881. Investing in His Career Sweet Spot

“Entering community college was a life changing experience. It was all group work, and I thrived. It was magic and I ended up starting a business to help pay for tuition. I became class president, worked for the school newspaper, ran the marketing club, planned the school graduation and won almost every scholarship there was in the business program. I found that working in teams in a collaborative environment under high pressure was the absolute best thing for me. I didn’t even realize how impactful it was at the time, but in hindsight, it was absolutely life changing.”

1) Picking a college: “I ended up calling a bunch of executives in the advertising industry, asking them what schooling they recommended to get into the business, which is what helped me to start finding my way. We have a school here called British Columbia Institute of Technology and they have an advertising and marketing program. The executives recommended that was the best program and it was where they preferred to hire students from. So that’s where I went.”

2) A lesson from Elvis Presley’s life: “My family didn’t just love Elvis, we worshiped him. We actually had in our dining room the old 1970’s velvet wallpaper and a picture of Elvis Presley. That’s the only art in our dining room. He was a big influence in my life. He was so talented, and he had achieved what we would call the American Dream. He had it all. But apparently, all those material things don’t add up to much because it caused him to basically implode and self-destruct.”

3) Invest in your sweet spot to really get clear on what your sweet spot is: “It starts with knowing where it is that you absolutely feel great and do your best work, starting by getting clear on what it is with a clean slate. Anything’s possible. Snap your fingers and imagine what kind of work you would enjoy doing every day? There are a few exercises in my books, Your Oxygen Mask First and Your Oxygen Mask First Workbook.”

4) How to do a taste test on being in your sweet spot: “Talk to someone who is already there: learn about it, touch it, feel it and see it. Connect with your own emotions. Because the blocks are emotional, they’re not real. Then maybe you take on a volunteer project at work or do a volunteer project outside of work to somehow start to be in the energy of whatever it is you truly want to do.”

Your Oxygen Mask First: 17 Habits to Help High Achievers Survive & Thrive in Leadership & Life, by Kevin Lawrence

Your Oxygen Mask First Workbook, by Kevin Lawrence