Let’s talk about something that may sound non-intuitive when it comes to achieving your entrepreneurial dreams.

It’s a line of thought that many of the twenty-something “gurus” touting their greatness on social media today would push back on.  It’s a way of approaching the whole concept of work-life balance with  some unique potential to optimize the use of your present resources while constructing a nice launch pad for future success while also maintaining your present way of life in the meantime.

What is it?

Keeping your 9-5 while building your side-hustle.

Do you really need to “escape”?

“What”?!”, I hear a lot of readers asking?

“But I want to leave my day job behind for ever.  I hate working for someone else.  I need to escape!”

A lot of people think this way, and I can understand why.  They feel like there current job is limited, they’re not using their talents in ways that could be much more fulfilling.  Or, they don’t have the kind of flexibility with their time to do other things that they really want to do.

In fact, a lot of people talk down about the idea working for someone else.  Others encourage people to quit their jobs as soon as possible.

But in doing so, they ignore all the advantages that having a job provides.

You see, a good, reliable job, or even the ability to get a job when you need one can be exceedingly helpful on a number of fronts.  This is true even if your ultimate goal is freedom, starting a side hustle, or investing more time in mastering a hobby.

But what are some of the advantages to keeping your job and how can you start to realize them?  Let’s walk through a few of them below.

Free is often the best of all

There are multiple ways to obtain training and knowledge necessary to grow.  Some immediately self-directed options include books, courses, seminars and online educational videos.  Consuming quality informational content is one method to establishing a knowledge base you can expand upon.

But this method leaves other things to be desired.

This mindset, by itself, doesn’t inherently allow you the opportunity to develop the actual skills and experience needed to succeed.  There’s still a lot of value to the “learn by doing” methodology, and the importance of on the job training cannot be denied.  And remember, even though skills you develop through these means may not directly apply to your current or future role or side hustle, perhaps you can find ways to make them apply with some creative thinking.

Furthermore, the cool thing about leveraging your time on the job for learning the skills you need for the future is that it’s essentially free training.

Of course, the people training you while in these positions probably assume that you’ll be working there for awhile.  And maybe you will.  But it’s not always easy to know what the future holds, and there may come circumstances that are outside of your control that may require you to adapt.

Jobs come and jobs go, but the proficiencies you develop while doing those jobs stay with you forever provided you maintain them.

Mentors here, there, and everywhere

Another key advantage derived from keeping your day job is the typically easy accessibility to great mentors that it can offer you.  Assuming your present role is at least somewhat aligned with what you’d like to do in the future, you’ll likely be working in close proximity with some individuals who have achieved a degree of excellence in the same industry.

And any manager worth their salt would be supportive of you meeting and working with a mentor in your company.  They may even have some recommendations for you to reach out to – people who they respect, and have worked with well in the past.  They may even help you with an introduction if you ask for one.

Of course, not all people in positions of leadership will support you in this way.  It may also depend on a number of circumstances, such as whether you’ve shown yourself to be a good employee.  But if the option is there, in can be a lot easier to connect with qualified mentors when you already have that support system established.

I’d rather surf the waves than tread water

Who wants to live with their back to the wall?

Well, prematurely leaving your job before your side-hustle is actually generating any revenue can lead to just that.  I’ve heard countless stories of entrepreneurs struggling to make in during the early, lean years.  And eventually, some do make it.  Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.  And many of these would-be entrepreneurs even have families in tow who are depending on them to bring home the bacon, so to speak.

Not to say there isn’t some truth to the idea that having that added motivation can inspire to you work even harder.  But I think we can all agree that that is an uncomfortable situation to say the least.

Avoiding incessant questions and judgement from naysayers

If you quit your job to pursue your “passion” it’s often accompanied by negative comments from friends, family, neighbors, etc.  And if you’re not in a position on the timeline where you’re actually producing results with your business (for instance, it may be very early on  in the process), this unsolicited commentary can bring you down.

This is one of the reasons I’ve always found benefit in working on side projects without announcing it to the world.  And it’s all the more easy to do so if you don’t make drastic life changes (like quitting your job) early on.

Learning how to maximize your time

If you’re building a side hustle while you still have your job it may be a struggle to find more than a few hours every day to work on it.

This can actually be a blessing because you’ll soon realize that there’s little time to waste.  Confronted with multiple tasks that need to be done you’ll naturally have to give precedence to the most important ones.

Those things that will actually move the needle need to be prioritized and if you’re all about getting traction, you’ll be more inclined to complete the essentials early and often.

One way to think about this period of time is as your training ground.  Great entrepreneurs absolutely need to make the most of their time, and you’re getting a crash course in this principle while judiciously finding a few hours every day and on the weekend.  Of course, with a steady income from a day job, the results will come more from a must have goal-based type of place.

But that can also be a good thing because successful enterprises are often the natural the result of deliberately chosen goals.

What about you?  What’s your next step in your career and / or entrepreneurial journey?

Leave a comment below, and let me know.

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The post The Underrated Advantages of Keeping your Day Job appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

When I was just starting out in the world of work it took me a while to get my career track figured out.  I went from one job role to another in various industries, wasting too much time in a scattered and arguably chaotic fashion throughout.

