily assignments and the book is like writing 15, 12-page semester papers back-to-back. It sounds like a lot when you add that up, but it’s very manageable when I break it into tiny pieces. For my final senior project in college I directed a play for my theatre degree. Outside of learning how to direct, spending hours in rehearsals, and planning every aspect of the production, I had to write a 60-page analysis of the whole thing. It was an enormous undertaking that only came together because my professor broke the enormity of it all into smaller chunks throughout the semester. If you know you will not be able to fail, attempting gigantic projects, such as this one, are wonderful tests of your abilities and can be achieved more easily in pieces.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on failure. Fill me in on some of the things you would try if failure wasn’t an option. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope the information is helping you along your journey of conquering life after college!

There are No Shortcuts to Any Place Worth Going

Jeff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:34:53 +0000

Photo Courtesy of www.D2k6.es (flickr)

I’ll just throw it out there, I am very impatient. I don’t know if I’m just a product of my generation, but I hate waiting for things to happen. I live in a fast-paced world. I think quickly, act quickly, and expect results quickly. Due to the demands placed on my life and the incredible demands I place on myself, patience is not one of my virtues. I’m also rarely satisfied with what I accomplish because I only see what could have been. There is no doubt that much of my life is focused on productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes. I want more than I have and I expect more than I can produce. This is one of the double-edged swords of my life. My ambitious attitude is both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.

One day while driving to work and listening to one of my many podcasts I heard the quote, “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going,” and something clicked. That quote made so much sense to me. Something shifted in my brain and in my life the moment I heard those words. I wouldn’t call it an “Aha!” moment, but it was meaningful. I am the type of person that likes to take on a challenge and accomplish the entirety of the project from start to finish as quickly as I can. I don’t like to drag things out, or disperse the work over the course of a few weeks. If I can get something finished in 24 hours, I finish it in 24 hours. I carry this same attitude from project to project, from marathons to debt payments. Last week I edited a video in 3 days that I procrastinated working on for almost 3 months. However, once I started it, I focused on nothing else until it was done. I find that my intense focus and laser sharp drive to accomplish my goals helps immensely to cross tasks off my to-do list, but it reinforces my lack of patience.

The reason why the quote made so much sense to me is because I realized that the long-term goals I have set for myself as hard, extremely hard. I can’t expect to accomplish them in 2 weeks, 2 months, or some in 2 years, let alone 24 hours. I like to use baby steps to accomplish large tasks because breaking them down into manageable pieces definitely allows for incredible progress, but it doesn’t help my personality flaw of expecting amazing results in a short time span.

Maybe my Type A personality is starting to get the best of me. Maybe I’m losing my mind and tweaking out a little. I don’t know. However, I do know that my attitude towards my goals is highly effective. It might make me insane in the process, but something will be getting done. At this point in my life, I’d rather risk insanity than sit on my butt and let mediocrity take over. In fact, I can confidently say that I would choose stress over boredom, insanity over mediocrity, and difficultly over trouble-free every day of the week. Life was never meant to be easy and the fascination with making things easier can weaken you like a slow boil. I feel a strong urge to throw conflict in front of me every day just to see how I will respond.

Today I created a running schedule to finish my 2nd marathon, which is scheduled for 6 weeks from now. At this moment I am over 200 pounds and no where near marathon healthy. Do I expect to finish the race? Hell yes! Will I look like a dying turtle crawling across the finish line? Probably, but that’s okay with me. I am willing to fail. I am willing to put myself on the line to see what I’m made of. It won’t be pretty and chances are I will be far from satisfied with the results. That’s fine. At this point I don’t see any alternatives. I need challenges to keep my life interesting and sometimes I need to put myself in harm’s way to make that happen.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going, and I am intentionally choosing to go places that I believe are worth the effort. It’s easy to talk-the-talk before an intense battle, but it’s an entirely new discussion once you’ve stepped out onto the playing field. When I look back on challenges I faced, especially the really ominous ones, I can clearly remember the fear I faced before taking that first step. Fear is paralyzing. Fear is limiting. Fear is usually irrational and unfounded, and that’s why I constantly focus on eliminating it. I can’t let fear hold me back from my full potential.

