by Ken Coleman
Kara called into my show one day to talk about her passion for animation. She had her Mount Everest in mind—to one day work for Pixar Studios. She was twenty-one years old and just starting out, but she understood she needed experience animating. So Kara began contacting local businesses in her area that worked in television advertising and volunteered to do animation for them. For the next few years, Kara focused on three things: eating, sleeping, and animating. And the more she animated, the more she added to her animation portfolio. All of her hard work led to a paid internship with a local television station—an opportunity she was really excited about. But that opportunity came only after Kara focused for three years on building her skill set. Kara has a long way to go to get to her dream job, but she is determined to become the very best animator she can be. And I’m certain she is well on her way.
Just like Kara, you must keep the long view in mind. It may take three years before a door opens for you, but don’t give up. By starting where you are and putting in the hard work necessary, opportunity will come.
The Proximity Process
1. Turn over every rock in your zip code and surrounding areas. Make a list of every place that is doing something in your desired field.
2. Determine what jobs or volunteer opportunities are available at those companies that you could do.
3. Talk to your family, friends, and acquaintances to find out if they know someone that works in those companies to get connected to that opportunity.
Chapter 8
A Place to Learn
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
—Dr. Seuss
Ashley is passionate about health and fitness. For several years she’d been at home full time with her kids, and once her kids were all in school, she was feeling anxious about reentering the work force. She dreamed of being a fitness trainer, but her college degree was in accounting. An office job held zero appeal. She was seriously considering going back to college to earn a different degree, but she wasn’t sure it would be worth the time and money. Then one day when she was working out at her local gym, she saw a sign that read “Childcare Worker Needed.” The position itself wasn’t her dream job, but it was something she felt completely qualified to do, and it was a good first step to get her in proximity to what she really wanted to do. She’d found the right place to learn.
Ashley got the job and quickly found her values and temperament were a good match for the company’s culture. Her supervisor at the gym took notice and offered Ashley on-the-job training—classes in nutrition, CPR, weight training, physiology, and ultimately certification for personal training. She did all of this training while still working hard at her childcare position, and the more training she completed, the more it fueled her passion. And now? Ashley has transitioned to working as a certified personal trainer, and she’s loving it!
DETERMINE YOUR NEXT STEP
Doing some research and training on the front end will do one of two things for you: it will either affirm your passion or steer you in another direction altogether. None of your research will be wasted if it helps you determine next steps. That was exactly the case with a guy named Cameron who called into my show. Cameron called to talk about his dream of being a surgical neurologist. Now that’s a big dream! Hearing him talk made me feel a little unqualified to be giving this guy advice! I knew he was serious about becoming a surgeon when he told me that he’d spent several hours watching brain surgery videos online. Can you imagine watching several hours of brain surgery footage? Folks, if this isn’t evidence of passion, I don’t know what is. Cameron’s research confirmed that medical school was the next right place for him to learn, and now that’s exactly where he is.
To School or Not to School?
Your passion to learn will drive you and help you discover your next best step. The research itself can give you a great deal of insight, showing you the knowledge and skills you’ll need to do what you want to do. Then once you understand what you need to learn, you can turn your attention to researching where you need to learn it. Spend some time on these questions:
1. What schools offer that degree or what trade school offers that certification?
2. Who’s teaching the craft?
3. What’s the best training program out there?
4. Is the program affordable?
5. Does it fit in your current budget?
Ultimately you want to find a place that specializes and is recognized for training people to do what you want to do.
Your passion to learn will drive you and help you discover your next best step.
This can often feel a little overwhelming. It raises a lot of questions for people, as they aren’t sure what that transition should look like from getting where they are now to where they want to be. People who want to move into a new job often ask, “Should I quit my job and go back to school?” I get this question on my radio show a lot. My answer? Not necessarily.
Every job requires skills and knowledge, but not every job requires a degree or certification. If you’re not sure what kind of education your dream job requires, talk to the producers and professionals in your field. They will know what qualifications and experience you’ll truly need and will be able to show you the different paths to get to your destination.
A Different Kind of School
If you want it badly enough, you can find the right place to learn no matter where you are. I came across a story recently of someone who perfectly illustrates this concept. This guy grew up a movie fan. Now I know a lot of folks say they love movies, but this person loved them so much that his personal Mount Everest was to become a filmmaker. In fact, he was so sure he wanted to make movies that he found a job in a local video store where he worked for the next several years making just a few bucks an hour. He wasn’t just passing the time. He used the place he was in as an opportunity to learn by watching literally hundreds, if not thousands, of movies. He intently studied the films for their dialogue, plot twists, shots, camera angles, and lighting. And he took mental notes on techniques that would eventually add to his own style.
