{"id":550,"date":"2008-09-18T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2008-09-18T16:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/2008\/09\/18\/how-to-be-outstanding\/"},"modified":"2010-05-02T07:47:01","modified_gmt":"2010-05-02T14:47:01","slug":"how-to-be-outstanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2008\/09\/18\/how-to-be-outstanding\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be Outstanding"},"content":{"rendered":"
Written by Simply Tina<\/a><\/p>\n “If you do what you love to do, then you won’t do it in an average way<\/em>.” Are you exceptional in your line of work? Do you love what you do? Perhaps that’s why you are or aren’t getting the results you want.<\/p>\n People who consistently achieve outstanding results all have this in common: they are passionate<\/em> about what they do. It’s no longer work, but an active participation of joy and creativity.<\/p>\n This article takes a deeper look into outstanding performance, and gives guidance as to how you can manifest outstanding results in your life.<\/p>\n First, I’ll start with a slice from my own experience:<\/p>\n Five years of my life was spent in University<\/a> getting a Math<\/a> and Computer Science degree so that I could get a high-tech job with guaranteed security<\/a>. School was tough and flew by quickly. After battling it out with other competitors chasing after the same jobs, I got what I wanted and landed in Seattle.<\/p>\n Very soon after, I realized that I wasn’t that great at programming software, nor was I very interested in it. I got my job done, but I felt that I had to work extra hard just to keep up with my peers. I longed to fit-in with other engineers and felt like a sore thumb sticking out in the crowd. “One day, they’re gonna find out\u2026<\/em>” I used to tell myself during the first six months on the job.<\/p>\n I knew better. I knew that I wasn’t average. I knew that my best was excellent. I pulled long hours, worked on weekends, was addicted to caffeine, and within a few month, I developed an immune system disorder called Psoriasis Rosea<\/a> from stress. It was the drive to be outstanding, in a position that wasn’t fit for me or my interests which brought me to this low point.<\/p>\n Overtime, I recognized that I naturally gravitated towards designing graphical interfaces and that I naturally obsessed over the user’s experience while using software. I wanted to do that professionally, but lacked the education or experience. A roadblock had appeared before me. I had voiced my intentions to my manager and was told No<\/em>; again, another roadblock.<\/p>\n I didn’t give up. I read books, took seminars, worked on personal design projects and brought my new found knowledge onto the job. I incorporated design and user experience considerations into everything I worked on as an engineer. I developed a small reputation among neighboring teams, and soon was unofficially offering my user-experience expertise to other teams within the company. Despite it not being my job, I did it anyway. I did so because it was what I loved doing, it came natural to me and I felt that I was exceptional at it.<\/p>\n Over the next couple of years, I faced resistance and adversity surrounding my professional transition, but I clung to my clearly desired target<\/em>. Through persistence and never giving up hope for my dream job, two years later, I officially became a user-experience designer for amazon.com. Since then, I have never looked back with regret.<\/p>\n Here is a summary of lessons I’ve learned through this experience:<\/p>\n At any given point, we have the option to choose one of many potential lives for ourselves. Ask yourself, which of the many lives will inspire me more? Which do I desire the most? What do I gravitate towards? What does my heart say?<\/p>\n Some of you may be wondering, what if I don’t have a passion?<\/em> Then, go out and find one. The thing to note is that we’re not restricted to a single passion, we may have many. But at any particular moment there is only one that we want more than the rest. Make that your focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are no right or wrong answers. Your interests, desires and passions are a reflection of the unique brand that is you. No one else can discover or express your passions for you.<\/p>\n Here are some questions and tips aimed at helping you discover your passion. I recommend grabbing a pen and notepad to answer some of them on paper. Write down the first few answers that come to mind without editing.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that your passions can change, especially after they have been attained. Be flexible, open and sensitive to your feelings. Adjust your current situation as you see fit.<\/p>\n “Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and a need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day<\/em>.” A common theme I’ve seen in many people is to give up before they even try. “Well, I gotta pay the bills. I’d love to do my music\/photography\/online-business\/<insert interest>, but I just can’t. This is the way it has to be and there’s nothing I can do about it<\/em>.”<\/p>\n I have personally known far too many musicians, photographers, writers and entrepreneurs who have created successful business and promotional models for themselves, for me to buy into the above belief. Yes, some of these occupations and interests have a reputation for not paying enough money to survive on. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t create a bright future for yourself, if you make it your passion. Hope<\/em> is<\/strong> within reach, it’s up to us to grab it.<\/p>\n Fear will paralyze us if we let it.<\/p>\n Both examples showcase musicians, but similar stories can be found for other creative professions.<\/p>\n Case 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n In high school, Joshua Roman<\/a> excelled at Math and Physics and later had the option to pursue it at a graduate level. It seemed to have been a more secure option with guaranteed income. Instead, Josh took the “high-risk” career path and made the passion-filled, regret-free decision to dedicate himself to classical music. He followed his heart and despite some initial setbacks upon graduation, his faith, persistence and hard work has paid off – big time<\/em>.<\/p>\n On a flight back to Seattle, my 23 year old friend was asked by the woman sitting next to him, “What do you do for a living?” Josh quickly and proudly answered, “I’m a Cellist.” She looked puzzled, and asked “You can make a living doing that?” Little did she know, Josh was one of the highest paid musicians in the Seattle Symphony and had recently signed a record deal with Sony Japan.<\/p>\n Case 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n Derek Sivers<\/a> has been a fulltime musician since he was 18. In 1998, with a passion for music and a desire to help fellow musicians, he created CDBaby<\/a> – an independent music distribution site. At the time of starting CDBaby, Derek knew only basic html, and had taught himself enough web programming and basic database concepts to get the site going. He continued learning as the site grew.