I want my life to have meaning. I want to go places I’ll be excited to talk about later. I want to take on challenges that make others’ cringe. I want to avoid shortcuts and intentionally choose the harder path so that I appreciate the work that much more.

I hope I’m not alone on this issue. Let me know how crazy I am in the comments below. I’m looking forward to your feedback.

The Necessity of Sleep

Jeff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:24 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro (fickr)

I was the king of all-nighters during my senior year of college. I refined the art of writing 12-page research papers from start to finish in less than 8 hours and scraping together at least an A-. The sacrifice was sleep. I stayed up all night, most of the next day, napped a little, and then crashed the following evening. I would maintain a constant flow of caffeine and techno music throughout the process to keep my energy and sanity just high enough to survive. I was a functioning zombie and I made it work quite well. However, this lifestyle came with a multitude of side effects: drowsiness, nausea, headaches, dizziness, irritability, outbursts of anger and/or tears, lack of empathy, weight gain, poor hygiene, high blood pressure, and crazy OCD. The only reason I managed to maintain living like this for such a long time was due to the fact that every other person around me was doing the exact same thing. It was sanity by consensus. As long as enough of us were doing it, we weren’t crazy.

Having been removed from college for almost three years now, I haven’t pulled a single all-nighter since. Last Wednesday night I stayed up until 3 am editing a wedding video for one of my friends and I only did that because I didn’t have to be at work until 11 am on Thursday. I guess I’m still amazed at the fact that I can’t live the same way I did during college. I want to go to the bars on the weekends, stay up until the sun rises, and live on the edge of sanity just for the hell of it. However, now that I’ve experienced a life with abundant amounts of sleep, it seems foolish to back track. I’ve watched documentaries on the power of sleep and the amazing health benefits you can reap with even just one extra hour. I’ve also read how driving with a significant lack of sleep is more dangerous than driving drunk. Weird.

In the last few years I have maintained a fairly regular sleep pattern and I average a reasonably healthy amount of sleep each night. What I find to be remarkable is the difference between my wife and I. Tessa is a first year teacher in a very challenging high-needs school, and she is exhausted every single day. She crashes in bed every night an hour or more before me and wakes up at the last minute an hour after I get up. She sleeps significantly more than me and yet she always wants more sleep. I sleep less, drink more coffee, and exercise more, but I definitely don’t sleep enough. The differences fascinate me, but the reality is the same for both of us. We need more sleep almost every day. I notice an enormous difference in my demeanor, energy level, productivity, and mood on the days I get the rest my body requires. Sleep in college was a luxury. Sleep in my life today is a necessity. I can’t life without it and I don’t want to.

Sleep truly is vital to my life and vital to accomplishing my ridiculous goals. In my head I want to be the kind of person who can go without sleep and get a lot done, but I know the consequences. I might be able to get a decent amount done in the short-term, but it has lasting long-term effects that ultimately diminish my ability to function. I don’t like the person I become without sleep. I lose the vibrance, the energy, and the life I want to live. I’m making sleep a higher priority than in the past and I’m expecting great results. As a part of this goal I will also be incorporating nap times and recess, just like in elementary school. Sweet!

Let me know about your experiences with sleep since you left school in the comments below. I’d love to hear about them!

