November 5, 2010
Orlando, Florida
Learning something new is essential to growing as a person. You need to do things that break you out of your comfort zone in order to grow and that typically means you have to learn something new.
This post is sort of an add-on to my post on How To: Brand Yourself During College because I felt that I should include this, no other reason.
I want to give you some harsh truths in this post. Something that really hurt when I heard it first spoken to me.
You are the same as anyone else trying to get a job and there is nothing that truly has you standing out from the crowd.
Say it with me now….”Ouch”.
So, I’m here to show you what I personally have done after hearing that and what I plan on doing for the rest of my life now that I know this.
I become obsessed with learning even more, buying book after book on marketing, sales and advertising. Along with personal development and other business necessities. Check out my current bookshelf right now below, it doesn’t include the 60 books I have on my Kindle or the 30 or so books I left at my parents house when I moved to Florida.
Who cares about your bookshelf, Chris?
You’re absolutely right. It’s nothing spectacular and plenty of people have bigger bookshelves with more books and some people even have rooms in their house dedicated to books(one of my dreams).
The thing that I am proud of is that I’ve read those books once if not twice or three times. I’ve marked those books up with highlighters, taken notes out of them, learned the material and tested the material that is inside those books. I am learning every single day from people who have already done what I want to do and will continue to do this until the day I die.
But why?
Well, I personally am someone who has huge dreams. I’m talking HUGGGEEE dreams. You know; being able to travel the world without worrying about working a day, being able to spend a month on a beach relaxing with locals learning how to surf, being financially independent by age 25 and being a super happy person because I get to spend my time doing the things I love.
I know that right now it isn’t necessarily paying off, nothing that is worth it is immediate. I know that the information that I am learning and applying is going to add to my skill-set so that my value to the world goes up. When I ask for a price for an hour of my time or to be hired as a consultant, I want the person hiring me to be more than happy to pay it because they know I am going to be an asset to them. I want any business that hires me whether as an employee, a consultant or an independent contractor, to be ecstatic that they have the opportunity to work with me and be willing to pay any price I ask of them.
So why was this in response to the college branding post?
I read a majority of those books while going through college. I spent time outside of the classroom to learn and develop these skills. Don’t even think that I didn’t have a blast going to college, because it was some of the best days of my life. However, I realized that not everyday is meant to be a party and took off certain weekends from hanging out with people or partying in order to spend time learning. I spent time being a nerd and I’m damn proud of it.
If you are in college or just graduating from college and are worried about getting a job, take the time to differentiate yourself from others. Create a blog, learn how to create websites, learn SEO, learn graphic design, learn skills that not everyone knows. Go above and beyond in everything you do and you will be rewarded, I promise you that.
Anyways, this is the end of my rant. Basically I just want you to succeed and you need to realize that anyone who has become successful has been where you are right now. Whether you are struggling or starting to see success, there is more to come if you are willing to learn and work hard.
Please share this post with anyone who’s in college or just graduated who you feel can benefit from this post. It was written for them and may get them excited to grow as a person and become an indispensable asset to a business. Share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Digg it and I’ll be super happy!
If you read this at a time when I have a corporation in which I can hire you, send me your resume and I will see what I can do to get you an interview.