Perspective is a good thing to have when you need to put the blinders on just to get over a bump in the road. Having people to be there for you, and help keep you balanced and in check, is something I’ve been extremely grateful for my entire life. Do you ever get so lost in the problem that you forget why you even started down that path to begin with? Maybe you even feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself that you loved or respected in exchange for reaching an ultimate goal that you decided was worth pursuing. Maybe what you need is an outsider’s perspective to help you figure things out.
As many people in the blogosphere will tell you, personal branding is not an easy thing. I found this out in 2006 after graduating college in the beginnings of this nasty recession. To come up with a personal brand from scratch is a confusing and challenging task. Sure, someone who’s self-aware and on the right path in life can tell you where he or she wants to be down the road. But, as I found with myself, and as I’m finding with many people I meet, taking a hard look at one’s life and really tuning into what drives you sometimes takes an outsider’s perspective and a lot of kindness and patience. You know you need a change, but you lack perspective, and pulling it out of thin air can be next to impossible for some people.
I’ve had friends literally corner me in their kitchen with a white board and a pot of chili and tell me that I’m not leaving until I figure out what the hell I want out of my life. If I had been any more indignant, they probably would have tied me up and put a sock in my mouth, but luckily they sat there and let me ramble and talk about why I hated my job, why I hated searching for jobs, interviewing for jobs and getting rejected for jobs. They let me get all my complaining out and then hit me with the question, “What do you want?”
I wanted change, I wanted a better life, and I wanted it sooner than I could have it because I was spinning my wheels so furiously that I didn’t even look down to see that I had no traction. I’ve never questioned my ability to work hard, but sometimes working hard for the sake of working hard is just ridiculous, especially when the point to which you’re working is undefined. I am so grateful for my friends and colleagues who have helped keep me on track with their outside perspectives. It sucks to hear when you’re unsure of yourself and caught in a routine of hard work without progress, but after I’m done being defensive and indecisive, I truly appreciate hearing, “Dude, you’re not getting anywhere, you sure you want to be going down that road?”
Some people have tried to steer me, and some have tried to dissuade me from what I’ve wanted, but every single person I’ve encountered in life who’s given me an honest perspective on what I’m doing has helped me more than they know. A friend recently called me “exuberantly optimistic” in the ventures I’ve taken in life. I honestly do get super pumped up and focused on making anything I undertake succeed. It’s a blessing and a curse, an almost comical curse if you ask me. I look like a fool when something I was just certain would work ends up blowing up in my face. But, then when it does work, I realize I’ve set the bar so high in my own eyes as well as others that all I get is a “congrats, so now what’s next?”
I’d ask to be given some slack, but I appreciate being pushed to my limits way too much to take any sort of break from this interesting life I’ve formed for myself. I just hope that I can repay every person that’s helped me, and even some people who haven’t helped me so much, by expecting more of them and giving them that extra nudge and bit of perspective that I’ve always coveted and gladly used.
Appreciative Revolutionary: James (aka JR) Moreau (@JRMoreau)
Bio: JR Moreau a Community Specialist at Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for young brazen professionals of the Generation Y persuasion. Outside of work-hours he drinks lots of coffee, laughs louder than your average Joe, reads unwieldy fiction and is always attempting to flip a so-called “problem” on its head with positivity and crafty insight.
You can get JR’s attention by finding him at his Brazen Careerist profile and sending him a private message.
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cake Batter Oreo
I appreciate James’ sense of humor, his ambition and inquisitiveness, and his passion for keeping Gen Y connected!