How to Make Every Moment of Your Day Productive

Jeff — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:16:44 +0000

Photo Courtesy of lastquest (flickr)

I am super type A. Personality tests tell me to see a doctor. My OCD is mild, but very apparent if you watch me work. My wife catches me talking to myself constantly, but she has gotten used to it. If you leave me alone in a room with a to-do list on a post-it note, I will build a spaceship out of toothpicks. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but I do put my quirks to good use. I spend much of my time finding ways to create more time. I focus a lot of my energy on productivity, effective habits, and useful ways to make my day more efficient. If you’re anything like me, you’re busy. Busy people need more time. From my own experience, if I successfully create more time I usually fill it with more stuff instead of meaningful activity. I don’t want you to take these strategies and simply make yourself busier. Focus on making your life more meaningful by filling your time with activities that enlighten your mind, stimulate your senses, and simply make you feel more alive.

First, in order to maximize our productivity we need to create more time and then fill it back up with the right stuff. In order to make every moment of your day productive you’ll need to analyze what you do on a daily basis. Make a list, create a calendar, or somehow put together a visual of a typical day for you. Be very specific and list every activity from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. Now figure out everything you can get rid of completely. This will be hard, so take a look at some suggestions below. The goal is to eliminate everything that isn’t essential to the accomplishment of your goals. Always be asking yourself, “WWJD?” What would Jeff do? (Please don’t compare me to Jesus, you’ll be sadly disappointed.)

Things to Subtract

Television (except right before bed if you choose)
All forms of News (your co-workers will fill you in on anything truly relevant)
Surfing the Internet (use the web for specific tasks, not browsing)
Unhealthy foods that zap your energy (have lunch with a vegan to get some ideas)
Repetitive tasks (like cleaning, organizing, or checking your email)
Decrease time on Social Media Websites (I’m a sucker for Facebook . .)
Shopping just to look (if you’re not looking for something specific, leave the store)

Now that you’ve freed up an enormous amount of time, let’s brainstorm some meaningful activities to add that will progress you further towards your goals.

Things to Add

Reading during lunch (read non-fiction books that teach you something)
Writing before work (write anything, even journal entries, just write)
Audio Podcasts in the car instead of music (consider audio that makes you think)
Dancing & Music (preferably done together and done often)
Exercising and Meditation (you will have more energy if you’re healthier)
Social Activities (friends and family are almost always a good choice)
Naps (practice makes perfect, be sure to master this skill)
Pets, Children, or both (try to add one at a time so you don’t go crazy)
Smiley Face Stickers to your Business Cards (I do this and it makes people happy)

If at this point your day isn’t quite complete or you’ve run out of time to squeeze everything in, take a look at the considerations below.

Things to Consider

Quitting Your Job (make a plan before you jump to this choice, but don’t rule it out)
Increasing Your Self-Discipline (hang out with an on-duty Marine)
Doing at least one thing every day that scares you (this is powerful, do it)
Vacationing Alone (this can really help you focus if you need time to think)
Batching Your Chores (like doing laundry once every three weeks)

Conclusion
Busier people are more productive. Focus on filling your life with meaningful activity and removing anything that isn’t beneficial. If you have any questions about things to get rid of or you need some more clever ideas about things to add just leave a comment below. Thanks!

100 Wishes

Jeff — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:46:01 +0000

Photo Courtesy of (: Petra (slow) (flickr)

(This is a guest post from Alie Davis of AlieDavis.com)

#66 I wish to go to Antarctica

I am so happy to be here, guest posting on the Graduated And Clueless blog! Today I want to share with you my biggest secret for setting ridiculous goals and making them happen…write your goals down!

#13 I wish to shake hands with President Obama

In life, we are often told to be happy with what we have, that it’s selfish to ask for more. After graduation you might quickly give up on finding your dream job, as your friends and family tell you that your job is perfectly adequate (or that you’re lucky to have a job at all). In big ways and in small ways everyday you are told that you can’t have it all, that you should just be happy that you have your health, or that you should be satisfied just doing what everyone else is doing.

# 71 I wish to take painting classes

Of course you should be grateful for what you have. Of course you should be happy you have your health. Of course you can cut yourself a little slack when it comes to finding your dream job. BUT that doesn’t mean that you should stop dreaming. That doesn’t mean you should stop looking for new experiences. That doesn’t mean that you should stop growing. That DEFINITELY doesn’t mean that you should be satisfied doing what everyone else is doing!

