The wise words of a mentor I often mention, Bill Connolly, are again ringing in my mind and defining my life. We had a conversation a month or two back in regards to goals and building one's tomorrow. He spoke to the importance of intentionality and deciding, to an extent, how you'll invest your time before you're in it. He told me to sit down and ponder my goals, and determine accordingly how much time I want to invest into my JOB, how much time I want to invest into building my CAREER, and how much time I want to invest into SELF. In theory (and in practice), I should be investing in all three categories (not necessarily an equal amount of time) and I should be doing so with clear goals and routines in mind. This week, I made it a point to set aside time in all three categories, and to say the least, saw the proof that it's a good strategy.
Until July 5th, City Year is not my JOB - Prototopics is. Isaac and I intentionally set aside time every single day to hop the bus to a Starbucks with decent seating, trade a few tiny purchases for an entire day's duration of free Wi-Fi, and continue creating value and optimizing our opportunities. We set aside task-specific time each day and eventually head home having a close-to-completely crossed out To Do list. This week, we held our first Miami-based workshop,
Until July 5th, City Year is not my JOB - Prototopics is. Isaac and I intentionally set aside time every single day to hop the bus to a Starbucks with decent seating, trade a few tiny purchases for an entire day's duration of free Wi-Fi, and continue creating value and optimizing our opportunities. We set aside task-specific time each day and eventually head home having a close-to-completely crossed out To Do list. This week, we held our first Miami-based workshop,
ordered some very basic business cards, and put ourselves in the way of all the contacts we needed. We took the suggestion of an energetic intern we met back at the Emerge Americas Conference and set aside time this past Thursday evening (and every Thursday evening to come), making our way to a program hosted at CIC Miami known as Venture Cafe. The intention of this programming is to connect members of the innovation-oriented community here in Miami with other like-minded individuals, providing a brilliant opportunity to support each other on projects, recruit talent for your own company, or gain a more thorough understanding of the innovation landscape in this area. When you register for the event, your name tags says nothing but your name and a number (used to indicate how many times you've been before.) I'd have to say, for a couple of (1)s, we had a relatively successful night. I recognized a few people - very important people - who'd been speakers at City Year's Learning & Development Days this past spring. We initiated conversations, gained some important information and powerful perspectives and |
built some connections that'll most definitely propel us closer to the kind of contacts we're ultimately looking for. We were able to enjoy a night of free beer (which neither of us took advantage of), engaging conversations, brightly painted walls and even brighter people.
Oh, and we also got pulled aside by two exceptionally perky women to conduct an interview on the future of work spaces. We gave huge shoutouts to Tech Valley & The New Tech Network, talked all about the hope for a workforce driven by actual talent and brainpower, and made great friends with one of the designers on the team. Turns out, they're working on an impressive projects themselves - a form of raw news reporting that purposes to educate, inform, and entertain people via their local community as opposed to the global one. It's called The New Tropic, and if you currently live in one of the cities they serve, you should try 'em out with me.
As you can tell, work wise, we started producing great results when we decided how to invest our time before we were in it. The same could be said for the time I intentionally invested into SELF this week. I made the decision to set aside time every single night to reach my step count goal - 10,000/day or 70,000/week. Some nights, it meant a quick one-lapper around my complex, and other times, it was closer to two hours and 8 laps (around 8,000 steps). I decided to spend the entire time I'm walking talking on the phone, catching up with people I care about or haven't touched base with in a while. This week I was able to invest in upwards of 10 relationships that I value, killing two birds with one stone and simultaneously working on two personal goals, all because I set time aside before I was in it.
Most of these conversations ended up being more than an opportunity to catch up, resulting in everything from plans to travel to see each other to the commitment to taking online classes together (photoshop, financial literacy, drawing, etc.). But perhaps my favorite of all was the thrilling invitation I received to help brand and build the soon-to-be Insta-famous account known as Chinventures.
Most of these conversations ended up being more than an opportunity to catch up, resulting in everything from plans to travel to see each other to the commitment to taking online classes together (photoshop, financial literacy, drawing, etc.). But perhaps my favorite of all was the thrilling invitation I received to help brand and build the soon-to-be Insta-famous account known as Chinventures.