<\/p>\n Most people might instantly shy away from technology, out of fear of the unknown or of feeling stupid. Not Derek. He stepped up and jumped head first into the fire. Pretty cool huh?<\/p>\n Over the past ten years, CDBaby has distributed around 4.6 million CDs and generated 85 million dollars that has been paid directly<\/em> to independent bands. That’s what I call, “Making History, Baby<\/em>!”<\/p>\n There are several pitfalls and myths surrounding making a living while following your passions.<\/p>\n 1. Myth: You need a formal education before you can \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n For some professions such as medical physicians, yes, this is true. In most cases, education is optional. In cases where formal education is optional, this myth only acts as a mind trap to cause self-doubt and friction on the path to pursuing our passions.<\/p>\n In many professions, experience, a solid skill set and a drive to succeed are much more valuable and essential than a formal education.<\/p>\n 2. Tip: Become your own teacher and your own best student.<\/strong><\/p>\n Many exceptional people are in their respective fields as a result of self taught skills. Go out of your way to learn, read as much as you can on the subject, take classes that will expand your skills. Then practice as much as you can.<\/p>\n 3. Question: “But what if I don’t have any experience? No one will hire me without experience. I’m doomed. Poor me.<\/em>“<\/strong><\/p>\n Stop complaining. Go out and get some experience! Talking about it is a waste of time – it gains you nothing, except the conviction that you’re doomed.<\/p>\n Offer your time and skill for free. Create the opportunity for yourself by initiating your own projects. Offer yourself as an intern in your desired industry, continue cold calling companies until you get something. Never give up.<\/p>\n 4. Tip: Believing In Yourself – Confidence Building<\/strong><\/p>\n What often stops us from pursuing and succeeding in our chosen passion is ourselves. Out mind gets so cluttered with doubt and self-defeating thoughts that we end up believing them and giving up.<\/p>\n This fear and resistance to change is something we all experience and can relate to. There is no magic pill that’ll make these thoughts go away. Only this advice: practice taking action despite fear and doubt, as often as possible<\/em>. We are creatures of habit, the more we repeat something, the better we get at it, the more automatic it becomes, and the more natural it feels.<\/p>\n Here are some tips that I have personally found helpful in confidence building:<\/p>\n As you strengthen your beliefs about your skills and continue to perfect your craft, you’ll notice a shift in the way in which people respond to you. They will start to see you as the more wholesome you.<\/p>\n 5. Tip: Talk often about what you want<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to taking action towards what you want, tell other people about it. Tell your close friends, your manager, and your family. Telling others does four things:<\/p>\n Continue to take action every day and every week towards your target. However small the action may seem, it will help you get one step closer to your goal.<\/p>\n My only caveat<\/em> is to avoid telling people who generally lean towards the negative. Reserve it for people who want to help you, are supportive, and preferably have a positive outlook on life.<\/p>\n 6. Tip: Find a Mentor<\/strong><\/p>\n Having a mentor will not only accelerate your learning in a particular field and steer you away from common mistakes, but also gives you valuable insight and visibility to helping you determine whether this is something you really want.<\/p>\n If you’re working at a company as a computer programmer but are interested in working as a project manager, talk to a senior PM and see if you can be mentored by them. Make it clear that you won’t take too much of their time.<\/p>\n If you’re a photographer trying to get into commercial photography, find someone who is already doing that and offer your time as an assistant for free, in exchange to be in the studio to watch and learn.<\/p>\n If you don’t know anyone personally who is achieving the kind of results you desire, go out and find them. Go to cultural events where such people would frequent. Alternatively, a wealth of information is available online or in books at minimal cost.<\/p>\n Be thoughtful and considerate when approaching potential mentors. Don’t take “no” personally. Think about what you can offer them (that is actually valuable to them) in exchange for their time.<\/p>\n We all posses the seed for being Outstanding, it’s just that some of us haven’t fully bloomed yet. We all have the capabilities, imagination, and foundation to achieve extraordinary results. The secret lies in having a clear target, following our heart, taking continuous small steps, acting despite fear, adjusting as we proceed and keeping moving without giving up.<\/p>\n With these simple ingredients, every-day-people can and will achieve exceptional things. Guaranteed!<\/p>\n I have faith in you. Throw out your fears and listen to your heart. I look forward to seeing the Outstanding person that you are, come alive.<\/p>\n Until next week\u2026What are you passionate about? Share your thoughts in the comments!<\/strong> See you there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Simply Tina Photo of Gala Darling. One of the most outstanding people who I admire. “If you do what you love to do, then you won’t do it in an average way.” ~ Angela Bassett Are you exceptional in your line of work? Do you love what you do? Perhaps that’s why you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1735,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/1735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPhoto of Gala Darling<\/a>. One of the most outstanding people who I admire.<\/small><\/p>\n
\n~ Angela Bassett<\/p>\nMy Story Continues \u2026<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Lessons from Following My Passion<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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Finding Your Passion<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\nPhoto by Mike BG<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n\n
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Creating the Way<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\n~ Abraham Maslow<\/a> (comments by Derek Sivers<\/a>)<\/p>\nCreating the Way: Real-Life Case Studies<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Common Pitfalls + Tips<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\nPhoto: Sim\u00f3n Pais-Thomas<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n\n
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Parting Words<\/strong><\/h5>\n