Two types of jobs

I think there's two types of jobs: Survival Jobs and Thriving Jobs.

Early in your career, survival jobs are tempting. It's so much more direct to see the effect of a couple more dollars of hourly pay. I mean $15/hr sounds way better than $10/hr. But if the $15/hr job is a job you don't enjoy and offers no career progression, then it's worth considering spending your time elsewhere.

If there's an amazing opportunity to work with someone you really admire up close, but it only pays $10/hr, is it worth it?

Absolutely, yes.

This is an example of a thriving job. The value of a thriving job is more than it's upfront monetary amount. It has other values such as:

1. Mentorship
2. Access to a larger network of people (and opportunities)
3. Cooler stories to tell and experience
4. A higher sense of fulfillment and purpose

So yes, you could earn that extra $5/hr and go home with $40 more in your pocket each work day. Or you could go home with excitement, growth, and satisfaction.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 24/56

1. Fitness: 10/26 sessions completed this cycle
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Note: moving and the new job has been a total time suck. Love work and settling in my new place, but other things have to be put on hold.

Make Sure To Earn Both

Investors buy potential.

Customers buy results.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 23/56

1. Fitness: Doing 23 burpies each morning if I'm not exercising that day. This morning was fun. (10/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Get More By Choosing 3

Every morning, I want you to choose 3 things.

The 3 priorities that you will seek to accomplish that day. Forget the news, social media, or YouTube. The morning is for you to set intention. Don't let distractions steal your attention.

When you set your 3 priorities, make sure it gets done.

You can accomplish more if you want to, after your 3 priorities are done. But choose the success of those 3 before anything else.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 22/56

1. Fitness: Rest day. (10/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Fulfillment Comes From Effort

Whatever you set your priorities as, make sure you put your full effort into them.

That's one piece of advice that will always lead to personal success. The way you define success should be about choosing the things you want to focus on for a certain period of time, and putting your full energy into them.

To some, this is doing really well in school.

To others, this is raising a baby and putting our all into it.

Whatever your priorities are, if you slack on them and just neglect them, you're going to feel really bad. Because it's something you want, and you're putting zero effort into it, you're going to put yourself into a spiral of non-actualization.

But if it's truly a priority to you mentally, it'll get done.

And when you put in the most amount of effort to get that result you really desire, whether that's a behavioral change, or a professional promotion, you'll feel satisfied that you put your all into the hunt. The meat will just be the icing on top.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 21/56

1. Fitness: Rest day. (10/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Note: Man this has gotten out of hand. Ever just feel out of it? I set all of these audacious goals, but starting my first week of work really changed my priorities. I want to practice self-acceptance, though so I can forgive myself for missing these few weeks as I adapt myself to the new job.

Less Complaining More Problem Solving

Complaining feels like we're getting stuff done.

Problem solving actually gets the stuff done.

And although complaining feels fun in the moment to build rapport with some people, it always makes people feel a little more negative. When you problem solve, you make people feel empowered -- you inspire those around you to believe that they can fix things.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 20/56

1. Fitness: Deadlift day. Getting back into it. (10/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Voluntary adversity

You can wait for as long a time as you want...

But there's never a right time for anything.

The conditions will never be perfect, your friends may not support it, and you will be scared to take action and just do it. That's why if you're making a big decision in your life (getting a dog, having a baby, or quitting a job to pursue something else, etc) the stars may never seem aligned.

To get what we want, we have to voluntarily invite adversity into our lives.

Because when we do invite those challenges, we invite those rewards as well.

Voluntary adversity will give you purpose and drive. Now may not be the right time (practically), but it might be the right time in the story you're crafting for yourself.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 19/56

1. Fitness: Rest day. (9/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

Social Media Isn't The Problem

It's simply a tool.

A tool that when used for what we want it to do, is absolutely amazing. Whether it's keeping in touch with friends, sharing a major life announcement, or creating group photo albums to remember a trip, it does the job exceedingly well.