One of the most enthusiastic and entertaining people I know, also known as Michelle Liu, is absolutely infamous, or should I say chinfamous, for pulling out this strange face (pictured above) any and every time the opportunity presents itself. She turned her passion for "chinning" into a lifestyle and soon after, an Instagram account, bought a few plane tickets, got a few followers and made it a thing. There are some dope ideas in the works - things you won't want to miss. Follow her at @chinventures and stay tuned for greatness.
The funniest piece of this entire story is that Michelle and I know each other from a Professional Business Fraternity where we all dress in well-tailored clothing, legitimately love LinkedIn, teach people how to tie ties, and host networking events instead of frat parties.
The funniest piece of this entire story is that Michelle and I know each other from a Professional Business Fraternity where we all dress in well-tailored clothing, legitimately love LinkedIn, teach people how to tie ties, and host networking events instead of frat parties.
Somehow, someway, our relationship morphed from chapter meetings to chins, but honestly, I dig it.
I've also decided to spend some purely social time each week, having no agenda but enjoying my time with friends, teammates, mentors, or total strangers. This week, my brother and I took a trip to Bayside (a fan favorite) to spend an evening with my dance partner who was visiting from his new home in West Palm Beach, and a day later, an undocumented dinner trip to Denny's to see some of my fellow midyears and to make use of the AARP discount my brother so randomly earned. It was lovely (and 15% off!)
I've also decided to spend some purely social time each week, having no agenda but enjoying my time with friends, teammates, mentors, or total strangers. This week, my brother and I took a trip to Bayside (a fan favorite) to spend an evening with my dance partner who was visiting from his new home in West Palm Beach, and a day later, an undocumented dinner trip to Denny's to see some of my fellow midyears and to make use of the AARP discount my brother so randomly earned. It was lovely (and 15% off!)
When it comes to time invested in my CAREER, I have an especially long way to go. Quite honestly, I don't have much of a vision for this component of my future and what I really need to do is set aside time to figure that out. In the meantime, however, I set time aside to read, research, explore, discover, and try new things. I stopped reading fiction (for now) in order to perpetuate my interest in self-development books. I set aside a bit of time each day to read, some time each week to watch a documentary or two, and time to learn about things that have caught my attention as often as they come up. Be it a Czech singer I Shazam'd from a girl at the pool or a new way to teach people about privilege, I'll always make time for something as important as curiosity. I'll soon be setting aside time for designing personal business cards and routine LinkedIn tweaks, but for now, I'll continue to explore and, an incredibly effective habit, talk to as many people as possible, especially people you meet in Ubers, people you share tables with at Starbucks, and any group of people all wearing the same shirt (except bachelorette parties ... that's a whole different game.)
Moral of the story, decide how you'd like to invest your time before you're in it and watch the near-immediate proof that it's a good strategy. A few intentional decisions seem to make the all the difference.
Moral of the story, decide how you'd like to invest your time before you're in it and watch the near-immediate proof that it's a good strategy. A few intentional decisions seem to make the all the difference.
MIND-BLOWING MOMENTS OF THE WEEK
Normally, I do "Feel Good Moments of the Week", but this week had all too many mind-blowing moments. I had to adjust accordingly.
1. Isaac and I bussed all the way to South Beach (it's quite a process) to put in some work at a beach-front Starbucks and then hit the ocean. We showed up to an outlet-less and wifi-less venue. We asked the barista what was going on, and she said that every Starbucks on South Beach had made these major changes within the least few months. It's safe to say we couldn't get anything done and will be checking all of South Beach off the list of places we should go to accomplish anything business-related.
2. I won't give away the secret to the entire internet, but this week, I found out that a few friends of mine are geniusly taking advantage of one low-key furniture company's 365-day return policy. They furnish their apartment for 11 months, and then take things apart, return the furniture, get a full refund, move, and then furnish again. It's a brilliant strategy that I will begin to employ until the company catches on to what people are doing and changes their policy.
