I was on the phone earlier today(June 16) with Ori Bengal, @CouchSurfingOri on twitter and I had a serious question to ask him that has to do with one of his specialties and something that I really want to bring into my life…..Travel.
You probably don’t know, but I was asked to go to the Philippines for 3 months to train a team to handle Social Media Marketing and Online Marketing campaigns for businesses. Basically I’ll be training a team on what I am an expert in and then having them handle this for my clients(possibly you ).
I personally think it’s awesome that I can leverage my mind by teaching others the information that I have learned. By teaching people; I also learn more which makes me happier.
This is my first time writing a blog post like this so I’m just going to spit out a bunch of the feelings that I experienced while being on the phone and realizing that I can actually do this. I, Chris Hughes, have the opportunity to live outside of the United States and experience something that I never thought I’d really be able to do…move to a foreign country.
Feelings:
- Excitement
- Kid in a candy shop gut feeling where I can’t stop smiling….I’m guessing this is what it would feel like to be inside of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
- Nervous
- Anxious
- Confused
- Concerned
- Insignificant
- Scared
- Optimistic
Creating My Life…
it’s feelings like this that really seem to shape our lives, well at least for me that have helped shape my life so far. I love experiencing these feelings as that’s when I really grow as a person…
I honestly can say I am so excited that I am nervous about this point of my life. I’m going to be officially done with my Bachelor’s education and moving onto a new part of my life. I’m also a little nervous about this post because, well..it’s different. It’s out there, it’s not normal marketing stuff as much as it is personal development and life lessons that I have. Oh well, we will see what happens. Maybe you’ll even enjoy this type of post more than you enjoy my marketing stuff… be sure to let me know in the comments after you finish reading.
So a little background on my life right now:
- 22 years old
- taking 4 summer classes from June 1 until August 14th at Buffalo State College
- I’ve been trying to build a business that performs online marketing for businesses as well as consulting on the side. (If you haven’t heard about the benefits of Gen Y Consulting read this) ps- I’m Gen Y
- Living in Buffalo, NY
Now you know a little about what position I am in in my life. You know, confused about what exactly life is supposed to be like, unsure about the future, unsure about what I want to do as a job, what I want to do for a career, what I want to do for fun, and who I want to ultimately be. I’m thinking that living a life like Sir Richard Branson would be an awesome thing to do… but so would living on a beach teaching surf lessons to tourists…well in that case, so would living in the jungle with leading zip-lining trips as my job. At this point in my life, I could maybe even pursue a career teaching yoga classes in the middle of a major city for all I know?
Maybe even hosting leadership camps for businesses and helping people become better at establishing successful teams. The world really is full of opportunities and I don’t know what I’m going to pursue.
Do we ever really know?
I want you to ask yourself this question. Do you really know what you want to be when you grow up?
Even if you are a grown up, what did you want to be as a kid that you put off because you were told it wasn’t going to be a safe choice? I know that most people wanted to be an astronaut, doctor, professional basketball player(this was me), or maybe even a world class juggler. However, society is always trying to force us to do whats safe. I’m not sure if I believe that “doing whats safe” is the way to go at this part of my life.
This is exactly why I feel like heading to the Philippines is a smart choice for me. It will allow me to pursue one of my dreams and travel to the Philippines, save me money, and be a great business experience.
The reason I’ve written this is because I’ve been reading Linchpin:Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin and I’ve realized that it’s the people who do things differently that create change in businesses and lead to true breakthroughs in their lives. It’s stepping outside of your comfort zone to be unique and truly become a linchpin. I feel like I am ready to become a linchpin.
What do YOU think?
Should I go? Should I stay? Should I wait to move out to California until AFTER I have saved the money to live there? It’s now your turn to participate in this and let me know if you’ve had any travel experiences or if you have any advice for me…. oh…by the way, I’m definitely going to be going to the Philippines. Don’t miss me too much