business.creativity.life.

In today’s world of opportunity there are so many paths, so many options for each of us to embark on and make our own. But what happens when things don’t pan out the way we had envisioned? How do we pick ourselves up and move onto the next experience? With the oldest trick in the book: positive thinking.

Negative experiences are bound to come anyone’s way, scaling from disappointment to detriment. But when encouraged to see the silver lining to any situation, it becomes easier to turn a frown upside-down. I believe that thinking positively about any situation can only work in your favor, what do you have to lose? Positive thinking is a form of self-motivation, thinking ‘I will get that promotion’ or ‘I am getting an A on this paper’ is the first stepping-stone to your action plan. By taking a pessimistic approach one would most likely be bogged down with negativity and never think to make a risk, or take the plunge; stepping outside of your boundaries is what life is about. I think my approach intertwines with the concept of ‘karma’ in a way, since the ‘what goes around, comes around’ philosophy behind it can only be beneficial if taken with a positive attitude, right?

In dire situations, finding the motivation to think positively is a daunting task and sometimes negative results will seem like they are always coming your way despite it all. But that’s where thinking optimistically can prove as a coping mechanism as well. I’m not saying that it’s easy, but I am a firm believer that the results of positive thinking can only make you stronger and better prepared for life’s obstacles.

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed just a little boost of motivation to either make your idea or reality or keep pushing through the one you’re working on? Well, this video ‘Entrepreneurs Can Change the World’ developed by Grasshopper (and brought to my attention by the Sprouter blog) is a gem that needs to be tucked away in your vault of motivational tools. Using simple graphics and words of motivation the video enlightens and inspires viewers to take flight with their thoughts. Check it out and see for yourself!

Whether you’re the oldest, the youngest or just a number in between what does it really mean to be a sibling? Do you have a responsibility to uphold? If so what kind of responsibilities do you have? Does it vary depending on your position in the sibling order? What happens if you don’t get along with your sibling? Are you forced to get along with them simply because of a blood relation? What happens if you get along with one sibling better than the other?

There are many roles to fulfill in a family, some with defined roles and others without. A relationship, regardless of what category or whom it is with is fundamentally what you make it; only you hold the responsibility to maintain and nurture the connection.

For as long as I can remember, I have always had keen interests in an eclectic mix of areas from fashion to construction, event planning to medicine. If I liked it, I just appended it to the growing pile of things that I had an interest in.  As a young child I was exposed to a variety of things that may have been contributing factors. For instance my mother’s sewing, my father’s home renovation projects, family socializing and talks with my family about stable career choices. These exposures in combination with being the eldest child provided ample opportunities for me to ‘get my feet wet’ and try new things. I am happy that I took my formative years to develop my skill set, but I can vouch that it wasn’t always an asset, especially where choosing a degree was concerned.

In my latter years of high school I was convinced that I would complete my undergrad in biomedical engineering and then consider medical school. Obviously that isn’t what materialized, but I did try out the engineering world for a little while. Little did I know what a crazy situation I’d be in when I realized after two years that it wasn’t the right avenue for me to pursue. I had worked so hard to get there, then I was faced with having to choose a new path, but which one do I choose? Career stability was a factor that obviously had to be weighed into the equation, but I really was in a fix as I was unable to choose just one area to develop a career. I felt I was sacrificing a passion in one area for the sake of a career in another. In the end, all worked out well as my bachelor of information technology, focused on interactive multimedia and design, perfectly melds my largest and primary interests of: technology, creativity and business.

Now with graduation just under a year away thoughts of my first full-time job keep popping up. Which area do I go into? How long should I stay in that field? Some inspiring videos, included below, by Stanford University professors Carol Bartz and Randy Komisar have proved that my eclectic mix may be beneficial in the career world. Professor Bartz discusses how setting a foundation is key in the early years of your career. The formation of your career should be shaped like a pyramid over time. It should start off broad and with time refined to your ideal profession. Which makes logical sense since by the time you settle into your niche, you would have tested the other avenues to be sure you are going where you want to go. As she mentions in the video, if you keep trying to climb the vertical, corporate ladder as you get closer to the top you’re bound to fall because you have no foundation. All that is holding you up are two stakes in the ground. Professor Komisar further supports this argument by detailing the journey through his career and how he is so well equipped now because of the extensive knowledge he gained from all of the positions he has held over the years. Although it may seem glamorous to run up the corporate ladder as soon as you land your first job you have about 40+ years of your life to work, so what’s the rush?

Pyramids, Not Ladders – Carol Bartz

The History of a Virtual CEO – Randy Komisar

Initiative is universal and intrinsic, it is something that can’t really be fulfilled unless it truly comes from within. So if we all have it, why don’t we all take advantage of it?

Why is it that some  of us need that ‘someone else’ to push us and/or keep us motivated while others will attempt to conquer the world on a whim, without consulting anyone. What is it that makes some of us so sure of ourselves that what we are setting out to do will work out? Then one can think that initiative isn’t just one-sided, but a multi-layered; a concept that is truly fulfilled with a special combination of attributes.

Take for instance Kunal Gupta, an Ottawa-Resident and University of Waterloo student. In his tender, early twenties he has made bountiful accomplishments, but what strikes me the most was his initiative to create: Impact. Impact Entrepreneurship is a student-run, non-profit group that has brought together students with entrepreneurial interests and spirit. Through networking, unique conferences and initiatives this group of people have made a mark in the entrepreneurial world, simply because of Kunal’s initiative to start a group like this. I had the pleasure of meeting Kunal once, in my early days of Impact. At the time I never realized how remarkable he was, his simple and relaxed vibe could have fooled anyone. Now that I have been involved with Impact for a couple of years, and am embarking on my own personal projects I would love to have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss what really made him go ahead and start Impact. Surely he didn’t think it would become Canada’s largest, student-run, non-profit organization in just a few short years. What inspired him? What made him think it was an idea that would ‘fly’? How did he go about starting it? Was he confident enough in his endeavor that he didn’t need to consult anyone? What were his doubts? What did he need to learn? With all these questions, it’s only natural to then ponder that initiative isn’t just made up of ‘coming up with an idea and running with it’. It takes determination and motivation to keep it going, it takes confidence to believe in your idea. It takes marketing and strategy to sell your idea to others, it takes customer relations to win people over, it takes networking and people skills to build a repertoire revolving around your concept. Now initiative doesn’t sound so simple, does it?

The funny thing about initiative is that even if you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle, you can always learn. In my personal opinion I think the principal components of initiative are:

• Having the intrinsic motivation to get off your butt and start it
• Having determination to fulfill it
• Believing in your idea, 100% whole-heartedly because if you don’t believe in it how are you going to win over the others?

Since we all have a bit of initiative in us, and the entire world is not made up of angry people with the right attitude and a hunger for delivering the idea, anyone can take the initiative to do anything. Where there is a will, there IS a way.

With his own mobile solutions company, Polar Mobile, Kunal Gupta I’m sure is more than just your typical ‘busy bee’ to answer my simple questions, but it really would be interesting to find out about his initiative, first hand.

Welcome to my blog! This is just one of the many avenues to find out about me. This is the place where you can explore the thoughts and reflections of my trinity: business, creativity and life. I invite you to interact with me through all of my posts. I want to know what you think, what your opinions are. Feel free to and ask me questions or make suggestions. I am very excited to get started, I can’t wait to see where this will go!