Morgan and I are running a 50k trail race to raise funds and further awareness about the devastation in Haiti and the good work of our friends at Lespwa Worldwide. Check it out
50k for Haiti
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Linked In
I got Linked In today, so far my professional contacts include… my Dad. Hopefully my college roomate will approve my request, and then I will really be cookin’
A Numbers Game
1,859,728 blogs with 58,424 new posts today
That was the headline of Word Press as I logged on today. How to differentiate yourself and your blog in a sea of people trying to do the same thing? Answers hopefully will follow, a blogger with 0 combined comments isn’t the best place to start though 
Try Seth Godin or Tom Peter’s blog for more ideas while I research it on my own
Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, take time to count the blessings we have all been given. Especially in the good ol’ USA. I’m thankful for sharing, especially the sharing of ideas that I’m trying to do with this blog
Blogging to… nobody
Chances are that no one currently reads my blog. So why? 2 reasons for me.
- I Love to Write: Whether life, business, relationships, the outdoors, I enjoy bleeding out my thoughts
- It’s Good Practice: For the day I have a successful blog, for retaining thoughts I felt good enough to share, and for communication
Why Do You Blog?
Resume Writing
I just finished editing my resume. I have never written a resume quite like this one before, it’s more a collection of 1 paragraph stories on what each job meant to me. This is probably because I’m currently reading my way through Tom Peters 100 Ways to Be Successful (which is fantastic). Tom is convinced that the future belongs to the story-tellers, and since I like a good story more than a good calc formula, I agree. Anyway, the resume is for a job that I don’t particularly need, but am intrigued by. I figure, why not tell the truth, speak about what you learned intrinsically at all these job stops. There’s a solid chance that he will think I’m a nut and throw my resume into his pile of candidates that didn’t pan out. But I have the advantage of already being employed and content at my current post, which is what allows me to be honest about what I write. My thinking though is that I should write the rest of my resumes like this until I die. Tell your story, your experience, and see what shakes out. Now you don’t have to write a novel to your potential boss, but deviate from the status quo a bit, it’s fun. Do so especially if it feels good to do so. Chances are, that the guy who eventually hires you and your honest, experimental resume will be a quality boss to work for, and that the job won’t be too bad either. If you’re interested, check out my resume below. Ragland Resume
The Fear
We’re too often afraid of failure, especially when we want to try something new. How many potential hobbies have we pushed to the side because we didn’t think we would be any good at it? Or how many presentations/ideas have been kept secret in our minds because we didn’t want to be rejected? 2 thoughts on this…
- Your idea may be the one that changes the company, makes a new product go, or is just plain necessary. Now, you might need help with your presentation and ability to champion the idea, but that’s another process that Seth Godin can help you with
- If you don’t share your ideas, they will die, and beyond that, if you don’t share them, it makes each idea thereafter even harder to champion.
So go share, tell people your ideas, learn how to champion them. I guarantee you will fail at least once, and probably many times. But, you will succeed too, and you will have taken that essential risk that makes life fun.
“The Greatest Risk is to not Take One”
Two kinds of ‘don’t know’
I don’t know French. I can’t play the piano. I have no clue how to catch a bony spinefish. This is the first kind of don’t know. Stuff you don’t know because you haven’t been taught it yet. Books are awfully good at solving this problem, so are good teachers.
The second kind of ‘don’t know’ is often confused with the first type, but it’s really quite different. This is the person who says they don’t know how to cook, or that they can’t balance a checkbook. This isn’t about technique or a lack of knowledge. It’s usually either fear or lack of interest. People with this type of deficit won’t find the answer in a book or (usually) in a seminar either. You don’t learn how to cook from a cookbook.
The answer lies in trial and error and motivation and in overcoming the fear that makes us avoid the topic in the first place.
Posted by Seth Godin at:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/09/two-kinds-of-do.html
One of the ways I contribute to society is by coaching High School lacrosse. When a player says “I don’t know how to play lax, throw lefty, or (fill in the skill here). Or, “I just can’t.” That is the 2nd type of not knowing. You can do all these things, you just need to try and fail countless times! Failure is the risk that makes you strong. Don’t avoid the thing you don’t know, embrace it and strengthen your game!
The 1st type of not knowing is also applicable to lacrosse. Knowing on that level is the result of practice and having a good teacher, which is what I’m here for Think about how this can be applicable to your own life
Where I Want to Live
I saw a great photo of a spot on the Gallatin River in Bozeman, Montana. When I retire, I want to go live on that river, and spend the rest of my days fly-fishing, hiking, and hunting. Here it is on the map.
Hello world!
Here goes the blogging journey
