Category : Random

Be a Jack of All Trades

Posted by Deborah Fike at 10:14 am

I remember sitting in my college statistics class and the professor giving this advice, “If you’re smart, you will learn how to do one thing and do it well.”

The reason this quote sticks out for me is how often I heard it during my youth.  Becoming an expert at one thing is what college is all about: pick a major, get an entry level job, hone your skill while you climb the corporate ladder, and retire by being an expert in your field.  Fast forward to today, and the advice I hear is no different.  Pick up a book by famous author Malcolm Gladwell and he’ll tell you the same thing: extraordinary people become extraordinary by devoting 10,000 hours to one skill.

I’m going to go against all this “common sense” and give you new food for thought:  Forget learning just one thing.  Be a Jack of All Trades.

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40 Years in 4 Minutes

Posted by Deborah at 5:19 pm

Today is my birthday, and instead of posting about teamwork and project management, instead I ask you to call someone you love and tell them how much you care.  That would be a great birthday present indeed.

And for further inspiration to connect with your loved ones, here’s a video I made for my family last Christmas.  My parents bought a video camera back in 1972 and shot video of all of us six kids while we grew up.  It’s amazing to watch a family grow in the blink of an eye.  Enjoy your moments while you can.

Song: “Praan” by Garry Schyman

-Deborah Fike

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The Cost of Not Trying

Posted by Deborah at 9:23 pm

The price of failure might seem high. But consider the cost of not trying:

• You will not become better than who you are today.
• You cannot learn new things.
• You will not discover new things about yourselves.
• You will not discover new things about others.
• You lose touch with the cutting edge.
• Any dissatisfaction you feel will remain dissatisfied.
• You cannot achieve any new goals and dreams.
• Your life will remain static and your potential unfulfilled.

Sure, failure has its own list of trials and heartbreak. But is staying the same worth it?

-Deborah Fike

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Donate to the Red Cross for Japan

Posted by Deborah at 9:58 pm

By now, you’ve probably seen footage from the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan last week.  Japan holds a special place in my heart because I spent 2.5 years there, as a student and as an English teacher.

A few of my former students and I giving the ol’ V sign.

I don’t have to tell you any heart-wrenching stories to let you know how horrible the tragedy is over there.  A lot of the people I know, however, are looking for a place to donate to aid in tsunami relief.  If you’re interested in helping out, I suggest making a donate to the American Red Cross.  They have a specific Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami collection fund going on that will help people who are homeless and stranded.

Take care, Japan.  You’re in my thoughts.

-Deborah Fike

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Passion vs. Responsibility

Posted by Deborah at 9:50 pm

I recently wrote an article on the Change Blog about how to explore careers without quitting your day job.  A poster named “Contrarian” started an interesting conversation about what it means to follow your passion.  Although we both agree that there is little risk in exploring a new career, we disagree how much risk it takes to actually plunge into a new career: Contrarian thinks you’ll eventually need to plunge into it.  I think you can ease into it and mitigate your risk.

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