Dan Hocking

Never have I been so sure that I was making the right decision about something as I am today. That was a relief as much as anything else. I spent the weekend thinking and discussing various moves in my life, so going back to work today was going to end up as a test of sorts no matter what. Luckily, it seems that I passed this test with flying colours (although I could’ve done without destroying the left side of my face trying to shave this morning.)

Never have I been so sure about what it is that I’d like to end up doing. A great conversation with a friend in a pretty ill-planned trip to Blue Mountain yesterday allowed me to think a little bit more about the transitionary period that will need to occur for me to accomplish my goals. Still working on some transitionary stuff before I can really reveal anything (Google is a useful tool; work is important right now, as rent is a cruel mistress), but I’m excited to be able to share with you guys a solid plan as to where I’m going in my life, and how I’m going to get there.

Thanks again to everyone who has commented and e-mailed me over the last little while in regards to some of my posts and requests. I really do appreciate everything that you all say, and keep it in mind. If you ever want to contact me about anything, the e-mail’s at the top right of the menu bar above.

That’s really all I’ve got - back tomorrow, hopefully.

I wanted to avoid the cliche of making this the post to start off 2009, but things just happened to work out this way. Don’t look at the message of this post as a resolution - I find those are broken more often than not - but as a life goal that I’ve been working on for a while now.

Recently, I’ve been taking a look at what exactly it is I want to do with my life. It’s a big question, I know, and not one easily answered. I was inspired by watching Shake Hands With the Devil, the story of Gen. Romeo Dallaire and the Rwanda genocides. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I don’t have that question answered - but I have come much closer to an answer as to what I’d like to do with the remainder of my 20s.

This decision has come from a few conversations over the last while - both in person and online. I find that the corporate lifestyle doesn’t really satisfy me at this point, and I suspect that I was pretending that was what I really wanted to do at this point. That’s not to say that I don’t want to do the corporate life eventually, but this isn’t the time for it, at least in my opinion.

Your 20s are a time for you to take chances, to do things that may not work, to screw things up. There is very little that you can do at this age, at the mere beginning of your “working” life that will cause serious long-term damage to you. (Yes, Jaime, I totally cribbed this from you - my apologies.)

With that said, and my current mindset, I’m looking to work towards the goal of making meaningful change while I’m still young and motivated to do so. The specific attack plan isn’t developed yet - and I’m in my lease until September, so I’m in my current digs for a while - but one of the things I’d like to do is head overseas to work or volunteer. Not to teach English (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but to build things, help people, and use my situation and skills to help those in need. I think that the experience provided by this would be invaluable, and humbling.

If you have any ideas or thoughts for me as to programs I could get involved in, please let me know - I’m definitely all ears. I wish Canada had a Peace Corps - that sort of program would be perfect for the sorts of stuff I’d like to do at the moment.

I’m looking to take a lot of chances, with the aim of making change and helping people. I may fail, yes, but I’ll be able to come back from it. If you’re young, and stuck doing something you don’t like to do, why don’t you look to make a positive change in your life, and perhaps consider making changes in others?

Chris Brogan wrote a great piece on lead generation in marketing and sales efforts that hit a nerve with me - but not because of the sales and marketing side of the argument. Instead, I think one can take a lot of the points that Chris makes and extend them to your personal marketing efforts - or your personal career search. After the break, I’ll talk about what sorts of things Chris mentioned specifically that you should be applying in your own life.

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