Monica: great post. I recently discovered your work through Joseph Yi who I connected with on Brazen Careerist. You laid out three very important goals for yourself that I can identify with (1) home/job, (2) creating, and (3) ways to challenge the status quo. Here's my take:
(1) Home/job:sounds like you and your husband are ready for a change. My wife and I made a huge leap in 2009, moving our family from New Jersey to Jerusalem, Israel. It has been a lifelong dream for her and a recent obsession of mine to move here. The ideal of raising our children in the Holy Land and connecting with our spiritual roots still persists despite the difficulty of uprooting your entire life across an ocean to an alien culture. We've taken our knocks and are adjusting. For 2010 I'm resolved to view Israel like the Wild West. Businesses here are just starting to integrate some of the more established online behaviors we are used to in the US and I'm seeing more opportunities here for an English speaking lawyer who works in this space (I am the lead community manager for a network of 25K lawyers and growing – another thing to do in 2010 is find a better term for “community manager” … I've been thinking either “janitor” or “party host” not sure though ; D). As for home, we have a lease in the city for 2 years which gives us time to find a neighborhood and buy a house. By the end of this year we want a neighborhood picked out.
(2) Creating – awesome to see you are writing fiction. I wrote a novel 4 years ago, think if Harry Potter did kung fu, but quickly grew to hate it over the years. My creative project for 2010 is to write my blog to book called Lurkers Anonymous: Strategies for Dealing with Invisibility on the Web. My first post went up today so I guess I am already started (http://lurking101.com)!
(3) Ways to Challenge the Status Quo – this is an interesting one. I wish you luck on the job search (your blog is proof enough that you would kick a**), and have found that being a “purple cow” in the corporate creameries is a fun way to love what you do. I work for a major corporation in the legal world (if we were in the beverage industry think Coke v. Pepsi) and LOVE my work. Just this year I moved into Web Strategy and find I can make a real difference by challenging the company to do things a bit differently. Pursuing disruptive strategies like getting to know our detractors better and finding out why they hate us, giving away lots more for free, and starting a revolution in the way we communicate are just a few of the general categories of things I am hoping to do. On the concrete side of things, I am starting a series on You Tube called Tech Talks where I interview different people in the tech, social media, and legal worlds to get unique perspectives on a host of topics. We do everything via Skype video and I just did my first piece with Chris Boudreaux from SocialMediaGovernance.com. It should be posting in the next week, and I already have some more calls planned.
Thanks for the great topic, and I'm looking forward to reading more from you in 2010. Happy New Year!
Great post. I'm really looking forward to Untemplater – I can't believe that it's taken people this long to realize that we can be just as passionate about a Tim Ferriss-type lifestyle versus the corporate lifestyle that is so often attacked in lifestyle design circles. After all, why should we avoid doing something we're passionate about? It makes no sense, and sometimes lifestyle design is just over-reactionary.
Good luck Monica. I had no idea you were thinking about/considering a move. I'm sure whatever you do will be great. Cheers to you and your husband in 2010!
Awesome awesome comment! (And also cool that you reposted it to your own blog.)
It's really interesting to me that you moved to Israel. I am dying to visit there, so hopefully someday I'll be able to see the lands of the bible.
You make a good point about creative projects – I feel like everyone should have at least one big creative project planned per year. HR professionals often say that many people don't feel freedom to be creative in their 9 to 5; yet if people just did a creative project outside of work, they might not have that craving.
I really hope “purple cow” is an asset in the workplace! I think I need new perspective because just graduated with my MBA from a super conservative school that does everything by the book. For example, in consulting, they say they value unique backgrounds, yet people rehearse for interviews for up to 50 hours, planning out even stupid things like how to greet the interviewer properly. It was a ridiculous dance of memorization IMO.
I think lifestyle design can be an over-reaction for some people too. It does amazing things for some people – allowing them to experience the world, allowing them to pay off debt quickly or start a new business – but it doesn't necessarily make people happier.
What I love about Tim Ferriss though is that he's completely cognizant of that. I think his point about lifestyle design is partially just that you can do things differently than the status quo you are taught.
Nice set of goals, Monica. I can relate to the theme of scaling back and it shows in my own “goal” for this year: to stop letting excuses get in the way. That is my alternative to setting these specific goals and unending projects that get completely out of hand by February.
Sounds like this year will be full of opportunities and for you and your husband as well. I also look forward to the release of Untemplater… you guys have gotten me all worked up about it!
Nice set of goals, Monica. I can relate to the theme of scaling back and it shows in my own “goal” for this year: to stop letting excuses get in the way. That is my alternative to setting these specific goals and unending projects that get completely out of hand by February.
Sounds like this year will be full of opportunities and for you and your husband as well. I also look forward to the release of Untemplater… you guys have gotten me all worked up about it!