#43 I wish to spend the night in a haunted house

In the spirit of dreaming, I challenge you to write down your goals. But, here’s the catch, you can’t just write down the goals you think are most important. For example, you can’t just write down, “I wish to marry my soul-mate,” and call it a night. Of course marrying your soul-mate would be a dream come true, but that is only one goal! It’s about time you got used to the idea that life is going to be amazing in absolutely every way! In that spirit, I challenge you to write down one hundred goals.

#36 I wish to read every Dickens book

I don’t use the word “challenge,” lightly. This truly is a challenging assignment. My roommate and I decided to do make our lists in tandem, to keep each other motivated and get ideas from one another. He was finished in about three days. It took me exactly one month.

#79 I wish to walk in four inch heals

As you might have guessed, I felt a wee-bit bad asking for anything but the bare essentials. After all, I was already ridiculously happy, what more did I really need?

#94 I wish to fly in a private jet

I slowly expanded my mind, and every time I set a new goal I was silently telling myself “I really can have it all.” Like so many tasks, while writing down one hundred goals wasn’t easy, it was extremely rewarding. By the end of my list I was starting to think, “why not do a triathlon? -Well, that seems a bit too easy (never mind that I’m not a great swimmer) What about buying a designer handbag? Common, I’ve already got earn a million dollars on here, you think a designer handbag is going to be a big deal for me?”

#37 I wish to go whale watching and see a blue whale

I challenge you to dream big. I challenge you to have it all. I challenge you to push the limits of your imagination. I challenge you to write down one hundred things you want to do on this amazing journey, life. In the end, maybe you’ll accomplish all your goals, maybe you won’t; more importantly, when you embrace the idea that nothing is impossible you can stop looking for magic and miracles. Magic and miracles find you.

Guest Post by Alie Davis of AlieDavis.com.

Achieve Excellence by Eliminating Mediocrity

Jeff — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:12:11 +0000

: Photo Courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography (flickr)

I love progress. I love achievement, success, and all things extraordinary. I love being passionate, getting excited about things I love, and sharing my excitement with others. I especially love showing others how to improve their lives, even when it means telling them to stop doing what their doing.

Mediocrity Defined

Averageness; ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding; moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary: not extraordinary; not special, exceptional, or great; of medium quality

In a nut shell, mediocrity is neither amazing nor terrible. It’s neither fantastic nor miserable. It’s just blah. However, what seems average to one person is amazing to another. Where I might say graduating from high school with a C average is mediocre, someone else may be filled with joy because they achieved something they never imagined possible.

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.” - Joseph Heller

How to Spot Mediocrity in Your Own Life

Recently, I re-branded this blog. The tagline for Graduated And Clueless represents what I want to achieve through every post. I want to show others how to set ridiculous goals and actually make them happen. I want to help others avoid mediocrity. Just like goal-setting, mediocrity is personal. You know yourself better than anyone, so you know when you’re making progress and when you’re going no where.

In your life mediocrity might look like you lying on the couch after work, beer in hand, watching endless hours of House reruns. Mediocrity might be listening to repetitive Top 40 hits in the car, when you could be listening to a podcast about how to find your life’s passion. Mediocrity might be working the same mindless job every day simply because you’ve never taken the time to find a better one. Many times mediocrity is simply doing something that doesn’t matter, when you could be doing something that does.

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” - Peter F. Drucker

Eliminate Mediocrity

When you find yourself in the middle of mediocrity . . . run like hell. Being comfortable is dangerous. Being mediocre is the scariest place you can be because there is not motivation to do anything better. Don’t waste your time doing things that don’t matter. This is easier said than done, but I assume you can point out a few things you do every day that really could be eliminated. Thus, you can focus your energy and time on what you really want to do with your life.