But we must think of social media as more than a tool. We must think of it as a living organism --like a tree-- as well.

A tree that while beautiful, needs pruning to make sure it serves us. To make sure it's branches don't get in the way of our windows. To make sure it doesn't block our view.

When we take care and start pruning our social media, we avoid all of the negatives while being able to enjoy more of the positives. We won't need a break from that.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 18/56

1. Fitness: Rest day. (9/26 sessions completed this cycle)
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

No Matter How Small

Seinfeld was only given a 2 episode pilot.

That's not a lot to make success happen.

But he took these 2 episodes seriously.

So seriously that he made those 2 episodes his launchpad to creating one of the most well-known series at 180 episodes in 9 seasons.

Want to know how? It's because it didn't matter where he started. But the fact that he took himself seriously where he did start.

You must do the same in your career. Pursue excellence early on, and excellence is what you'll achieve.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 17/56

1. Fitness: Rest day. (9/32 sessions completed this cycle) Note: Although I love lifting weights, I'm making gym less of a priority. Therefore, I'm switching from a 4-day training schedule (MTThF) to 3 days a week (MWF). So the new cycle counter will be 9/26 sessions.
2. YouTube: Still unfinished. Need to make time for this. (1/8 this cycle)
3. Coding: Still in same spot as before w/ HTML and CSS.

TO NICE GUYS: People Don't Want Nice, They Want Real

Photo by Olya Kuzovkina on Unsplash

Hey you, Nice Guy.

Stop pretending to be nice. It's not going to get you ahead in life. Neither will being a dick. You have to be real. Generally, people like others who are:

1. Truly kind and compassionate for all people (ie not just selectively to attractive people)
2. Has an overall positive outlook on life
3. Unafraid to be vulnerable about sensitive topics every now and then
4. Lives honestly and can communicate their feelings (without harming others)
5. Can laugh at themselves and not be so self-hating
6. Are happy with themselves

If you, Nice Guy, can learn these six things, you might have a chance at getting the things you think only "dicks" get. Yes, if you learn how to love yourself and you concern yourself with raising others up with you, then you will attract the people you want to attract in both relationships and friendships.

You see, the more you try to justify your failures because you're "too nice", the more you enshrine yourself in victim mentality. "Oh woe is me, the whole world doesn't support me because I'm too nice, guess you got to be a dick to get what you want out of life".

Except it isn't true. It's not because you're too nice. It's because you're too scared to grow. Your failures are because you're trying to be someone you're not. You're trying to be nice to people in order to get something back from them, not because you genuinely and sincerely want to see them succeed or benefit.

I think the greatest thing you can realize is that:

You don't have to change to make people like you.

But you do have to change your mindset.

You have to realize that it's not about "nice vs asshole". It's about real vs fake.

And let's face it: nice guys are fake guys.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 15/56

1. Writing: Writing for the 15th day in a row.
2. Fitness: Rest day. (8/32 sessions completed this cycle)
3. YouTube: Late on uploading but will finish by EOD!
4. Coding: Trying to re-create the Google homepage in HTML and CSS. Not had much time recently... I had an ambitious goal to complete The Odin Project curriculum in 6 months, but I may put it lower on the priority list and make it 1 year.

My Mid-2018 Review!

Every few months or so, I like to reflect on the past.

My friend Lisa (check out her blog here) inspired me to do a reflection on the first half of 2018. So I'll start with the beginning of 2018, as I finished my last semester at the University of Southern California.

These, I felt were the biggest milestones of my life in 2018.

Closing a Chapter of My Life: Graduating From College (January-May)

If you've never read my blog, you might think "But Evan, on your homepage, it says you don't need to college to succeed. What?"

Don't take this as a turn on my own philosophy: I still don't think college is the best way for most people to get a job (or prepare to get a job). Many colleges still inadequately prepare 18-22 year olds for the real professional world and charge exorbitant amounts of money for outwardly spa-like facilities. The evolution of education is moving towards cheaper, flexible solutions with more practical project-based learning techniques. These alternatives will eventually drive colleges into the dust, as they will be more affordable, more flexible, and more effective at getting people the experience they need to build a career.

