👂007_Selected Podcast Episodes for the the Work Weekday: Reality.

Monday: “All reality is interaction.” Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, says we understand the world by it’s happening, not it’s things. It’s relations. Interesting tidbit: He also speaks of context regarding a quote from Einstein relating to time.

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Tuesday: Can reality TV influence actual reality? In a world that sees the very act of singing as dangerous. Regarding the UN-backed reality show “Inspire Somalia” and it’s outcome.

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Wednesday: On black bears, and a town in Minnesota (Eagle’s Nest Township) Divided upon whether or not the bears are dangerous, leading to a death.

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Thursday: 2 main stories, one of a woman sniffing what her dog sniffed to break her way of perceiving reality. Another of a guy who creates a randomizer app to break his routine and his reality bubble. Super epic.

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Friday: Reality is what you make it, Dan Heath talks about creating life-changing moments. Among some interesting example: a hotel that creates experiences, and Joshie the Giraffe.

Now What? On Navigating Rejection (For WE ARE NEXT)

I'm Annie and I'm currently a Designer at Ogilvy. Ogilvy, I was an Associate Designer at Deep Focus ... who got laid off. Prior to that I was a MAIP finalist ... who did not get an agency to select me. In other words, I am pretty well acquainted. And of course we can go back, but all of this is to be said.

Inherently we need to belong. In prehistoric days, being cast out could very well mean LITERAL DEATH! Since our brain does whatever it can to keep us alive, it registers rejection as physical pain. So yes, it hurts. 

Now What, What Now?

1) “The Cycle of Shit.”: feel shitty, act shitty, be shitty, more shitty, and repeat.
After being laid off, the “cycle of shit” began. Sure, I applied to jobs and pushed onwards, but I definitely wasn’t on top of it. In one case, I completely missed an interview at Buzzfeed. 

2) Break the cycle
When I realized I missed my interview, I broke down and cried. I then drove and parked at a CVS and just sat there in my car. The sky was super moody, deep violet with tinges of pink with heavy clouds scattered about. In a way, it was funny how the weather reflected how I felt. Even in the heaviness of it all, the sky was still beautiful, and in that moment, I just felt hopeful. It happens, it hurts, but sometimes it’s needed to serve as a wake up call. I had to take radical responsibility of my life. Here are some things that helped me break my own cycle of shit.

• Be honest with what happened—don’t underplay it, and don’t exaggerate it either. I knew that among other things, being laid off was still haunting me, so I decided to rewrite the narrative I told myself. I decided to own my story. (I Thought This Only Happens To Old People…)

• Realize that all rejection stems from not being deemed the best fit, or bad timing, or even both. Trust your rejection as feedback. Remember too that this process is a mutual one. For me, it ended up being a blessing in disguise, propelling me to do and be better.

Know what you can and can not control. Focus on what you can control to improve yourself and the situation. A starting point might be asking yourself, “How can I be a good fit?” or even rephrasing that question, “Where can I find a job that’s a better fit for me?” (More on that in a lovely post Natalie wrote: How To Actively Use Rejection To Get A Job.)

For me, this translated into side projects, which helped strengthen my design skills, as well as boost my portfolio to showcase my personality. From there, Ogilvy seemed like luck—when I saw Ogilvy’s job posting, I knew I’d be a wonderful fit, and long story short, everything fell into place.

Granted, my story will be different than yours, but underlying it all are shared emotions. Rejection can hurt and allow one to easily slip into the “cycle of shit,” but just as you can slip into the cycle, you can also break the cycle. (Though, not with the same thinking that made you slip into the cycle.) To sum, rejection can be one of the greatest teachers, as in the case of Jia Jiang—who actively sought out rejection. 

In any case, where we are now is always a collection of the past. Rejections can be a precursor to something amazing, but our choices and responses are to be made in the now, in the here.

This article was originally written for We Are Next (“an open resource built for students and jr. talent in advertising and marketing. It gathers advice, insight, and tools from all over the industry, making them accessible to everyone, while making diverse voices the norm.”)

👂006_Selected Podcast Episodes for the the Work Weekday: Madness.

Monday: Takes a while to get to the story as it’s super conversational- A story about a haunted squirrel cage jail, and Leonarda Cianciulli who made soap and teacakes out of…human bodies?!

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Tuesday: In this podcast we explore the story of Vincent Li. A passenger on a Greyhound Bus who heard voices in his head. A bizarre story turned horrendous…

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Wednesday: A two part series on Anne-Hamilton Byrne and her family cult. A cult that gained membership from respected professionals in order to kidnap children. Exploring the psychology and context of the story.

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Thursday: A comprehensive podcast series exploring the context, psychology, and story of the Heaven’s Gate cult.

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Friday: Selected listen: Prologue/ACT 1: (starts at 4:30) A story where the person’s mind doesn’t work for them. My Damn Mind.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/579/my-damn-mind

👂005_Selected Podcast Episodes for the the Work Weekday: Money.

Monday: Paula Pant is fill of wisdom. Her tagline: “You can afford anything, but not everything.” As always Afford Anything isn’t just a podcast on money rather it’s an approach on life. This listen was filled with insightful and useful knowledge from Paula herself!

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Tuesday: Everyone hates paying income taxes, so what happens when you don’t? Well, Larry Williams does just that for 3–4 years. This is an incredibly fascinating story!

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Wednesday: “The Curse of Cash.” Rogoff says big bills in circulation happen for two reasons: 1) profit motivated crime 2) tax evasion. His solution: “a less cash society.” Some countries are already headed towards that, and find out what Star Trek has to do with this.

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Thursday: The Investor’s Podcast does a wonderful job at summarizing Tony Robbin’s book “Unshakable.” Chapter by chapter Stig and Roy adds insightful comments and summarize the book. (A play by play book for the novice investor building a portfolio) Key points: if you truly understand and know what’s happening, you are unshakable.

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Friday: Lewis Howes breaks down the morning habits of the rich in an easy list. Among some of the highlights- how a rich mindset would respond.

👂004_Selected Podcast Episodes for the the Work Weekday: Identity.

Monday: Selected listen: ACT 2: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright. (11min. | starts at 31:09) A short listen on the power of a secret identity, a story about Navey Baker as a high school mascot.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/506/secret-identity/act-two

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Tuesday: Explore the inconsistency and consistency that may or may not exist (hint: may not) And what the marshmallow test by Walter Mischel was actually about. (hint: not delayed gratification and your future is not the marshmallow)

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Wednesday: Regarding a private golf course, property tax, and an ancient greek philosophical thought experiment from Plutarch’s Ship of Theseus. Asking “is it the same ship if you replaced every single wooden part?"

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Thursday: A story of a woman and her spouse’s gender transition. About endings and beginnings.

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Friday: Among the highlights: locust and grasshoppers-same thing, dreams are like overnight therapy, and the answer to the question who is Lord Birthday?