Every job requires skills and knowledge, but not every job requires a degree or certification.
Who was this guy? None other than the award-winning, Quentin Tarantino. Those years spent watching movies in a video store didn’t earn him a certificate or a diploma. In fact, you probably would have looked at that kid and thought he was wasting his life away, hanging out in a video store, watching movies, and working for nearly nothing. But Tarantino used that place as a school. All those notes he took were filed away for future reference. He committed the scenes and plot twists from all the Kung Fu films, crime capers, and horror flicks he watched to memory and used elements of them in his later work. That little video store gave him some of the best education and learnings he needed to become one of the most famous filmmakers of our time.34
If you’re committed, you’ll find a way to get the education you need to get into proximity to work that matters. I’m sure there are plenty of filmmakers who’d love to have some of the opportunities and successes that Tarantino has achieved professionally, but how many of them would actually be willing to spend years making minimum wage to get there? Finding your own place to learn will take time and energy, and when you do find it, it will take patience and persistence to gather the knowledge you need. But—just like Tarantino—you aren’t limited by where you can start your learning!
Traditional vs. Nontraditional Education
You may discover that the path to your dream career does require traditional education. My friend Matthew was a successful executive for an international import firm. In the course of his work there, Matthew discovered a passion for negotiating contracts, so he decided to find out what it would take to move into one of those positions. He learned he needed to earn an advanced degree in international trade law, so that is what he did. And he did it with his company’s encouragement and an education benefit to help pay for it! He’s n
ow doing exactly what he wants to do and was able to get a quality education to do it.
Traditional colleges require students to take basic general education courses called “101s” before you move on to the major-specific courses that train you in your field. Don’t assume that your 101 courses can only be found in traditional academic settings. It’s also possible to get your 101s in by observing professionals in the workplace or spending time in proximity to the product you’ll be producing. For example, Wes had a passion for art and dreamed of becoming a skilled artist. He took a part-time job as a security guard at a renowned art museum, which gave him time to observe the master works of painters he admired and to listen in on conversations of people interacting with the art. At home, Wes spent countless hours in his studio drawing, painting, and studying the great artists whose works appeared at the museum. Those hours he spent learning at the museum were a huge investment in his education, and it did not cost him a dime. He was being paid while he learned.
Universities, community colleges, and trade schools are great places to learn, but they’re not for everyone. Sure, you must be knowledgeable and educated in your craft, but knowledge can be found both inside and outside of a classroom. You may find that the traditional academic setting isn’t the direction you need to go to get in proximity to your dream job. When I decided to attend Jeff Batten’s broadcasting school in Atlanta, I knew that I didn’t need a degree. What I needed was a place to learn the fundamentals before I went out to practice in a work environment. That nontraditional educational setting equipped me with many of the basic skills I still use in my broadcasting work today.
Another option to consider is online education or trade-specific schools. Depending on the type of work you’re pursuing it’s possible to find the professors you need in certification programs or trade schools—and they may even be a better fit for you. Bart, for example, was working in construction when he decided he wanted to specialize as an electrician and open his own business. So he found a trade school to learn that craft, and before he even finished the program, he had multiple job offers. He’s now a happy and successful business owner.
Keep Your Day Job
The thought of going back to school or investing time in learning a new job can be intimidating, especially if you’ve got bills to pay. Not everyone can just quit working for as long as it takes to learn a whole new gig. But here’s some good news: you can keep your existing job while pursuing your education on the side. Justin, a guy I met, did just that. He wanted to teach art to young people, so he enrolled in a master’s program that met on the weekends at a local university. That flexible schooling option gave him the knowledge he needed to land a job at an art school without interfering with his day job in the process.
And my friend Ann was able to do the same thing. While working at a hospital, she realized her passion for helping people and decided to become an RN. She found a great nursing program at a local community college and continued working at the hospital while she attended classes on nights and weekends. And she did that until she finished her degree! Those are just two examples of people who didn’t just quit their jobs cold turkey. They were able to find educational options that worked with their busy work schedules, so they could continue bringing in an income and providing for themselves and their families.
Also consider taking online classes, reading books, and participating in webinars. You can get great training these days through online programs or even just reading a book, so don’t limit yourself to thinking that it has to happen in a formal classroom.
THE CULTURE OF A PROFESSION
Finding a place you can learn will give you access to the culture of a profession. What do I mean by that? The culture of a profession is simply all the things that make up a workplace: the people, the mission of the place, employees’ attitudes and the way they work together, the company morale, even down to the feel of the place when you walk in. Gaining access to a company’s culture can help you clearly understand how what you want to do fits into the industry as a whole. As you learn about a role you are interested in, this will either confirm your direction or push you to change direction to a role you are better suited for.