So no, I didn't go back to college to get a job.

I did it for the moment.

My parents worked hard, for this artificial moment, that wasn't real to me, but it was 100% real to them. The moment when I walked across that stage and got that piece of paper, was something that while meaningless to me, meant something special for those two.

And the power of moments is undeniable, just ask Chip Heath and Dan Heath, NYT bestselling authors of the book "The Power of Moments".

That being said, I would not recommend going to an expensive 4-year college without understanding what you're paying for and why you're doing it. I believe in the power of moments, but I also believe in the power of student debt. Avoid that shit.

Post-Graduation: Adopting a Dog (May)

After graduation, I pulled the trigger on something I've always wanted, but never had the time to do: I adopted my first dog.

I rescued Ember, a German Shepherd/Chow mix from a shelter and she's been one of the most joyous parts of my life these past few months.

Owning a dog has taught me a few things:

1. You are directly responsible for something else's life. You used to be able to be irresponsible with your life, but now it directly impacts another life.
2. Happiness comes in combinations of intense stress and intense appreciation. When your dog is annoying, it's REALLY annoying. But when they're the best... they're awesome.
3. Sometimes, more responsibility and time used will help you see how much time you don't have. When you realize how much time you're wasting, you will spend the extra time you used to dawdle doing actually cool shit.

Getting a dog (especially a working breed like Ember) is not for the faint of heart, but doing the job and doing it well can teach you so many positive life lessons that you have to experience before you understand. That's what taking care of another life does to you.

Finding A Job (June-July)

Having a dog and looking to live in Los Angeles, I thought "man, I should really be making some income right now". I couldn't live off my cryptocurrency earnings anymore. I had to take care of myself and also Ember.

It was time to get back to the workforce after taking a break from freelancing in February.

So I started looking for jobs in June while I was wrapping up some last minute summer courses for my degree. I tried applying everywhere. To no avail.

No one was biting for a while.

But I started narrowing down my interests. Narrowing down the locations of where I wanted to work. And I spent a good amount of time preparing good cover letters, a convincing resume, and good interviewing skills.

That's when in the span of 1.5 weeks, I applied to a job, went in for an interview, and got a job offer onsite. I was ecstatic because this company was one of my top choices.

I believe that the best things happen at the last possible moment for you... but when they do happen, they happen a lot faster than you think.

For instance, you could be applying to jobs for a 29 straight days and feel the torture of it all. But on that 30th day, you might hear back from one of the companies, and before you know it, you've interviewed, gotten an offer, and expected to start the next week.

What you need for all things is patience and faith.

Know that if you keep working hard and improving your process, you will benefit from your actions.

Where We Go From Now in the 2nd Half of 2018

I'm super optimistic about the future.

I have a kickass new job with ambitious and smart people to work with, I have a brand new apartment, and I have a great dog to raise.

I plan to do these 3 things in the next half of 2018:

1. Work really hard at my new job to receive a promotion within 6 months (which I'll be announcing on Monday).
2. Start incorporating weekly micro-adventures into my life, so that I never forget about the importance of rest from work and technology.
3. Build a YouTube project that gets my creative juices flowing weekly.

Alright, no more talking.

Time to get shit done.

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Evan's Goal Update - Day 14/56

1. Reading + Writing: Writing for the 14th day in a row. I've decided to stop reading for a bit, and maybe try an app like Blinkist or simply listen to podcasts.
2. Coding: Trying to re-create the Google homepage in HTML and CSS. Not had much time recently... I had an ambitious goal to complete The Odin Project curriculum in 6 months, but I may put it lower on the priority list and make it 1 year.
3. Fitness: Rest day. (8/32 sessions completed this cycle)
4. YouTube: Late on uploading but will finish by EOD!