Note from Nick: this is a guest post from my friend Rebecca Tracey, of The Uncaged Life. Her blog is unmitigated genius – great holiday reading, if ever there was any. I asked Rebecca to share with you something straight from the heart. Told her she could even swear if she wanted. And this is what she came up with – enjoy!
When Nick asked me to write a guest post, I sorta freaked out. My business is new, I’m still establishing my own website, and I don’t have nearly as much ‘expertise’ as he does.
Yet not once did he ask for my resume, my credentials, or check up on me to make sure I really know what I’m talking about. Why would he want me to write for him?
I mean, I know I’m a great coach. I have fantastic insight, amazing life experience, and a finely tuned bullshit meter. Of COURSE I’m valuable to Nick’s readers.
Thing is, on paper… I’m not so hot. My resume – it sucks. Sure, I have an undergrad degree (in a totally unrelated field), I did post-grad training as a nutritionist (so what, right?), and I’ve gone through a few intensive coach trainings (Finally! But – I don’t even list those on my website/resume).
I don’t have 10 years of coaching under my belt. I don’t have an MBA or any particular entrepreneurial skills training. I’m not an expert on blogging, or internet marketing, or technology. I have more than one series of year-long gaps on my resume where I chose to drop out of life as I knew it and focus solely on travel, play, and neglecting all my responsibilities. Not exactly a marketable skill, right?
In the traditional sense, on paper, I’m crap.
But in life, where it really counts – I’m more than “qualified” to be doing what I’m doing.
And, true story – many great innovators are in the same boat. Mark Zuckerberg. Bill Gates. Einstein. Disney. Oprah. Dropped out of school, fired from jobs, kicked out of college and told their ideas were shit.
We seem to have this insane want for more education, more degrees, more time spent in the classroom, more training, more courses, more hours and dollars spent to prove to the world that we are worthy.
We use the excuse that we just need to learn a little bit more before we can be great.
And it’s a fucking cop out.
What if you chose (yes, voluntarily) to leave your education out of the equation. What if you focused on what you have to offer, in real life skills rather than obscure letters after your name? What if everything you’ve ever done and everything you know NOW is all you need to create the dream job you crave?
Stop putting it off because you’re not perfect on paper yet. Start believing in more than what’s on your resume and what letters fall after your name.
Save your money, save your time, and have the balls to just GO FOR IT, regardless of how qualified you are on paper. Because if you really wanna go places in this world, your resume means jack shit.
xx becca
Rebecca Tracey | The Uncaged Life
As a Life-switch + Career-shift Coach, Rebecca Tracey helps cubicle-phobic crusaders bust out of their self-imposed cages, by taking big risks + bold swings—the kind that pay off, in more than just cash.
Explore Rebecca’s rule-bending riffing on radical life design, road-tripping + rock climbing at TheUncagedLife.com… and schedule your no-cost Uncaged Chat, to see if 1-on-1 coaching is the awesome-sauce you need to activate your dreams.
(Header Photo: This is happening without your permission)
The Flip-side of Bartering
About April of 2011, I was putting together my first TEDx conference.
Organizing your first TEDx conference is one of the most stressful (and rewarding) things a human being can do, I suspect. Because it was the first one in our area (Northern Colorado), we didn’t have a lot of clout. Or a lot of guaranteed funding, either.
So I had to ask for favors.
If you know me, you know how much I hate asking for favors. I think if you’re doing work, you should get paid that work’s worth and not a cent less.
That being said, barter can be a good idea when you know you need help and you won’t waste the other person’s time. Or when you can offer a trade equal to or greater than the favor. When you’re asking for a favor, understand exactly the value that the other person is being asked to provide – and respect that. You might not agree with their value, but if this person is willing to help you – don’t argue.
Back to TEDxFoCo, I asked two videographers for their help. The first one turned us down outright. The second one… didn’t. In fact, they filmed the event, produced it, and delivered videos in the right format.
Videographer #2 was pure awesome. And now that I’m planning the next TEDxFoCo, I’m keeping them in mind for paid work. With a decent budget, I can pay them what they’re worth. This videographer also gets mentioned every time one of my clients needs video work.
The other videographer? I don’t actively campaign against ‘em – because I get it. The drive against doing free work for any reason is huge. Maybe it wasn’t a good time to ask. Still, this person is not my first choice for paid videowork. I can’t promote them to friends, clients, whatever – because I couldn’t count on ‘em when the cards were down.
When you’re being asked to barter, do work pro-bono, or donate time of any kind – always temper that instinct to say no against who’s asking you and what the opportunity is. Unless they’re a complete slouch or dirtbag, if someone’s asking you a favor – their butt is probably on the line.
Just don’t get overbooked.
(Header photo: Trading by Eddy Van 3000)
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This post is part of the January Word Carnival — a monthly group blogging event specifically for small business owners. (It’s the most fun you’ll have all month!) Check out the rest of the fabulous carney work here. And don’t forget to join us for our Twitter Chat on Thursday (Jan 26) at noon (Pacific). We’ll be tweeting up a storm under the #WordCarnival hashtag.