The post 5 Questions to Help Shape the Course of Your Career appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

If you’ve never been betrayed by a friend, consider yourself lucky.

A betrayal, in many respects, is one of the more egregious things a person can do because it typically comes from someone to whom you’ve opened yourself up in a multitude of ways.

And in fact, misdirected vulnerability is one condition which lays the groundwork for betrayal.

An example situation could be when you’ve let your guard down with a particular person – and obviously, the wrong person.  And when you least expect it they lie to you, discard you, or say unnecessarily hurtful things, leaving you totally confused and wondering why.

And because you trusted this individual, your defenses were down and your “armor” was left at home.

But this isn’t always the worst of it.

It’s in the weeks and months following a situation like this that your mettle is often further tested.  Your mind and heart may filter through all the reasons why this even happened.  At the same time, you may even start to think that you’re the one who’s at fault.

Questions may come to mind such as:

• “What could’ve I done to stop it?”
• “Why didn’t I see the signs from this person early on?”
• “Did I do something to cause this?

From my experience, proceeding down this line of inquiry doesn’t make the situation any better.  And in fact, it’s part of a larger series of mistakes people often make once they’ve been betrayed.  Let’s cover these mistakes now, and consider some different ways to think about the concept of betrayal.

Mistake #1: Thinking that it’s their fault

Inherent to its definition, if a betrayal is truly just that (a betrayal), it means it isn’t your fault.

The decisions the betrayer made were theirs, not yours.  However, if you’re of a trusting nature, you likely think you played some role in the situation.

Now, let me tell you – there’s nothing wrong with being trusting.  In a perfect world we should be able to trust all people.

But unfortunately, a betrayal means that someone took advantage of your kindheartedness, broke your trust, and acted upon their self-interest alone.  And as you and I both know (and as many soon find out living life), you can’t trust everyone.

The prime advantage of correcting this mistake is that it helps to differentiate the betrayer’s actions from yours, which is a benefit from a self-awareness perspective.  It also helps to take unnecessary guilt out of the mix.

Mistake #2:  Trying to fix that which is beyond repair

I don’t know about you, but when someone has showed me a hint of disloyalty I immediately begin to think about them as a person who is no longer worth my time.  Reason being, disloyalty is of a more of a deep-seated nature than other things.

Perhaps I act too fast in this regard.

But in my mind, disloyalty is a character flaw on a fundamental level.  Consequently, it’s something that will probably take a lot of work to fix.

Many people aren’t willing to do that type of work.

And that’s all the more true for those who haven’t expressed any sense of regret about the whole ordeal.  But overall, it’s important to ask yourself whether it’s worth your time to help them do the work.

I don’t know about you, but my time is valuable and I have better places to be.

That’s not to say that disloyal people can’t change.  But you needn’t feel that it’s your responsibility to try and fix them.

Mistake #3: Not attempting to make new friends

There are basically two types of mindsets which foster this mistake.

One is when people don’t make the effort to establish new relationships because, once they’ve been burned they become jaded.  They see everyone as someone who might betray.

And that’s an inaccurate view.

There are a lot of great, loyal people in the world who are truly caring, and worth your time.

The other type of perspective which influences this mindset is when people think the person who did the betraying will someday “come around.”  And of course, some people do.  And there’s nothing wrong with hoping that they do.

But it doesn’t mean that you need to wait around for it to happen.  Chances are, people who are apt to betray need to do some major self-reflection and go through some growth – whether temporal or spiritual.

That’s on them.

And it’s not something you should have to wait around for, and there’s nothing wrong with making new friends.  A true friend (new or otherwise) can be a great source of comfort and counsel – two of the most important things in life.

Mistake #4: Lingering near the “scene” of past events

When stuff goes south, I’ve always been a proponent of the “get out of Dodge” mentality.

What this means is, if it’s clear that no positive action can be taken in a particular situation, and you have the means and wherewithal to take some time away to relax and reflect, you might discover some positive benefits.

This could entail taking some approved PTO, going on vacation, or even visiting and staying with a family member for awhile who loves you.

Lot of opportunity here in that this can help renew your perspective, allowing you to see the entire situation in a better, more constructive light.

Mistake #5: Failing to recognize the value they bring

You are valuable.

You are worthy.

There is hope for tomorrow.

These are truths that cannot be denied.

But some of us have a tendency to miss the forest for the trees, and over generalize.  We think that since it didn’t work out with one person, one friend, one lover, it won’t work out with anyone.

If you’re the type of person who values self-improvement (and you likely are since you’re reading this blog) that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Along those lines, one option here would be to consider this situation an opportunity to improve yourself.

We can all work on getting better.

And to be fair, perhaps the other person had certain expectations that weren’t being met.  If what happened was indeed a true betrayal, then more likely than not theses expectations were unreasonable.

And if, on the other hand, some of the fault does lie with you for whatever reason, you’ve been given a chance to see where and whether you did wrong (if you even did), and recommit yourself to doing better in the next friendship, relationship, etc.

All that to say, your value is innate.  And it certainly does not decrease because one person did you wrong, or you made a mistake.  Their actions have nothing to do with your value as a person.

Mistake #6: Refusing to forgive

A lot of people get confused about forgiveness.  They think they should withhold it because the person in question doesn’t deserve it.

