Ya Gotta Believe

Dan Miller is on of my favorite ‘gurus’.  He is author of two best selling books, ‘48 Days To The Work You Love’ and ‘No More Mondays’.

Essentially Dan is about helping people find work from their passion.  Not finding a job, but taking what you love to do, and doing it independently of an employer.

Each week Dan creates a 48 minute podcast where he answers questions and discusses ideas with his listeners.

This program is a wealth of information and maybe more importantly inspiration.  There are tons of useful ideas in each program especially for the ‘free agents’ among us looking for the next thing.

We all have interests and skills.  The trick is putting the two together in a way that generates income.

That is Dan’s genious.   He has a real knack for making suggestions that work.  The success stories are endless.

Lately as I converse with more and more people who are in the same employment situation as me, it becomes clear there is a lot of frustration.

These are talented people and most have had jobs with serious responsibility.  It is very difficult for them to be idle for long.

But instead of feeling hurt or angry that you were turned out, you need to change your mindset.  Dan would tell you they handed you an opportunity when they put the severance check in your hand.

I’d like to think there is a great job waiting right around the corner.   Hey, I have tons of experience and a great track record.  But it might not be that easy this time.

This is not the time to be mad at the system, the industry, the government or whatever.  It is the time to re-think what you love to do, and how you might do it in a different way.

Dan’s program has given me about seven or eight ideas.  All I really need is one to work.

The website is www.48days.com.   It’s well worth a look.

As former Met Tug McGraw told us “Ya Gotta Believe!”.

Getting Back To Fun, Again

Have you ever really given thought as to how you became interested in radio?

The first time many of us heard radio was a frantic man playing records between commercials and jingles.  Oh, the jingles.

Jack Sterling of WCBS was the first personality I remember.  He would have been well into his career at the time.  I was five.

Radio was music.  But for me it was much much more.

People ask me today about the fantastic record collection I must have at home.

Sorry.  I don’t have one CD or record at home.  No collection.

I don’t have a stereo system with big speakers and fancy components.   A small  portable radio preferably with AM and Shortwave is my choice.

The AOR 7030 is overkill for most radio users.  It is an outstanding radio and when coupled with the Quantum Loop Antenna built by Gerry Thomas it is a DX machine.

It’s DXing that helps me make that connection today.

XEB 1220 Mexico City is one of my favorite stations.

So is Radio Rebelde out of Cuba for their baseball coverage during the winter.

Radio has a way of connecting me to the outside world.  I still love listening to the trucking shows overnight and of course George Norry and the cast of thousands on Coast To Coast.

For me radio was and is personality, and connection.  Perhaps for you it’s the music.

Whatever got you into this business is what you should focus on now.

Why do you love radio?  What is it about radio that drew you in the first time?

Go back there.

Then try to use that memory to get that feeling back again.

Emails are coming from people I’ve never met this week. Their passion for radio, not necessarily the ‘radio business’ is impressive.

People who love radio really love it.

We belong to a special club.  I feel bad for the rest of the world that doesn’t hear the magic and feel the connection.

Use that passion and get back to finding something in radio that really makes it fun again.

The economy, owners, budgets and all can take the fun out of it.  But don’t let the magic you felt die.

Helping Each Other

Being without work used to be like having ‘cooties’.

You thought young girls said only boys have them.  No, the unemployed are afflicted too.

A dramatic shift seems to have taken place.  People are actually nice to you when they know you don’t have a job.

Encouraging emails have come from people I’ve never met. I’m actually blown away with the helpfulness coming my way.

It seems most of my friends are looking for work.  You might think I have a bunch of loser friends.  But this group would make up a ‘who’s who’ of radio people.

One told me yesterday he’s been out for two years.  Please don’t tell my wife it will take that long to land.  She’s already going crazy with me in the house for a week.

The great thing is everyone is willing to help others.  It would be best if we could all find work, so it makes sense to be helpful.

This blog was originally set up as a way to talk about radio to program directors.  But now it really is about our collective journey to the next job.

So please feel free to add your comments and suggestions.  Not just for me, but for anyone who stops by and needs a little encouragement.

If you know of a position, any position leave it on the comment section.  Someone might read it and appreciate your help.

The Job Paradigm

I knew it would happen, just not as quickly as it did.

They asked me at a baseball gathering the other night, “what do you do?”

For a minute I didn’t have an answer.  I am no longer with my last employer and haven’t been out there long enough to feel separated from them.

It also felt weird saying I don’t have a job.  After all, don’t we generally define ourselves either by what we do or where we work?   At the moment I have neither.

But later after thinking it through it occurred to me I do have work.  In fact right now there appears to me lots of it.  The only difference is none of the work is attached to a permanent job.

So now my answer is simple, “I’m a Radio Programming, and Media Specialist”.

That’s far better than saying something about being unemployed.

It’s also the truth because most of what is coming to me so far is project work.  That stuff looks like it can be enough to sustain an income for a while.

Interestingly now when I tell people what I do, they seem more interested.   The questions about my work and interests are deeper and more engaged.

Best of all it has already led to additional project ideas.

We as workers must take a different view of ourselves and the workplace today.  An actual job might not be in your future.  But finding the right work to satisfy you and provide an income could be standing right in front of you.

Don’t get hung up on needing a job.  Think of the things you do well and like, then look around and see how you can help others by providing that type of work to them.

There’s a big shift taking place in the workplace, you gotta roll with it.

Postcard From The Beach

A funny thing happened on my way to work one day.

Like so many others I found myself ‘on the beach’.

Getting the news was hard.  It came directly from a longtime friend who also happened to be CEO.

I think his day was worse than mine.

From the conversation it was clear my shortcomings are numerous.

Or maybe that’s the part I think I heard.  I find in those times what they say and what you hear might have different meanings.

Much of it was  a blur.

And so there it was.  Over.

One minute you’re part of a team.  The next you’re on waivers.

There was nothing else to do, but go.

I’m not sure whether I was more shaken or disappointed as I left.

Something changed though somewhere between that office on the 14th floor and turning my car on to sixth street.

I changed.

A great feeling came over me.  One minute I am engulfed by deep sadness and anger and then I’m at total peace the next.

I’ve heard others say the same thing.

A woman working for a large radio group described her hurt after her unexpected firing.  But then feeling extreme joy as her car left the parking lot.

This is not my first time through the car wash.

It never is easy to hear the news.  But I’ve found how you respond to it is the key to how you’ll land.

Like so many others who are out of work from media positions, my job prospects look a little slim.

And yet so far at least several interesting projects have come my way.

So it occurs to me the journey to the next opportunity might not include a traditional ‘job’.  That is an interesting and exciting idea.

We’ll see how it plays out.

On to the future!