COFFEE AND A KEYBOARD

At some time in your life you may reach a point in your career and life where everything seems to be and is going perfect. You meet the right people, the right position is open, you say the right things and you do the right work. You may feel rather, invincible.

Recently I reached this point. I couldn’t ask for better opportunities coming my way and my confidence level was very high (hello ego) in regards to my field and my abilities in the workplace. With this however, came an extreme fear of failure.

I am a prepared person, I am on top of my game (most of the time) and I don’t necessarily enjoy being wrong or messing up. I consider myself mature as well as someone that knows how to handle situations in a good manner. I want to please everyone all of the time and I want to do it all. Ultimately, I want to know it all and I want to be it all. However, Superman doesn’t exist.

At the end of the day, we are all human. We make mistakes, we say things we shouldn’t say, we don’t always know everything about our field and we don’t know exactly how to handle different projects and situations.

But really, that is what is so amazing about the world. We don’t know it all, and we don’t always do what we should do. But we learn from the vast and incredible minds of people around us, we collaborate to make informed and creative decisions and most importantly we learn from experiences wherein mistakes and failures are encountered.

Some of us more than others, care too much (you know the biggest cliche flaw-“I care too much,” well it’s true). Sometimes my passion for what I do and my confidence actually holds me back from seeing something better. I’m not perfect and no one is, learn from your failures and more importantly forgive yourself for what was, focus on what is and look to what could be.

What am I learning from my failure? To not be scared of future failures, because once I do that, I have confined myself to a box that I don’t want to be in.

I was prepping for potential future interviews earlier this week, cup of coffee in hand, coming up with questions that hypothetical future employers may ask me, and planning accordingly (nerd life).

What are your strengths? Check. What are you weaknesses? Check. Do you work well with others? Check. Why do you do public relations? Uncheck.

I’m glad you asked that question (yes, I’m now talking to myself).

Why do I do what I do?

Why do I practice public relations and advertising? Why do I spend my time caring so much about what people think, read and do? Why do I devote hours creating and implementing perfectly crafted images, brands and strategies for companies just so other people can buy, care or think about them?

I didn’t know.

A few weeks prior, after a long day at multiple jobs and internships, I was talking to a family member about what I want to do with my career. I told them I didn’t know if I wanted to do PR anymore at all. Why? I didn’t know if I wanted to spend the rest of my life crafting things to make people see my clients and me a certain way. It’s sometimes shallow, unauthentic.

Wrong.

Let me backtrack. I was always someone a bit confused about my life and what I wanted to do. I took different classes, developed my own set of values that I live by (or make an attempt to) everyday and learned about different industries.

The only thing that really excited me was listening to others speak about their passions, their aspirations.

I believe that passion is the root of all greatness. Passionate people drive programs, companies, advocacies and businesses that are changing the lives of others, changing communities and changing the world.

Brilliant people are doing brilliant things daily, good people are doing good things constantly and difference is being made everywhere you look. So, what if no one sees? Or what if people see, but it is isn’t communicated effectively and accurately? Well then it won’t be shared, if needed it won’t be helped, it won’t be donated to, it won’t be enjoyed-it ultimately won’t reach it’s full potential. In some cases, it won’t matter. And that, is a tragedy.

Oh, that’s why I do what I do.

Enabling others to live out their passions and succeed in their field is what drives my passion for creative public relations and advertising. I get to help people succeed in what they love and show the world how great they are everyday. I get to work with clients and help them build an image to create something that is perfect for them, for me, for their audience and for their success.

Authenticity should not be compromised. PR allows for a genuine portrayal of a person, idea or company to the public. It is not shallow, and it is certainly not unauthentic. It simply allows for real people and companies to put their best foot forward, to reach their potential and to be the best they can possibly be.

I don’t care what other people think. I don’t need to force anyone to like me or anyone else. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about showing others that what people do matters. Why what people are passionate about is relevant. Why real things, real causes and real people matter in a fast-paced world that does on occasion care more about how many “likes” their selfie got on Instagram than about the few other things in the world that are a little more important than that.

Lately I’ve been getting quite a bit of feedback from peers and friends saying that they look up to me in some way. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it- who wouldn’t? But it’s causing me to step back and really look at why.

The past several months, I have made numerous changes in my life, from my eating habits, to my study habits, to my goals and to my social settings. These changes have (mostly) been beneficial and good for me. I have made strides in my life, becoming more of who I really am and figuring out what I really want. I think it’s called “growing up,” but I still like to read Harry Potter and eat Cheetos sometimes, so I’m still trying to figure that one out.

For me, I have made these changes because I want to, that simple. I have found what I want and I have figured out who I want to be, at least for now (I tend to change my mind like I change outfits, which is often) and I know what I need to do in order to attain it.