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
"Must read for business owners, marketing professionals, or students looking to understand the next monumental shift in marketing and advertising." Patrick Ambron, CMO of Brand Yourself software
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Monica: great post. I recently discovered your work through Joseph Yi who I connected with on Brazen Careerist. You laid out three very important goals for yourself that I can identify with (1) home/job, (2) creating, and (3) ways to challenge the status quo. Here's my take:
(1) Home/job:sounds like you and your husband are ready for a change. My wife and I made a huge leap in 2009, moving our family from New Jersey to Jerusalem, Israel. It has been a lifelong dream for her and a recent obsession of mine to move here. The ideal of raising our children in the Holy Land and connecting with our spiritual roots still persists despite the difficulty of uprooting your entire life across an ocean to an alien culture. We've taken our knocks and are adjusting. For 2010 I'm resolved to view Israel like the Wild West. Businesses here are just starting to integrate some of the more established online behaviors we are used to in the US and I'm seeing more opportunities here for an English speaking lawyer who works in this space (I am the lead community manager for a network of 25K lawyers and growing – another thing to do in 2010 is find a better term for “community manager” … I've been thinking either “janitor” or “party host” not sure though ; D). As for home, we have a lease in the city for 2 years which gives us time to find a neighborhood and buy a house. By the end of this year we want a neighborhood picked out.
(2) Creating – awesome to see you are writing fiction. I wrote a novel 4 years ago, think if Harry Potter did kung fu, but quickly grew to hate it over the years. My creative project for 2010 is to write my blog to book called Lurkers Anonymous: Strategies for Dealing with Invisibility on the Web. My first post went up today so I guess I am already started (http://lurking101.com)!
(3) Ways to Challenge the Status Quo – this is an interesting one. I wish you luck on the job search (your blog is proof enough that you would kick a**), and have found that being a “purple cow” in the corporate creameries is a fun way to love what you do. I work for a major corporation in the legal world (if we were in the beverage industry think Coke v. Pepsi) and LOVE my work. Just this year I moved into Web Strategy and find I can make a real difference by challenging the company to do things a bit differently. Pursuing disruptive strategies like getting to know our detractors better and finding out why they hate us, giving away lots more for free, and starting a revolution in the way we communicate are just a few of the general categories of things I am hoping to do. On the concrete side of things, I am starting a series on You Tube called Tech Talks where I interview different people in the tech, social media, and legal worlds to get unique perspectives on a host of topics. We do everything via Skype video and I just did my first piece with Chris Boudreaux from SocialMediaGovernance.com. It should be posting in the next week, and I already have some more calls planned.
Thanks for the great topic, and I'm looking forward to reading more from you in 2010. Happy New Year!
Hey Monica,
Great post. I'm really looking forward to Untemplater – I can't believe that it's taken people this long to realize that we can be just as passionate about a Tim Ferriss-type lifestyle versus the corporate lifestyle that is so often attacked in lifestyle design circles. After all, why should we avoid doing something we're passionate about? It makes no sense, and sometimes lifestyle design is just over-reactionary.
Good luck Monica. I had no idea you were thinking about/considering a move. I'm sure whatever you do will be great. Cheers to you and your husband in 2010!
Hi Mike,
Awesome awesome comment! (And also cool that you reposted it to your own blog.)
It's really interesting to me that you moved to Israel. I am dying to visit there, so hopefully someday I'll be able to see the lands of the bible.
You make a good point about creative projects – I feel like everyone should have at least one big creative project planned per year. HR professionals often say that many people don't feel freedom to be creative in their 9 to 5; yet if people just did a creative project outside of work, they might not have that craving.
I really hope “purple cow” is an asset in the workplace! I think I need new perspective because just graduated with my MBA from a super conservative school that does everything by the book. For example, in consulting, they say they value unique backgrounds, yet people rehearse for interviews for up to 50 hours, planning out even stupid things like how to greet the interviewer properly. It was a ridiculous dance of memorization IMO.
Happy new year, and thank you for the comment!
Brett,
I think lifestyle design can be an over-reaction for some people too. It does amazing things for some people – allowing them to experience the world, allowing them to pay off debt quickly or start a new business – but it doesn't necessarily make people happier.
What I love about Tim Ferriss though is that he's completely cognizant of that. I think his point about lifestyle design is partially just that you can do things differently than the status quo you are taught.
Nice set of goals, Monica. I can relate to the theme of scaling back and it shows in my own “goal” for this year: to stop letting excuses get in the way. That is my alternative to setting these specific goals and unending projects that get completely out of hand by February.
Sounds like this year will be full of opportunities and for you and your husband as well. I also look forward to the release of Untemplater… you guys have gotten me all worked up about it!
Nice set of goals, Monica. I can relate to the theme of scaling back and it shows in my own “goal” for this year: to stop letting excuses get in the way. That is my alternative to setting these specific goals and unending projects that get completely out of hand by February.
Sounds like this year will be full of opportunities and for you and your husband as well. I also look forward to the release of Untemplater… you guys have gotten me all worked up about it!