Beach Walk 716 – Volunteering to Vocation

November 12, 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

More and more brave souls are leaving their “known worlds” for life as an adventure, the kind without a job for a safety net. Decades ago the book appeared, Do What You Love and The Money Will Follow that really knocked loose some hard-formed notions. Still, only one generation has grown up with that message, so it has barely made a dent in our global consciousness. Some people are using volunteering as a step in that direction. Such is the story of my friend BJ Wishinsky who is now at Anita Borg Institute and also Joe Philipson the photographer who is helping to define a whole new sector: social media photographer.

I’d also to thank the many volunteers who helped on Podcamp Hawaii. Judi Clark was both the WordCamp wrangler and the one who helped me track and acknowledge the many volunteers on that event. Kyle Nishioka was the tech and venue manage and did a wonderful job working with our many vendors. Shane Robinson aka Secret Cameraman built the website and set up all of the live streaming, plus created a very cool desktop application that allowed attendees to fill out evaluations on the spot while watching the live stream or following the Twitter stream!

Update: Twitter friend @carakitty also got a job at a Vet office after volunteering at the animal shelter.

Hawaiian Word:
ʻAʻa; volunteer

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Beach Walk 313 – We are safe

January 2, 2007 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I’ve made a number of career changes in my life. That has meant learning how safe I am and that I am not required to meet other people’s expectations.

Philip from LA, who I met at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo, asked me a while ago to talk about making these career transitions that I have alluded to on Beach Walks. So today is that show!

Are you thinking of making a change?

Beach Walks Optimism Episode
I hope you’ll submit something for it. Please check out Show #312 for the details!

UPDATE: If you are wondering about the Secret Cameraman comments, watch this episode!

Hawaiian words
Palekana: safe

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Beach Walk 167 – Worst case scenario?

August 8, 2006 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Part 2 of figuring out how to make directional changes.

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About Today’s Show

Yesterday we talked about sorting out preferences from pretend or imposed notions of good or bad. If you can just be drawn to something, without having to prove a case for it, well, that takes away a lot of pressure and frees things up.

Today is about looking at the option that calls from a distance, the one that is asking you to step out of your comfort zone. Instead of just rejecting it, or blindly following it, you can take a look at the worst case scenario should you choose it. That defines an outer boundary. If you are OK with that far end of things, then you can get the #2 out of the way and continue considering it as a viable option.

In my experience, identifying the worst case scenario really helps calm my mind and put the risk (or lack of) into perspective.

Don’t know about the #1 and the #2? please see show #102.

Hawaiian words
Makaʻu: risk

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Beach Walk 166 – What’s Your Preference?

August 7, 2006 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sorting opinions from facts can remove a lot of pressure and confusion.

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About Today’s Show

This week is a little bit of a series on the thought process of changing a career. I’ve had several, and though in retrospect I can see some connections from one to the next, it sure did not feel that way at the time.

So today is about sorting preferences and opinions from facts or absolutes. Let’s say you want to make a change. If you think there is some definitive rule that must be followed or that you will know with some certainty or that proof is needed before proceeding, well, I think that makes for a more confusing process. What if instead of trying to make the case, “This is the best decision for me because of A, B, C” you simply think, “I am curious about this so I am going to try it.” In either case, it is impossible to know the outcome with certainty. But in the former, there is pressure to pretend to know or to prove that the decision is objectively “good” (i.e. not frivolous, or careless, or pick whatever loaded words you like that conjure up “irresponsible” or “bad”).

To me, it is the #2 who feels the need to justify or prove. It is the #1 who can listen to an inner calling or curiosity and be willing to give it a chance. Keep in mind that the #2 is mostly looking for trouble, so s/he is likely to frame the situation with pressure on both sides: “You must” or “You can’t” going on simultaneously. If that is the case, time to get the #2 out of the picture, time to break up that energy.

Don’t know about the #1 and the #2? please see show #102.

Wondering who the cute little girl is? That’s Heidi from the UK! She watches Beach Walks with her Mum and Dad every morning. Her Dad, Dave Goodchild, is a podcaster too, so check out his inspirational podcast on Buddhism Web Buddha. (Note! That’s a new URL. Please update your feed.)

Hawaiian words
haʻi manaʻo: to state opinion

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