3. A very generous friend and fellow midyear invited us over to her house to hand off some spare food items, and to our surprise, we left with a few carloads worth of things. A futon, art work, plants (as cool as a Bonsai tree and strange as a corn plant), a Harry Potter cup collection, a year's supply of toiletries, and enough food to construct a literal "Hurricane Stock Pile". We finally got the cinnamon we needed to make French Toast and the medicine I needed to cure my casualties from fighting off the lizard in our apartment this past week. Shoutout to Savannah! She's an Alabamian, vegan goddess with a heart of gold and soul of plant matter.
4. Isaac and I were stuck in traffic on the bus one day and got talking about another mind-blowing secret that I won't blow up on the internet. Long story short, there's a financial investment hack with negative % risk. It's impossible not to make money off this trick, and no one's doing it because it's a well-kept secret on behalf of big commercial banks. My mind is undoubtedly blown, and the second I have money to invest, I know where it's going.
5. Back to that "talk to people wearing the same shirt" thing: Isaac and I ended up talking to two dudes the other day, just because they had the same shirt. Turns out, they are two young guys from the Mid-West, self-made entrepreneurs and humble, hungry livers of the good life. You'd never know by the way they walk around town, eager and with backpacks just like us, that they live on the 46th floor of an insanely expensive building in downtown Miami. They call themselves LIFESTYLEPRENEURS and though underrated in terms of Youtube views, they're incredibly wise and charismatic dudes. The craziest part ... Isaac explained to them that we shack up in Starbucks because we have no wifi, and they responded with "We have an office downtown that you're more than welcome to use."
1. Isaac and I bussed all the way to South Beach (it's quite a process) to put in some work at a beach-front Starbucks and then hit the ocean. We showed up to an outlet-less and wifi-less venue. We asked the barista what was going on, and she said that every Starbucks on South Beach had made these major changes within the least few months. It's safe to say we couldn't get anything done and will be checking all of South Beach off the list of places we should go to accomplish anything business-related.
2. I won't give away the secret to the entire internet, but this week, I found out that a few friends of mine are geniusly taking advantage of one low-key furniture company's 365-day return policy. They furnish their apartment for 11 months, and then take things apart, return the furniture, get a full refund, move, and then furnish again. It's a brilliant strategy that I will begin to employ until the company catches on to what people are doing and changes their policy.
3. A very generous friend and fellow midyear invited us over to her house to hand off some spare food items, and to our surprise, we left with a few carloads worth of things. A futon, art work, plants (as cool as a Bonsai tree and strange as a corn plant), a Harry Potter cup collection, a year's supply of toiletries, and enough food to construct a literal "Hurricane Stock Pile". We finally got the cinnamon we needed to make French Toast and the medicine I needed to cure my casualties from fighting off the lizard in our apartment this past week. Shoutout to Savannah! She's an Alabamian, vegan goddess with a heart of gold and soul of plant matter.
4. Isaac and I were stuck in traffic on the bus one day and got talking about another mind-blowing secret that I won't blow up on the internet. Long story short, there's a financial investment hack with negative % risk. It's impossible not to make money off this trick, and no one's doing it because it's a well-kept secret on behalf of big commercial banks. My mind is undoubtedly blown, and the second I have money to invest, I know where it's going.
5. Back to that "talk to people wearing the same shirt" thing: Isaac and I ended up talking to two dudes the other day, just because they had the same shirt. Turns out, they are two young guys from the Mid-West, self-made entrepreneurs and humble, hungry livers of the good life. You'd never know by the way they walk around town, eager and with backpacks just like us, that they live on the 46th floor of an insanely expensive building in downtown Miami. They call themselves LIFESTYLEPRENEURS and though underrated in terms of Youtube views, they're incredibly wise and charismatic dudes. The craziest part ... Isaac explained to them that we shack up in Starbucks because we have no wifi, and they responded with "We have an office downtown that you're more than welcome to use."
And all because we have a habit of speaking to people with the same shirt on, we now have an "office", wifi, and access to casual yet quality mentorship. We are actively living in the world of possibilities, and the third Prentice sibling has yet to arrive! By next week's post, we'll be three siblings strong and an even wilder force in this world. Stay tuned & have an excellent week full of time well-invested.