“Everything I’ve ever done was out of a fear of being mediocre.” - Chet Atkins

Achieve Excellence

Imagine if you removed every bit of mediocrity from your life, what would that look like? What would you be doing with your time? By replacing the mediocre parts of your life with above average activities, you will be shocked at how fast you begin making progress toward things that matter, towards excellence. Excellence is also a personal achievement. You have the luxury of deciding what a true accomplishment is in your life. However, my recommendation is to think bigger. Set ridiculous goals. Stretch yourself further than you have imagined in the past. If done properly, what you consider amazing today will be mediocre tomorrow. Good luck on your goals and stay positive!

How to Become an Expert – Fast! (Part 2)

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:47:37 +0000

Photo Courtesy of puliarf (flickr)

(If you haven’t already, read Part 1 Here)

7. Join National Organizations

If nothing else, joining trade organizations will boost your perception, kind of like using fancy resume paper, people love it, even through it doesn’t make you any more qualified for the job. Check out the about us page to see how I’ve incorporated this idea. Don’t forget there are many organizations that you can use for networking, finding insider information, obtaining discounts on products, and many other perks you wouldn’t find otherwise.

8. Highlight Your Real and Ridiculous Experiences

To promote his best-selling book, The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss highlighted how he was a Chinese kickboxing champion, MTV break dancer, and a professional tango dancer. His book is about starting your own business, and yet his seemingly unrelated adventures in other areas of his life helped to promote his business expertise. Likewise, you should highlight your achievements, even if they seem outside of your industry, because it shows the kind of person you are. Hopefully, that means insanely successful. J

9. Start a Business

I’ve discussed this one before, but entrepreneurship is one of the best credentials you can flaunt, especially if your business becomes popular. To get a business started quickly and cheaply all you need is a $20 business license as a sole proprietor and a business card or two. Title yourself a consultant, advisor, or even expert and go from there. People will assume you’re knowledgeable and trust you more, simply because you own a business. Start there and you may find yourself on a whole new adventure, kind of like this website. I started Graduated And Clueless as way to gain some notoriety in the business world, which has lead me to write my own book (currently in production and due out in the spring!). I started with nothing to brag about, just some ideas and my own experiences.

10. Make Big Name Connections

To be viewed as an expert, sometimes all you need to do is hang out with experts. If you’ve ever known a celebrity in your industry, been to a seminar, worked at a Fortune 500 company, or have a successful friend or relative, you may be lot closer to big name connections than you think. Also, consider the most obvious solution to make new connections, contact someone directly. For my book, I have made it a habit to email or call people viewed as Big Name Goal-Setters. My success rate is about 20%, meaning only 1 out of every 5 people I contact respond back. But that means I have actually spoken to people most would never imagine you could do with a simple email. Try it and see what happens.

11. Read the top 5 Books in Your Industry

I love to read. This is actually a new love in my life. Before I graduated college, reading was a chore, a nasty annoyance that never seemed to go away. Now it’s what I do. I have a stack of books I’ve bought recently that I’m going through as fast as I can. Reading is one of those things that actually makes you smarter, more confident, and gives you a leg up on your competition. Though I’m not sure how accurate this is, I read that you will know more than 99% of all people in your industry by simply reading the top 5 books in that same industry. Meaning, if you read just 5 books about gardening, whether you like gardening or not, you will actually be in the top 1% of all gardeners out there. Sound too easy? Try it and let me know what happened.

12. Host a Free Seminar

This is probably one of the most effective ways to actually promote how much you now know. Imagine if you actually read those 5 books, wrote a few articles, started a small blog, got that cheap business license, chatted with a celebrity, joined a National Organization, and then decided to approach a local University or business that you wanted to host a FREE seminar to discuss your new passion? All of a sudden it doesn’t sound so far fetched? Now throw in the fact that you’ve published your own book and you won’t be turned down by anyone! Hosting a seminar is a sure-fire way to establish your credibility and new-found expertise.