The fact that my life is inspiring some people around me is the biggest compliment I have ever received. I haven’t started any awesome programs, traveled anywhere particularly profound or won any awards, but I am making goals and following through on them. If that allows me to inspire even just one person, that will be enough.

Inspiration comes from many different places. I get inspiration from articles, books, art, beautiful places, music, conversations with others, Pinterest (had to throw that one in there) and many other outlets. But what I have found to be the most “inspirational inspiration,” is myself.

I encourage you to be inspired by different people and ideas, by different paintings and different songs, but at the end of the day, you are all you have.

You want to get a 3.0? Work on getting a 3.0. You want to start waking up at 6 a.m. every day to go to the gym? Start waking up at 6 a.m. every day and going to the gym.

Be your own inspiration.  Make a change for even just one month, if only for the reason that at the end of those four or so weeks you can look back at what you’ve done and say “I’m actually really proud of myself.” Because once you realize that you can make any change you want and do anything you want, once you realize how capable you truly are, then you will be unstoppable.

That being said, don’t set yourself up for failure either. Make sure your goals are attainable and your to do lists aren’t too insane (this might just be a personal problem). However, there are quite a few hours in a day and what you choose to do with those hours is entirely up to you. Next time you look at your schedule and goals with doubt, just think, “I got this.” Chances are, you do.

Or how this piece of writing came to be.

Assignment: Create something.

Uh, okay.

Most of us have been given tasks at different times in our lives that were so simple, they were hard. We think things like “this has to be a trick,” or “I have to do something exceptional, something genius. You know, read between the lines.”

But maybe there isn’t anything between the lines.

Assignment: Create something.

Uh, okay.

Step one: Make a list of things you can create.

Step two: Attempt to draw picture of flowers because that’s what you looked at on Pinterest for an hour prior and that’s creative, right?

Step three: Try to write a poem about your inner misunderstood soul and realize that you really aren’t that misunderstood at all.

Step four: Freak out because you have no idea what you’re going to create and don’t want to look inadequate in front of the class.

Step five: Start writing with no direction because that’s what you do when you’re stressed.

Step six: Pause, there it is.

The beautiful thing about creation is that it comes in many forms. You are creating something when you speak. You are creating something when you doodle. You are creating something when you paint a masterpiece and you are creating something when you spend extra time decorating your workspace.

Different people create different things, but we all create somehow. One way isn’t better than another and being stuck in one form of creation simply isn’t possible.

When people say they aren’t creative, they aren’t giving themselves enough credit.

There are tasks given to us sometimes that may seem vast and unreachable, but if we just take the time to look at where we go when we’re trying to figure out the answer, it’s usually right there. In my case right at this moment, the answer is writing; in another’s the answer might be in a song. That’s what’s so cool about creation, it’s everywhere. We can create whatever we want and work together with whomever we want to create more.

So, next time you think the assignment is too difficult, it might not be at all. It might be you, second-guessing what is already inside you wanting to come out. Easy? No, but doable? Yes.

Some people are obsessed with finding someone that they love, someone that loves them back.

Personally, I’m obsessed with finding something that I love, something that loves me back.

And I’ve found it.

My hope is that everyone finds it at some point. It doesn’t mean that you have to know exactly what job title and responsibilities you want, not in the slightest. But it does mean that you know the direction you’re headed, and you know it with your whole heart.

Once you’ve found what you love, what gets your passion going, it will love you right back. Why? Because you spend hours upon hours working toward it and bettering yourself for it. There are no limits. You are the only one that can hold yourself back from being what and who you want.

Opportunities are endless.

I’m not sure where people get the idea that they are not capable of doing something. It’s good to be realistic, sure (I will never get into Harvard-mostly because I had a little too much fun my first couple years of college, no rAgrets). However I could get into another east coast graduate school down the road-and by the way, I will. Don’t doubt yourself, because if you do, so will everyone else.

I have many goals. These goals drive me every day to get up and work hard. Each day is a chance to put yourself one day closer to your ultimate goals, and that’s a gift in itself.

Will I necessarily attain my exact dream life? Probably not. But will I attain my goals and be happy wherever I end up? Yes, because I’m working hard to ensure that I do something worthwhile and end up doing something that I love. I refuse to go to a job I hate. But with that refusal comes a lot of hard work and even more sacrifices.

Some people may think that you’ve changed. But once you’ve found what you love, all of the sacrifices don’t seem like sacrifices at all. You should feel blessed that you have to go to bed a bit earlier because you have an awesome job to go to in the morning. You should want to read for class because it’s putting you that much closer to getting into grad school.

If you were anything like me back in the day, change is good. If I was still the same person I was my freshman year of college, I’d be concerned about where I was going in life. Fun and harmless sure, but for life? I don’t think so. Duh we change. Duh we prioritize. Duh we get a little “boring.”

You can’t be a kid forever, but you can be happy (and should be) forever. Don’t be scared to grow up, embrace it and be your best self, but make sure to stay young at heart, always.