#beentherenow

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I used the word 'epic' in a sentence for the first time today

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Think of Your Career Not As A Ladder But As A Jungle Gym

LinkedIn recently launched their learning platform - LinkedIn Learning. It’s like Udemy but you get to watch all their videos for a monthly fee of $29.99. I know, pretty steep, but they offered a free trial so I took it.

The first “course” I watched was “Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in the Business” such as Tony Robbins, Oprah and Bill Gates! This video is in line with BeenThereNow’s goal of providing information to others from people who have been there, now, so i though this would be a great video to learn from.

Here are some of the highlights:

- When asked how one becomes successful, Tony Robbins gave a great answer: “What are you willing to give?”. I thought this was insightful because we often look to mentors for what we can get but your ultimate goal should not be what you can get out of the situation. Why not think about what you want to give others. Oftentimes, what fills us up with joy and prosperity the most is what we are willing to give freely simply to know you did something good in society.

- Mohamed El-Erian, CEA of Allianz, said you should look at your career not as a ladder but as a jungle gym. I thought this was very insightful. If we took this approach at a younger age, set backs and stagnant periods will not be seen as failures, but as the normal ebb and flow of progress.

-The small moments count. Diane Von Furstenberg and Jamie Dimon both mentioned that small moments like introducing two people via email or reading a random newsletter you received in your mailbox matter! You may not know it right away, but the pieces fall together later on. So keep learning, and keep connecting for no reason other than helping others or simply being informed. It may come in handy later on.

- Both Gwen Stefani and Lee Daniels spoke about never not being yourself. And for the first time, it hit me how sad it is that our whole lives we are told what to do. Go to school so you can get a job. Practice hard so you can be like so and so. What about me? What about who I am and the gifts inside me? So few people foster that, leaving us feeling unworthy and far from special. Being yourself is something that takes courage. Fear tends to hold us back.

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Free Work Space in NYC

In the spirit of BeenThereNow, I wanted to share my experience at the Freelancer’s Hub, a space for freelancers to work (on their own computers) in Brooklyn, NY.

While I am not a freelancer myself, I am a business owner. I sometimes want a different environment to work in aside from my cramped studio apartment. Aside from that, I think it is a good idea to interact with other human beings and change up your routine once in a while.

Dumbo, Brooklyn - where the hub is located - is super trendy, just the right environment for people who are in a creative field. I arrived at around 11am and found plenty of space to spread my legs, leave my purse and jacket and spread my work materials around. To see a picture of the space, click here.

I was greeted by a lovely young woman named Stephanie who pointed out the gender-neutral bathrooms, wifi password, phone booths, work spaces, copying machine, coat room and café as soon as I came in. It seems to be a super inclusive place which is to be expected.

As I sat down, I was disappointed to see that power outlets were not ubiquitous. This limits the optimal seating locations but I was not planning to stay long anyway.

I liked that they had informational material lying around. Here are some resources I found:

- ReelWorks Mentor A Teen Filmmaker - mentoring program for aspiring high school filmmakers

-Volunteer Lawyers For the Arts - A nonprofit that provides legal and educational help to artists.

- A free budgeting guide for nonprofits which I found the link to later: https://www.vscpa.com/sites/default/files/resources/Budgeting2012_0.pdf

The space was welcoming, bright and quiet. While the staff were friendly, they were no pushy. It is overall a good environment to do some work, surrounded by lots of resources, in a quiet place. Perfect combo is you ask me!

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Today, my fried came over because he needed someone to talk to.

Be that friend to someone on www.BeenThereNow.com

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Be kind to your cable guy. Offer them water or a bathroom break.

It turns out they go through a lot! Read what it’s like to be a cable guy from Lauren Hough, on assignment at the Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cable-tech-dick-cheney-sex-dungeon_us_5c0ea571e4b06484c9fd4c21

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10 posts!