The process to become an expert might seem intimidating, difficult, and lengthy; but as you can see it doesn’t have to be. There are many ways to establish credibility, highlight your skills and knowledge, and present yourself as a reliable source of information in your industry. In the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki discusses how one of his goals was to become a best-selling author, not a best-writing author. Notice the difference. He focused on selling his books more than becoming the world’s greatest writer, which allowed him to sell more books and establish himself as a dominant force in the personal finance world. So get out there and make it happen! Good luck on your journey to become an expert and stay positive!

How to Become an Expert – Fast! (Part 1)

Jeff — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:14:39 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Viernest (flickr)

Expert is a great buzz word online today because our perception of others as experts has changed dramatically since the birth of the Internet. Twenty years ago, or even sooner than that, being an expert meant having a PhD, decades of experience, and a dozen best-selling books. Today, being an expert could mean many different things. Here’s a breakdown of how you can become an expert quickly and with greater ease than you think.

Expert Loosely Defined: someone widely recognized as a reliable source of information and/or special skills

1. Establish What Credibility Means in Your Industry

Having worked many jobs myself, I can tell you that every industry is different. Being a credible expert will vary dramatically across the board. Know your industry and know it well. If you want to teach, having a PhD is highly recommended; but if you want to act on Broadway, no one really cares how many years of school you’ve toiled through or what diplomas hang on your wall at home. Look at the people who you consider to be experts in your field and copy them.

2. Forget Formal Education

Unless you’re planning on being a doctor, lawyer, or college professor, it is unlikely you need advanced degrees to move forward. In the world of education, degrees matter. In the world of business, results matter. As much as you want to flaunt your degrees to everyone you meet, the real world doesn’t care as much as you do about your GPA. Make things happen and be able to show the numbers to prove your accomplishments. Which sounds better: having an MBA, or owning a business that profits $20 million a year?

3. Write Articles

This is by far the EASIEST thing you can do to start gaining some recognition. The written word is a quick and easy way to establish yourself as a credible source of knowledge on any topic! Check out EzineArticles, Examiner, or eHow to get started contributing immediately.

4. Start a Blog and/or Podcast

Just like you’re reading now, writing a blog is probably the second easiest thing you can do to get noticed and share your knowledge and passion with the world. Check out this blog post on how to get started blogging. Podcasting is another great way to speak your mind if you enjoy talking about your industry. Grab a microphone, record a few quick episodes, add them to iTunes, and you’re already there.

5. Write a Book

Authors are the most highly recognized experts in ANY industry. If you’re truly serious about gaining recognition and establish awesome credibility, writing your own book is your best opportunity. Make it easy. Write an eBook, which is simply a Word document converted to a PDF. Record the audio yourself and turn the eBook into an audio book. Finally, self-publish the printed book. This could be as easy as printing the eBook and selling it as is. No one said the book had to be pretty, just completed.

6. Get Mentioned in the News

Though this sounds more difficult, it doesn’t have to be, especially if you’ve already finished that book you’re now thinking about and have a few articles published online. First, call a local journalist and tell them you’re a new author who is always available as a reference for your industry. Second, join PRNewswire or any other service where journalists seek out experts to use as sources on their stories.

*Read Part 2 of How to Become an Expert – Fast

Passions 101: The Power of Giving

Jeff — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:56:29 +0000

Photo by Cox Sports Marathon

What are Passions?