My friend Zoe knew she wanted to work in the A&R (artists and repertoire) department at a record company. It’s what she’d studied for in school. She made phone calls and knocked on doors until she found an internship on Music Row in Nashville. In her time there, she picked up on the culture of the company: how people dressed, how they talked, how they divided responsibilities. In fact, she discovered that the role of an A&R person was different at a small record label than from what she’d learned in her college classes. Zoe’s place to learn equipped her to understand the culture of the industry enough to land her first job!
And in some ways, my first broadcasting internship at the local sports talk radio station in Atlanta taught me similar things. I poured coffee for the radio hosts and looked up things on YouTube for them while they did their show. I didn’t play a huge role, I never sat behind a microphone, and I didn’t get paid a dime, but I was able to observe, learn, and get a much-needed perspective. I went from being a complete outsider to knowing the lingo and the culture. This is what a place to learn can offer you on your climb, and that’s why this stage is so important.
A CHANCE TO SEE THE FUTURE
See places of learning as an opportunity to look into the future and imagine yourself working in that role.
It can be intimidating to jump into learning something new at first, but don’t allow yourself to stay stuck in work that doesn’t matter to you and that you have no passion for. You can do this! See places of learning as an opportunity to look into the future and imagine yourself working in that role. Set aside those limiting beliefs of pride and fear, and take on the challenge of pushing yourself closer to your dream job. The knowledge you gain will help you decide for sure if this is the career you want to go after. It’s why aspiring teachers sit in on classroom teaching to observe seasoned teachers at work. It’s why medical students often shadow an experienced ER doctor. They’re all asking: Is this where I want to be? Is this what I want to do with my life?
Your time observing and learning will give you a strong sense of the work you’re aiming for, motivating you to keep moving toward your dream job. It will help you find clarity about the things you enjoy. And you’ll gain the knowledge you need to move to the next vital stage of your journey—finding a place to practice!
The Proximity Process
1. Make a list of places that are recognized for training people in what you need to learn.
2. Determine how much it will cost.
3. Decide how much you can afford, then calculate how long it will take to complete the education based on the availability of your time and money.
Chapter 9
A Place to Practice
I think we all learn by doing rather than thinking about doing.
—Jennifer Westfeldt
In your place to practice, you’ll start to convert education into execution! No matter what field you’re pursuing, a place to practice is essential. It allows you to get in the reps you need to improve and prepares you for a real role doing what you want to do.
Doctors are a good example of this. They spend years training in their field. After going through eight years of formal education—four years for an undergraduate degree plus another four years (at least) for medical school—they then spend an additional three to seven years in a residency program. That’s their place to practice. It’s real experience with real patients. Aren’t you thankful medical students aren’t thrown into life-or-death situations right away? I know I am.
Years ago I broke my thumb, tearing the ligament in two. When the doctor told me I needed surgery to regain the use of it, I never questioned whether or not he was going to do a good job. I trusted that based on his credentials (of finishing medical school), his practice (during residency), and his further practice and experience (on t
he job), he would repair my thumb like new. No one would go into surgery confidently if they were the first patient that surgeon had ever operated on! That just doesn’t happen. Medical students practice for hours and hours before they ever get to step foot in an operating room to perform surgery. And you’ll need to do the same as you pursue your dream job.
WHAT YOU STAND TO GAIN
When you spend time practicing what you have learned and observed from the experts in your industry—the professionals and the producers who are experiencing a ton of success—you’ll quickly discover the payoff of practicing your craft. Here’s what you’ll gain from the hours of practice you put in:
1. Real Experience
2. Feedback
3. Freedom to Fail
4. Wins
Arnold Palmer is someone who gained everything from the many hours and years he spent practicing golf. His father gave him his first set of golf clubs when he was only three years old, and as a young boy, Palmer played golf every chance he got. At age eleven, Palmer started working as a caddie and was spending even more time practicing and analyzing golf courses. He was awarded a golf scholarship to Wake Forest College in North Carolina but dropped out after one of his best friends was killed in a car accident. He spent some time in the service, even building a nine-hole course to practice on at his training center. Then once his enlistment term ended, he decided to participate in the U.S. Amateur golf tournament in 1954. And he won. Four years later Palmer won the Masters Tournament.35 That victory and the numerous other victories and awards Palmer earned were the result of hours upon hours and years upon years of practice. Palmer joked about the amount of time he practiced: “It’s a funny thing,” he said. “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” And while he did seem to have a stroke of good luck—with multiple wins and being the first person ever to make a million dollars in earnings playing golf—his success had much more to do with the amount of time he spent practicing.36