And that may be true – perhaps they don’t.

But the thing is, forgiveness doesn’t have to be for them.

It can also be for you.

In fact, it may be essential to forgive if you really intend to move on.  Holding on to serious resentment won’t help you long term.  And depending on it’s intensity, it may carry over to your next relationship and lead to undesirable dynamics in the future.

Now, just because you forgive it doesn’t mean you need to forget.  If someone did you wrong, there may be value in remembering that in case you ever feel inclined to reach out to them again.

Avoiding toxic situations has always served me best.

And there’s wisdom in the old adage that a leopard doesn’t change its spots.

What are your thoughts on this post?  Have you ever been betrayed?  If so, I’d love to hear from you.

If you’d like to read more about this and related content, you can sign up to my newsletter here.

The post 6 Common Mistakes People Make After a Betrayal appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

We all want to get better.

Some do this through reading, taking courses, or going to seminars.

And these approaches are all great.

The challenge often comes when you want to integrate these learnings into daily life.  When you’re in the trenches or in a highly-competitive set of circumstances, quoting the words of your favorite motivational speaker alone isn’t necessarily all that helpful.

Clearly, for many, there’s a missing piece in the whole learning and application process.

And about four weeks ago, I stumbled upon a true game-changer.

For whatever reason, I recently picked up journaling.

The results have been eye-opening.

Whether writing about problems, daily happenings, relationships, goals, or even daily tasks, the main impact I’ve seen revolves around how clarifying thoughts in this “dojo” or practice arena of sorts can carry over to one’s daily life in a beneficial way.

Conversations I’ve been hesitant to have seem to spontaneously happen while moving in a positive direction.  Results are occurring in a more controlled and optimum manner and in most cases have are more closely aligned with my larger goals.

For those looking to incorporate a simple and cheap method they can use to take their life to the next level, lets cover seven benefits of journaling.

• Journaling allows you to deal with both old and new problems

We all have problems.  Some of them are larger than others, but ultimately, they all need to be addressed if you value living your life with courage and being your most authentic self.  Writing about these problems can help you to wrap your head around them, see what caused them (or what’s perpetuating them), understand how their standing in the way of you achieving your goals, and get some realizations about what you need to do to solve them.

• Journaling provides you an opportunity to prepare for difficult conversations

There are conversations that we all tend to avoid.  Sometimes this is out of fear of what the results might be.  The benefit of journaling here is that you can play out on paper ahead of time how you think they might go.  While journaling you can experiment with your word choices and how you think the other party might react.

In a perfect world, by rehearsing with the dynamic ahead of time this way you’ll be able to come to a win-win type resolution with the other party.  Or, you might even discover that the conversation isn’t all that important to have after all.  With that, you might get into larger thoughts about maybe simply letting the situation go, or even whether the relationship with that person is as valuable as you once thought it was.

• Journaling is a medium through which you can meditate on your goals

One key I’ve learned about pursuing goals (once they’ve been set) is how important it is to keep them top of mind.  We all know that visualization is valuable here, but personally, I’ve found it sometimes hard to stay on track while doing that type of exercise.  I get distracted or lose focus.  That’s where having a writing tool in hand comes into play.

While journaling about your goals you can write out how it will feel once you achieve them, and really design the situation to order while at the same time having the ability to go back through your writing to modify it as best you see fit.

If you make journaling about your goals a regular practice you can also reflect back on what you’ve written previously and modify your present goals to something more appropriate for you as you continue to grow.

• Journaling helps you to lay out constructive plans for goal achievement

In order to achieve a goal, you have to have a plan.  Journaling allows you to play around with your plans on paper and anticipate what will happen prior to actually moving forward with certain steps.  Going back to the “dojo” metaphor, your can think of your journaling time as your practice space where you can give deep consideration to what you think will work, what won’t, and what resources you have at your disposal.

• Journaling is a method  to clarify your thoughts and streamline your actions

Our thinking processes are often chaotic.  Also, by and large, our actions flow from our thoughts.  In many cases we don’t know why we think what we do, and are still stuck in old thought patterns that aren’t helpful for where we currently are or where we want to go.

Journaling allows you to give consideration to all these elements which in turn can help organize your actions in a most productive manner.

• Journaling gives you a designated time and place where you can really get to know yourself

Society tells us that we need to care about what other people are doing.  The media asks us “Oh, did you see what this celebrity did?”  “Did you hear about the latest song or movie?”

Personally, I struggle to find value in this type of focus.  I’m more interested in knowing myself, and understanding the type of legacy I’m going to leave.  In making the time to journal (ideally, first thing in the morning) you can help ensure that the important things in your own life are kept top of mind.

• Journaling cultivates a better understanding of past events and their implications

Through understanding the past that you can get to know the present, and help direct your future.  Journaling about previous situations, decisions, and priorities helps to promote these insights.

So, how do you start?

Since I’m still new to journaling, I’m in learning mode about finding new and better ways to make my time with pen and paper most productive.  What I’ve been doing lately, is simply sitting down and free-writing.  My typical goal for this time (which is usually no more than twenty-minutes) is to fill up one to two pages.

There’s really no particular structure I use beyond that.  I just write about anything that’s on my mind.  An added benefit of doing this is that content and tweet ideas seem to just come to me organically while at the same time tightening up my writing.

If all this sounds appealing to you, get yourself a pen and a notebook (it can even be a cheap college ruled type from the local store), and start using this simple yet profound tool today.

And if you enjoyed this article, sign up for my email newsletter list via this link today.

The post 7 Ways Journaling Can Positively Impact Your Life appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

When I was a young man, I considered success to consist of fame, fortune, and other materialistic endeavors.

In reaching a milestone in age this year…

and in reflecting back, it’s amazing how that definition has changed over time.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, flashy things that society and modern media screams at you to strive for would still often be fun to have.

But now, when I define success it has a lot more to do with having a great relationship with my future wife, raising a healthy family, and accomplishing things that help people and contribute to society as a whole.

How do you define success in your life?  Do you have to run a marathon?  Become a millionaire, or a billionaire?  Date a super-model?

I would never seek to put myself in the position to judge your definition of success.  You are free to decide what your life is about, and what makes you feel satisfied.

All that said, a helpful thing in this regard is to consider your deeper motivations.

Why is that important, and what do I mean by that?  Let’s go deeper.

When you choose a goal, it’s critically important to ask and answer the question about why you want that thing, because often times, you might be pursuing a goal that is outdated and not in line with your current values.  There could be a multitude of other, more important things right under your nose that you’re not thinking about, and that could make you feel just as happy with much less work.

An example here might help to provide some context.

Say, for instance, the only thing you’ve ever wanted is to become a billionaire.

Why do you want that?

What is it that drives creates that drive within you?  Do you just want the money to have the money?  Or is it more of an external motivation?  Maybe you want to prove someone wrong, or make someone jealous.  Were you jilted by a former lover, and you want to rub it in their face?   Maybe you have a nobler motivation, and you want to build and develop an organization to help people, and you think that getting that money first is the only way to make that happen.

Let’s isolate and examine those two drives for a minute.

Life is very short.  If your lifelong goal is based on making someone jealous you’re going to be neglecting a lot of things that could make you happy in the present moment.  If someone doesn’t love you, there are millions of other people who will love you, without you having to try so hard.  And even with that, if they don’t love you for you who are, they aren’t really going to love you if you’re a billionaire.

Or let’s look at the motivation of building an organization to help people.  If you wait until you’re wealthy to make this happen, there are a lot of people who you will not be able to help for many years while you’re working to achieve your great wealth.  Often, it could make a lot more sense to simply start helping those people now, learn how non-profits work, and steadily work to build that organization that you want to build from the ground up.

I think the point here is that a lot of the things you want to achieve are available to you in the present moment, and by closely examining your motivations you can take a hybrid approach, and accomplish multiple things at the same time.

The post Motivations appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

For many people, job hunting can be a daunting task. This is especially true when you’re down to your last savings, and in urgent need of some great work.

When you’re looking for a job, there are a few steps you can take which will help make the process a lot easier.

Know what you want

When you know what you want, you can quickly review job availability, see what it is that interests you, and efficiently apply your efforts in the most logical way. A big part of this is being aware of your skills, characteristics, and inclinations.

Additionally, knowing how your current educational achievements align with the role you desire will help to narrow the field as you pursue the job of your dreams.

Create a List

As you scan through resources to find jobs that interest you, it’s important to make a “wish list” of sorts. Pulling together 10 – 12 companies / roles that fit the bill in this area allows you to move more decisively into the next phase of the process.

Research

Hand in hand with creating the list above, is researching the companies you’re interested in. Initially, you research in order to get a handle on whether or not the jobs are a good fit for you.

Next, you research in a more focused manner in order to learn all that you can about the companies, so that you’re ready for the application and interview processes.

When you move into the interview phase, the goal is to know key points about the company, and be able to discuss these points intelligently.

Draft a Winning Resume

Depending on what the job requires, you may want to assess your resume in order to determine if it’s worded in the correct way, and whether you are highlighting the skills that you have which align with what the role requires, and the culture of the target companies.

We will discuss resume drafting in detail in an upcoming post.

Apply for the Job

In this modern era, the job application process for corporate roles is typically online. A lot of this is simply reiterating what is stated on your resume. Often, there is a spot to attach a cover letter, which we will discuss in a future post.

Know the Players

Assuming the company contacts you with interest regarding your resume and cover letter, they will reach out to you with some interview dates. Once you move into this phase, it’s helpful to know the individuals who you will be interviewing with. Who are they? What are their roles? How long have they been with the company? LinkedIn and internet browsers such as Google are great tools here.

Review Your Skills

Whenever I prepare for a job interview, I sit down with a blank word document, and create a bullet point list of my relevant skills and experience, and accomplishments.  I write them as clearly and succinctly as I can, and I make sure they are applicable to the role in question.

Next, I memorize this list and recite it in front of a mirror… over and over and over.  I practice this repeatedly, so that all of my relevant skills are fresh in my mind and so that I can discuss them with ease during the interview.

Chart Your Course

Once you get an interview time and location set up, it’s helpful to map out and travel the route you will take to get there. I typically do this a few days before the interview so that it’s fresh in my mind for the big day.

This will help you feel more comfortable on the day of the interview, as you’ll have familiarity with the location, and key landmarks.

Additionally, It might not hurt to stop by somewhere local for a quick lunch at a local restaurant so that you’ll have something in common that you can discuss with your prospective employers

Dress for Success

It’s very important to dress for the role that you want. If you’re going for a corporate role, wear something like a nice suit, slacks, dress, etc. which conveys professionalism. Additionally, it’s important to arrive on time, and be courteous throughout the interview process. Strive to achieve the “put together” presence.

Utilize Great Communication Skills

When you’re in the actual interview, actively listen and engage with the interviewers. Make great eye contact, ask relevant questions, emphasize relevant skills (where applicable) and try to enjoy the process.  There’s a balance here, which we can discuss in a future post.

Overall, when you’re enjoying the process, those interviewing you will likely enjoy it too. When you can convey that “likability” factor, it will make you that much more memorable to your prospective employers.

What have you learned throughout job the hunting / job interview?

Would you add any other key points to the list above?

JD

The post 10 Tips for a Winning Job Hunt appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

Morning Friends,

While writing this post, I’m on the couch sipping on some delicious Starbucks Pike Place Coffee courtesy of my apartment’s single cup touch screen coffee machine.  I’ve tried all variations of Starbucks coffee…

And while I know there are better coffees out there, this is one of my favorites.

Also, since my apartment provides it, it’s basically free.  So there’s that.

From looking at my weather app on my phone, it’s 62 degrees right now, and it should be up around 70 this afternoon.

Not bad for a Texas morning.

Today, I’m thinking about something close to my heart.  It’s a topic I only recently considered covering in this blog in any depth, and I’ve been hesitant to do so.

Video games

Why the hesitation to write about Video games?  Well, when I first started this blog,  the high-priority topics were life hacks and self-improvement. As it’s evolved, its become more of  a lifestyle-type writing experiment.  That, and I haven’t written anything since last April, so I’ve some time to think about it’s direction.

Wisdom and Strategy is still about these things, and I expect to have more posts up on these topics soon.

The thing that occurred to me is, I have been playing video games on and off for many years (a lot more in my jr. high school years, actually, at which time a few titles had a lot of impact).  Video games really are an enjoyable pastime, and I think that they’re fine, and surprisingly worthwhile in moderation.

A cool thing here too is that contemporary video games continue to get better.  Nowadays, a lot of them are like immersive cinematic experiences, many with profound plot-lines and character development that resonates long after the games are done.

All this to say, the plan going forward is that this topic, among others will be fun to write about, and we can certainly discuss some value-added self improvement type content along the way.

When I think about great video game story-lines and character development, one of the first series that comes to my mind is the Fallout series.  Fallout New Vegas is literally the best game I ever played, and was the reason I bought a Playstation 3 back in 2011.

The story in this game which centered around a courier seeking out the man who shot him, and ultimately saving the wastelands was endlessly compelling and thought provoking.

Along with this, some fantastic old music on the soundtrack such as Johnny Guitar by Peggy Lee and Big Iron by Marty Robbins provided a lot of extra depth and emotion to the whole experience.

Once that game was finished, I picked up Fallout 3 a number of months after.  That game was also really good, and although it didn’t quite rank up there with New Vegas, it was still a lot of fun.

A few years later, I bought Fallout 4 and a Playstation 4 soon after starting a new job.  This was also a good game (and still better than most), but it seemed a few steps down from the third installment, and significantly lower on the hierarchy than New Vegas.

After waiting patiently a few years for a follow up game, I jumped on the eagerness bandwagon with a lot of other fans when Todd Howard talked about the release of Fallout 76 at the E3 event in 2018.  The trailer they showed that day was incredible.  Along with the accompanying Country Roads theme song, and how Mr. Howard stated the world, set in West Virginia, would be “four times the size of Fallout 4” I was very intrigued.

Over next couple months, I began hearing some concerning reviews about the game.  I think people really really wanted to like it it.  Unfortunately, though, it seemed that many didn’t.  Because of this, I didn’t just rush in to buy it.

A few months after that, I noticed the price had been lowered, which was rare for a game of this stature.  For this reason, and the fact that I had some Best Buy gift cards, I decided to take the plunge and make the purchase.

After opening the box, putting the disk into my PS4, and firing up the system, I realized I needed to subscribe to the PS4’s online Playstation Network in order to run the game.  I didn’t realize this at the time as I’d never played a multiplayer game before on this console.

I figured that since I hadn’t actually paid money for the game, I could justify paying for a few months of the Playstaion Network subscription fee.  I mean, if was a good game with a lot of plot and content, and a world “four times the size” of Fallout 4, I reasoned that I wound’t need to buy any other games for the next year or so.

I started playing, created my character including particulars such as face, body type, sex, etc. and worked my way out of the vault into the wide open world.

My first impression was that the world was really beautiful and realistic looking.  It seemed a lot more vivid than the other worlds.  I was delighted to learn that there are a lot of buildings and disheveled structures to explore.

Unfortunately, that’s where the important similarities ended for me.

Speaking about the beautiful world, I did notice some bugs – Places where the physics didn’t work just right.  Examples where figures were suspended in mid-air for no reason.  I haven’t experienced any issues where the game would crash, but I did hear that others have had that problem.

The sound and music are good, and engaging, although it doesn’t appeal to me as much as the New Vegas music did, and is a bit dry comparatively.

I’m new to the multi-player experience, and while it is fun to be able to talk to other players, it seems that there not a lot of players on one server at a time, so good collaboration and team up adventures are few and far between.  Also, a lot of the folks I encounter are just mean, and start shooting right away.  So much for being a team player.

One of the things I really liked in Fallout 4 was the ability to build and design forts.  I didn’t put in as much time doing this as a lot of other players, but it was cool, and there as a lot of variety as to what you could do.

Fallout 76 has the fort-building option as well, and I can see a lot of potential for this.  The downside I discovered is that once you log out of the game, all of the work you put into a fort gets deleted, and when you log back on you no longer own that particular fort.  I’ve read that the way around this is to not log off, but I can’t see anyone but the most super hardcore gamers doing that.  My hope is that there is a work around for this, but as of right now, I haven’t discovered it.

One positive, I need to credit Bethesda (the makers of Fallout 76) with introducing me to the acronym “NPC,” which stands for non-player character.  Now, while Fallout 76 has NPC’s in the sense that there are characters you can fight – super mutants, etc., there are no NPC’s with which you can engage in dialogue, and none which push the plot forward (we’ll talk about the game’s plot or its lack thereof in a minute).  If this was most games, it wouldn’t be that big a deal.  But since it’s a Fallout game, and since my original impression was that it would be something of a hybrid RPG / multi player online experience, the lack of characters like this was a real bummer.

From what I can see thus far, there really isn’t an overarching plot in the game.  There are tasks to do – things like clearing out an area of enemies, testing water, searching for various objects, but no pre-designed plot.  There are recordings that you can listen to which other vault dwellers have left behind, but that’s it.  Again, this wouldn’t be that big of an issue, but the prior games had such great plots that I had some pretty high expectations of this game.

One thing that I’m really glad about is that you can make ammo in this game.  Fallout New Vegas had this option, and being able to make your ammo when you were down to your last few rounds was both helpful and it also added to the realism of the experience.

Along those same lines however, it appears that both weapons and armor have levels associated with them.  For example, in order to wear more advanced armor you need to have a higher level.  I can’t say I’ve ever encountered this in a game before and it’s pretty frustrating.

Why?

Well, I like to do some creative exploration in RPG’s and for me, this is one of the ways I can shorten the time it takes to win and get some more powerful tools to better interact with more powerful enemies.  With how things are currently, even if I go through the effort of getting these objects, I still cannot use them.  I’m currently at level 12, and I recently had an interaction with another player who gave me a level 35 gun.  I can’t use it yet.  With how long it’s taken me to get to level 12, I reason that it will be many more hours until I can get to level 35.  Ugh.

That’s about all I can comment on right now.  After writing the prior paragraphs I decided to go online again last night to try the game again.  I encountered a bunch of super mutants, and, because I could only equip low level weapons and armor, I died.  Again.

All this to say, I still think this game has a lot of potential.  My plan going forward it to probably play it a few more weeks.  After that, I’ll likely move on to a different game.

If you’re a Fallout fan, I would recommend buying the game, if for nothing else to get the experience and learn about this installment in the canon.  If you’re like me though, it will likely get a bit tedious after awhile, and seem like all you’re doing is scavenging through piles of refuse and redundancy.

Have you played Fallout 76?  What as your experience been so far?  Please leave your comments below, and we can discuss!

The post A Game Review: Fallout 76 appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

We spend a lot of time sitting near a screen: mindlessly watching shows, movies, playing video games, or with e-readers, reading novels of questionable quality – all things generally thought of as entertainment.

I can’t deny that I’m right in the middle of this demographic.  And indeed, it can be a nice, entertaining way to unwind, relax, and step away from the stress and static of the daily grind.

On the other hand, it’s arguable (and others likely agree) that time spent this way can be a big waste.

I’ve certainly thrown away more hours than reasonable parked in front of the TV watching lame movies, or reading bad literature and dime-a-dozen, business-card-style self-help books on my tablet.

Now, by viewing this activity from a different perspective and through making better media choices, could we find more enriching value in the time we spend this way?  Could we be learning nuggets of wisdom from all this screen-exposure and free-reading time?

Yes.

Stories are powerful.  Among other things, they can help you discover your true interests, provide direction, refresh the mind, generate ideas, introduce new possibilities.

Stories can, in certain cases, even bring hope, help overcome sorrow, and provide unique role models unavailable in the world of non-fiction.

By making a simple decision to consciously choose the stories you engage with, and deliberately looking for the lessons they contain, it’d definitely be possible to enjoy some of these benefits.

Early on, I didn’t consciously choose what I viewed or read.  However, I was lucky enough to get enthralled by a few particular stories that positively impacted my point of view, and, to a large extent, altered the direction of my life.

For example, for as long as I can remember I’ve always viewed my life somewhat like a quest.

Big events have significant meaning for me, almost as if they were destined or pre-ordained to happen.

Relationships are deep, profound, and special.

A certain circumstance acts as a key to unlock a greater, more challenging, more empowering set of experiences.  A higher power (or, God, as is the case in my belief system) has a plan.

It’s hard to say where this mindset came from for certain.

There’s a chance, however, that it may have been influenced to some extent by plotlines from some of my earlier media choices.

Let’s look at one example, and see what we can learn from it and how it applies.

Do you remember the first Zelda game for Nintendo?  The Legend of Zelda?  The Legend of Zelda is an action / story / roleplaying game released by Nintendo in 1986 and one that, for an 8-bit game, had a surprisingly compelling storyline, solid graphics and game play.

In this game, you play as Link, an elf who is charged with defeating the evil Ganon, and rescuing the princess Zelda.

This was the first quest-type game that I ever played, and it made a big impact on me.  I was about seven years old when it first came out, and I remember dedicating countless hours to rambling through the 8-bit forest, shooting fiery arrows, and wielding the glowing sword projectiles.

From my perspective, there was a key overarching theme communicated continuously throughout the game which echoed messages such as:

• You are important
• You have a destiny
• You must be strong
• Your actions have an impact
• It’s your job to look out for, and protect others
• You’re a hero – A hero takes a stand against evil

Now, to the impressionable mind of a seven year old messages like this can be very profound.

Additionally, it’s arguable that there were also even more practical messages in this game.  Towards an earlier part of the game, you encounter an old man who gives you a sword.  While giving it to you he states:  “It’s dangerous to go alone.  Take this.”

So, according to this cartoon man, it’s important to have everything you need before you embark on an adventure.

Fair enough.

This message may even have broader implications about how important it is to be prepared not only physically (by having the appropriate tools), but also mentally and emotionally as well.

A few other things that I potentially may’ve learned from this game were:

• Money Management.

The primary currency used in the game is the Rupee.  Throughout the game you collect them to buy things.   When playing this game as a kid, I think this was one of my earliest experiences with the process of making and spending money.  At the time, I remember my parents joking about how this game was teaching me money management.  In reality, they probably weren’t too far off.

• Persistence

In the game, if your character dies, you must start over.  I died repeatedly in the original.  This tested my patience without question, but I kept getting back on the horse, kept starting over, and eventually won.  Persistence like this is key in life, of course, as well as video games.

• Accountability

The original game had a special method of saving since it included a battery of sorts.  If I remember correctly, saving this game entailed holding in the reset button while turning off the power.  If you forgot to do this, you’d lose your progress.  In a sense, this taught accountability.  Making sure everything is in order before moving on to the next task, etc.

• Preparedness

A key part of this game is strategizing – knowing and selecting the right weapons to defeat a particular enemy, and having the proper equipment to survive.

Having the correct tools is of course essential in real life as well.  I would never go to work without my laptop, build a house without my hammer, or walk my small dog without his leash.

• Chivalry

During my time playing this game as kid, I learned that to save the princess you had to have the courage to stand up to evil, stay the course, and defeat the evil Ganon – Chivalry, for lack of a better word.

Chivalry is perhaps one of the most important lessons of this game.  In order to have both of these qualities, one must focus on doing the right thing, being a good person, and taking care of others.

Because this post is getting rather long, I will only include this one example.

From the things I observed in this example at the young age of seven, I’m quite certain that my time wasn’t wasted playing this game.  The value here was twofold, the content of the media, and the way it was considered.

We can selectively do this with all our media choices.  By doing so, we can make more valuable use of our down-time.

Incidentally, the thing that made me think about using this example was a recent shopping expedition I took with my girlfriend.  She asked that I go with her early (at the crack of dawn) to the store to buy the new Nintendo Switch, and the newest installment in the Zelda series for this console, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (the first day it was released).

After watching her play this new game for many, many… many hours, and also, in playing the game myself, I can say that I confidently recommend it.  It’s very well-done, challenging to play, yet not too hard, with a great story-line, and cool, unique graphics.

Additionally, I’d recommend the Nintendo Switch as well.  The portability of it is very convenient, and I’ve used it some on the plane, in the mornings while drinking coffee, or waiting for food to arrive.  I’ve included links (to pun intended) to both of these products below.

What are some value-added media choices that you’ve made recently?  What have you learned from these things?

The post The Life-changing Power of a Sweeping Narrative appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

Where were you ten years ago.  What were you doing at that time in your life?  What were your skills, beliefs, and mindset?  Did you some mistakes back then? 

Would you make those same mistakes today? 

It’s extremely satisfying to be able to answer that last question with a resounding “NO!”  When you can do that, it’s a personal confirmation that you’ve grown and improved. 

You’ve learned from those past mistakes, took corrective action, and shaped your life for the better.    

Think about that for a minute.  How does that feel?  Are you proud of yourself, and how far you’ve come?

The rich fabric of our daily lives offers countless opportunities to make progress like this. 

A few simple tweaks to your strategy can help you increase awareness of these opportunities to better take advantage of them, make them more profitable, and vastly improve yourself in a short span of time.

How do we do this?  How do we begin to regularly seize these opportunities?

There are seven simple steps that I’ve used to do just that.  They’ve worked for me, and they might work for you too.

·         Recognize

Though never easy, it’s important to develop the ability to see value in all situations.  This means doing our best to not write-off challenging experiences as “bad”.  I’ve learned more about myself through difficult experiences, than through easy ones. 

The tough times in your life, if approached correctly, can cause you to dig deep to discover resources you never knew you had.  These are the transformational, life-altering, evolutionary experiences that make you answer the question “Who am I?” 

Asking and answering this question repeatedly helps to build a strong identity.

The same holds true for our interactions with people.  As an example, let’s look at how we approach cantankerous people. 

Being kind and loving toward people, especially when they’re a bit rude or obnoxious can have a surprisingly positive impact on us. 

First off, it can develop a deeper sense of compassion within us.    

It can also be invaluable from a self-reflection standpoint.  By witnessing some of these characteristics firsthand, we can quickly become aware of traits like that within ourselves that we need to address and change. 

As we begin to recognize various opportunities like those mentioned above, we start to open our eyes to the seemingly mundane experiences and interactions in daily life and we’ll become aware of how abundant these opportunities really are.

Lastly, over time, we will develop the due reverence and gratitude for these experiences which will in turn put us in the most productive frame of mind to be able to learn and draw from them quickly.

·         Observe

When you’re experiencing life, what are you thinking about?  How are you using your time?  When you’re in particular contexts, or in the midst of situations (good and bad), what is your area of focus?

I’ve been privileged to spend a lot of time, work, and engage deeply with a very wide variety of people with different skillsets and backgrounds while in a number of diverse contexts and areas of employment.

One thing that I go back to repeatedly is the fact that you can learn something from everyone you spend time with.  I believe that each person has their particular area of specialty, and through spending time with them, observing, and asking the right questions, you can find some knowledge or strategy that’s useful. 

The same holds true in daily experiences – whether in your own life, or through things we learn or hear about in books, on TV, etc.  Books especially, can take years off the learning process, and save you a lot of time.  More on that later. 

After some reflection (as described below), you can begin to see how to apply those specifics to your own life.  Modification will likely be needed, but after time it becomes clear.

·         Reflect

Reflection is considering how your observations could apply to your life.  It can be a soul-searching endeavor, where you are completely honest with yourself.  You look into your heart deeply, and consider what changes need to be made.  You then, at a high level, look at these in line with the observations you just made, and then move on to the next step in the process.

·         Isolate and Tailor Strategies

This part gets down to the specifics.  After reflecting on your observations, you begin asking about what exact steps you need to take to grow from the experiences you’ve just had.  You make these specific to you, your circumstances, your skillsets, abilities, and inclinations.

·         Utilize Strategies

Utilizing the strategies consists of putting into action the plan you just made. 

It’s entails self-discipline. 

We’ve all set goals before – We know this process.  We break those goals down into their individual daily steps, and then return to those steps day after day.  We’re like a bulldog.  We hang on, and don’t let go.

·         Assessment Time

Assessment is checking in on our specific goals, and grading ourselves on our performance.  How’d we do today?  What can we do to improve tomorrow?

·         Go Back to the Beginning

This is a matter of starting over.  You went through the cycle, learned the key points, and now you can start fresh from the beginning.

When new lessons have been learned, or you’ve been through a difficult set of circumstances you may want to take some time.  After that, however, can be a fantastic time to start fresh and approach the entire series of steps from the beginning.

The post 7 Ways to Learn from People and Experiences appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.

This past Saturday, my friend asked me to go with her to a massive electronics store…

It’s ironic, because just that morning I had started researching podcasting equipment (which that specific store had) as well as various training programs so I could learn more about the process.

Incidentally, here’s what prompted my decision to venture into the podcasting world:

This blog is headed in a good direction, and I think we’re nearing the point that we can expand into other mediums (i.e. podcasting, videos, etc.). Our niche is obviously still evolving, and I do think that digging in to these additional approaches will help expedite that niche-development process.

Of the available options, it seems that podcasting is the easiest and most logical next step.

One key thing I’m starting to understand is that even if we know little to nothing about something (i.e., my current knowledge about podcasting and associated skillsets) it’s sometimes beneficial to just dive into it, and thereby create an opportunity for our learning to take root and start growing rapidly.

All that said, I decided to not buy podcasting equipment just yet. I did purchase a training program over Udemy, however. Once I’ve had a chance to go through it in detail, I may put up a review. From watching the opening lecture, it appears comprehensive, and should provide a lot of shortcuts.

I noticed there are some lectures in the training program that do discuss equipment, and I anticipate that these will provide all the detail I need to make a wise purchase. I’ll likely be investing in a microphone and editing software in the next month or so.

In preparation for this podcasting move, I was thinking about a few things.

First off, I’m exploring the best ways to prepare the scripts and talk tracks for podcast episodes. From what I can tell, the process appears to be much different than writing blog posts. I’m not exactly sure how to best approach this just yet, but hopefully I’ll know more soon.

Secondly, when it comes to building an online brand, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the sheer number of available action options and areas of focus. Creating content is clearly only one piece of the puzzle, and it’s obviously important to devote time to other areas such as marketing, developing new connections, etc.

These are some big decisions to make, and I’m curious what your thoughts are on how to best approach next steps.

Along those same lines, I’d also like to hear your feedback on what’s working so far, and what should be changed.

Please comment below. It’d be great to get a conversation going on this topic.

The post Adding a Podcast and Other Big Decisions appeared first on Wisdom and Strategy.