If you look in the dictionary, or on wikipedia, passions are described as everything from a strong emotional state, to anger, greed, lust, or other deadly sins. Though these my be historically accurate, on Graduated And Clueless we want to focus on the strong, positive emotions that get you excited about life. REALLY EXCITED! In my own life, passion is something that I stumble upon, something usually unexpected, and surprisingly amazing. For example, I am an avid runner. I love long distance running, especially marathons. This passion of mine was not something I was born with or had beaten into me by a track coach. Though I did run track and play soccer for many years, it wasn’t until I started running on my own during college that I discovered my love for the sport. I began running because I was fat. Not super obese, but definitely out of shape and in need of a total body makeover. I started running a half a mile per day, monday through friday. I then increased my distance by a half a mile per day, every week. Within a few weeks I was running 4-5 miles a day and getting in really great shape. When I ran my first 6-mile run, I was hooked. For some reason, that initial 6-miler turned me on to running like nothing else before it. I didn’t see it coming, and I never expected to turn that experience into a marathon the very next year. My passion was born.

My hope is that you have a passion that is as strong or stronger than my desire to run. Passions make you excited, they get your blood pumping, and they make every day worth living. Sound corny? Good. Because passions are real, they’re meaningful, and they help to establish your place in the world. To discover your own passion you can do what I did, start doing something. Start running, start dancing, join a new club, hang out with people who share a common interest . . . you get the point. Ultimately, passions should be what dictate your career decisions, your hobbies, your friends, and your lifestyle. I like to define myself with some key descriptors that I think help establish my existence: entrepreneur, runner, writer, and organization guru. These are four areas of my life that dictate how I live, and they don’t change very often. How does giving fit into the picture? Let’s break it down.

The Power of Giving

Bill Clinton wrote a book a few years ago entitled, “Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World.” In his book, Clinton describes how everyone can give and he lists numerous examples from people all over the world, from all walks of life, who are able and willing to give of themselves for the benefit of someone else. Passions and giving have a lot in common. Those who give the most tend to be wildly passionate about what they’re doing. Givers are people who devote their energy, time, money, and abilities to lift up another person, group, or cause. More importantly, givers make a conscious effort every day to find ways they can help.

Giving can be impulsive, but it’s best when it’s habitual, when it’s a lifestyle.

One day I hope that I will have the courage to list giving as one of those descriptors of my life, along with everything else I’m involved with and passionate about. Being a giving person isn’t a title someone else gives to you, it’s a label you earn yourself through your own acts of kindness and generosity. Becoming a giving person is one my life goals, a goal that I focus on every day. Right now I can’t afford to donate millions of dollars to charity, or work full-time helping a homeless shelter, but I CAN give something. I CAN use my passions to benefit others now. From the little things I can do today, to the big things I hope to accomplish tomorrow, giving is a lifestyle, and one I plan to continue indefinitely.

Start Giving and Discover Your Passion

If you’re struggling with trying to identify what you’re truly passionate about, don’t sweat it. Just get out and start giving. One of the greatest ways to find meaning and purpose in life is to help others. Whether it be directly through your career, like working for a non-profit agency, teaching, providing healthcare, etc., or whether you volunteer on the weekends, getting started with giving is the first step. The mission statement of Graduated And Clueless is to help others discover their passion, pursue their career, and transform their lives. Giving is a wonderful way to ignite that process. Start giving today, identify your passion, and don’t hold back as you leap forward into new adventures that could develop into a profitable and fulfilling career andlifestyle.

Turn Your Current Passion into Generosity

In 2008, I completed my first marathon in Providence, Rhode Island and raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which provides free healthcare for children with catastrophic childhood diseases. The photo above is me crossing the finish line wearing my St. Jude jersey. My wife, Tessa, worked as a fundraiser for St. Jude in their Watertown, Massachusetts office during grad school and she convinced me to run the marathon. Though the weather was gross that day, the experience was phenomenal! It’s easy to push forward knowing you’re helping children who would give anything to be in your shoes. Because of our experiences in helping St. Jude, we have made their organization the official charity of Graduated And Clueless. 10% of ALL profits from Graduated And Clueless are donated directly to St. Jude. St. Jude is a fantastic organization and I can’t imagine a better charity to support through our business and our personal lives. If you would like to find out more about how you can support St. Jude, visit our page here. Thanks in advance for your generosity!

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital