Sure podcasts are good, and a lot of well known people come and talk, but the environment can be uncomfortable, and the discussion can almost be directed through predetermined questions that inhibit the conversation to flow perfectly, that’s why i think finding people in their “natural environment” going through their day to day motions and tasks, can be the most effective for learning who they are, what their story is, and what their unbiased opinion is. You get a genuine answer of someone that doesn’t know who you are, so why should they hold back.

I’ve gotten some good stories over the years, forgot many of them, but some especially good ones lately, and i don’t want to record a conversation or make it awkward. So my plan is to just go about my day, and write an anonymous summary of what i learned and some tips from it. Each entry is going to be quick and concise, straight to the point, without filler. Each layout will be different, often going into the specific phrases i used, or how i started the conversation, what the situation was that i went into, and some bullet points of what the persons story is, and what their life is like right now with any life advice they have to share

CEO of a hospital i met at a Cardinals game

• i went to the cardinal game with my family, and sure watching the game is fun for a little bit, but i like talking, and they were focusing on the game, and not wanting to listen, and i didin’t want to get immersed into the game. So i told them im going for a walk and looking for someone to talk to, I dont care who, but lets see what happens. I get out onto the main floor, and just start walking, little did i know i was getting close to the section connected to the box seats, which i had learned later after making another lap, and questioning why this area worked out so well. I was looking for someone or something to catch my eye, then all of a sudden, there is a man standing at a table, wearing a button up white collared shirt and slacks, eating his dinner, and i hesitate to walk over, continuing past. I catch myself, convincing myself to go back and talk to him, i didn’t really have an idea of what i was going to say in the moment, but i explained who i was, before i asked my question.

• as i walked up to him, i nodded my head, made a small waving hand motion to catch his attention. Now, for me to walk up to him had to of been strange, im in gym shorts, and a red S2 shirt, sweat stains from the hot day, and i said quickly, and nervously, “hey, my name’s Tony, I was just bored watching the game, and was looking for someone to talk to, I noticed you’re dressed well, and i was wondering what you do for work?” As im saying this im nervous, because hes making these head ticks and eye rolls, like who the heck are you, but by the time i finished my sentence, he was completely open to my genuine nature, he knew i wasn’t a threat.

• he told me about how he is a CEO of a hospital institution in the area. Now i dont rememeber a lot of the connecting details, but now that im done story telling, ill just get into the specific details i learned, asked, and discussed.

• He works 12-13 hour days as a CEO. He started off as a Registered Nurse (RN), went back to school to get his MBA, and started to climb the ladder of management, he explained to me how it was a real hustle to get here, even now, with his current position, he has to always be near his phone for calls, texts, and emails, as he is currently at the Cardinal game, someone is always trying to contact him. Anytime someone asked him to help with something, cover a shift, offer assistance, he always said “YES”. He never turned a coworker down because he knew if he did, they would not ask for help again. He built his reputation, proved that he was reliable, and committed, and he still stays hungry. He has 5 kids, and he doesn’t even live in the same state as his family right now, but he thinks he can find more quality in life if he spends more time around them. He wants to grow to a regional position and look over the current position he is right now, he stays happy with his current position, and is proud of it, but he knows he can do more, so he is going to continue to strive for it.

• I told him my circumstance of trying to get into dental school, and he was describing to me how beneficial networking can be. I then asked, just to get his answer, “what is my goal of networking, sure i enjoy it, but what am i looking to gain from it”. He said that you never know what opportunities arise from the random person you talk to, you never know what doors will open. With my current status of looking for job opportunities, he reminded me that well over half of the jobs that exist will never be posted on LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. The majority will be through connections and current employees insight, to immediate connections they think would be a good fit for the position, and if you happen to know the person, and they happen to be looking for a new employee, there’s your “CONNECTION”.

• Getting towards the end of the conversation i noticed he had a misstep, which he then mentioned he has a hip problem, and as we had now been standing there for 15-20 minutes, I let him get through his last few speaking points, and as the conversation slowed down, i politely ended it saying “well it was nice talking to you, i’m sure you’re ready to sit down and get back to the game. He then made an effort to ask my name, shake my hand and tell me “if you ever want to swing by the hospital and come talk, feel free, go up to the receptionist, say you met '“my name” at the cardinal game, and he said it was okay to come up and talk anytime”. So now i have that connection, and I don’t know if Ill ever take the opportunity, but the option is there.

Anesthesiologist I met at a hotel pool

• I was on a all expense paid trip to Columbia for a new hire training, just a 3 day, 2 night trip, and i went through the meetings that day, got back to the hotel, and i was excited that they had a pool. I went down just for a short stint, and as i arrived there was a man just getting ready to leave, packing up his stuff, and as i ease my way into the water and walk around, i was like whats the deal with the silence, i guess someone’s got to say something. So i just nodded after making eye contact, and asked “so what are you in town for”, like all we have in common is we are at a hotel, and if you start making assumptions, you can assume if you are at a hotel, you probably don’t live nearby, so there for you live out of town, and this would be a reasonable, unoriginal question. He responded and said he is a traveling anesthesiologist. Now i didn’t ask where he was from, and if i did, i forget where from, but i am trying to get into the healthcare profession, so i assumed he could teach me something. I asked him what its like, how much he enjoys it, why he does traveling, and he apparently has no wife, kids either are out of the house or don’t exist, and he’s enjoying life. i asked him “what his expertise is, and what he thinks his knowledge is in”, i was hoping for maybe something outside of health, maybe his hobbies outside of the med field, but the answer i got was he specializes in spinal, and cranial anesthesia, so i was happy with that answer, and i had no way to start asking him relevant questions without sounding like im testing him.

• Some of this isn’t in chronological order but at some point i got to my story of trying to get into dental school, and was asking him why it takes so many years of schooling to learn what he does. He started describing to me the matching system of med schools, and i told him about my failed attempts to dental school, told him my GPA, and asked him what his GPA was back in the day, he was a 3.4 student and got into this competitive program. The advice he gave was “sure grades matter, but what they really want to see is your “MOTIVATION”, the interviewers want to listen and hear about how badly you want this, they want to know how you’ll succeed, and if you can handle the load, and whether or not they think you have the experience, but when it comes to hearing your “WHY” that is the most important part, and i have that figured out now. So im excited to use that advice to my advantage and understand that the interviewers want to hear, and thats in any job interview, not just something like in doctorate school programs.

Receptionist that just had a copier salesman come through

• So with my job i am around multiple employees, in a smallish office, and i oftentimes decide to take a break from my work and go talk to my coworkers, normal right. Anyways, i was talking to one set of coworkers trying to learn more about them, and their office butted right up to the reception office, i was having my conversation, trying to learn as much as i could about where this specific employees knowledge was at, and i was asking in depth questions almost to test their knowledge, compare it to my own, see if they knew any more than i did, and if they had the knowledge im looking for, and jsut hoping they could expand my own knowledge with new perspectives and different viewpoint, the topic is nutrition. This coworker has a degree and is a registered dietician, fresh out of college.

• anyways, as we were talking a salesman, with one of his trainee’s walked into the front door and started talking to the receptionist feet from us. So i was trying to ease drop, and the one coworker i was talking to got busy and needed to jump on a zoom call, so as i was leaving one room i decided just to stand their in plain sight, show that i’s ease dropping on the sales pitch, and try to learn from this guy. He was assertive, and you could clearly tell he had confidence, knew his facts, and was trying to push a sale. I listened, said nothing, and waited, i didn’t go back to my office, i just watched and listened. Watching his body ques, his tone of voice, demeanor, and was trying to figure out if this pushiness he portrays was a good tactic as a salesman, quick with his responses and rebuttals to objections, i just noticed the sale was not going to happen. He took his time, as his teammate was taking notes, and they finally finished up, realizing the conversation was going nowhere, and left.

• i walked away, trying to think about what just happened and decided as soon as they walked out the door, i wanted to go up to the receptionist, and get her opinion on what happened. I wanted to get her insight on what the salesman would have had to do in order to get her sale, because she stated that even from the beginning of the conversation, she is not going to go through with anything, and she said called herself a hard sale because she just doesn’t put up with BS. She has been in the position long enough and been screwed over before. Unknown fees, no customer support, difficulty cancelling unexpected charges, that were apparently in the fine print. So she knows not to pick someone that wants to be a fast and easy solution. Blah blah blah, a lot of boring stuff up to this point, but what i learned was interesting

• she said that if the salesman would introduce himself more genuinely, what their company does and genuinely ask about the problems they are experiencing, they could leave a business card, and they would be the first person in mind if they wanted to switch, but she cannot in her position, as a reception, make a big decision like this, especially on the spot.

• She needed them to be less pushy, more genuine, nice and friendly, but consistent. eventually they will need a new copier machine, and they are having problems right now, and want one, but the team and whole office of managers need to get together and discuss if with the predicted expenditures, if they can fit it into the budget or if they need to make a decision like that during a specific time of the year.

• The salesman also needs to give more details on the payments, charges, and fees, and very in depth, because when the receptionist goes to budget out a big $1000+ expense like that, she needs to know every penny before hand, and even $100 fee thrown in unexpectedly, can really piss someone off that is required to hit the budget exactly to the penny. If they would just be honest, and give all the details up front, get to know the person as a person and not a resource, hear what their problem is, and get to know them as a friend, like finding a way to learn what they do outside of work, maybe you could eventually make the sale, but its going to take time. Most receptionist are not easy to trick, they can see through the smoke in the mirrors, and they will just avoid you entirely, be quick concise and leave your card. Be honest, share your expectations and goals of next time you plan to stop by, and your goals of building a relationship with that company. Big sales don’t happen the first time you talk to them

Grant writer/finder for nonprofit organization

• I met this lady through a work event, she was really nice, and talkative, and is very passionate about the industry she is in. She has a neat story to get to where she is now, but the most interesting part of our conversation was the advice she had to me on a business i could start, and what you would have to do in order to create a job, and get paid for simply networking.

• So the idea is this. You are an individual that introduces yourself to any, and every type of business, you need to keep track of what they say is the trick. You need to use your resources and find a way to get in contact with the decision maker of the business, whether that be the CEO, President, Owner, someone high up. You can do that by visiting the location in person and asking to talk to them. You can use Linkedin or Facebook to find them, send them a message, or find a friend they are close to, and message them, and ask if they would be willing to introduce you. Once you get to talk to this person, you introduce your name, and tell them your business idea, or what you do. We, with this business idea, are interested in connecting businesses who are looking for needs, whether that be supplies, volunteers, anything, you ask “what needs they have in their business, or what they think the city needs”.

• Then at some point in the conversation you should try to find something they have to offer or donate that has value, whether that be volunteers, lumber to give away, food, anything, marketing to their social media… that’s where my expertise does not lie. I don’t know what they need, and the only way to find that out is to ask them in person. You never know where the conversation will go, so thats why you just have to start the conversation

• But you cant ask too many open ended unintelligent, unthought through questions. You have brainstorm before hand and give them ideas of accept of deny this offer, “would you be willing to give this for this”. And that is important, especially a retail store, they have 100’s of items, how are they supposed to be like, oh yeah, how about this, like no, i dont want that, nobody else wants that, and that’s why you are trying to give it away, just brainstorm and ask them straight up.

• Now with this business, i still dont know how you get people to pay you once you have connected them, but maybe that’s where grants can come in that you apply to, or sponsors like large corporate companies who want to put their name on your building. Really this is not a profitable business in my eyes in the moment, but it serves a purpose and benefits the community.

• A couple more things i wanted to touch on were the benefits of social media when these companies donate, along with the tax write offs and other benefits they could receive and you could also convince them with these points, to influence their decision and give them more benefits

• Another thing you could do with this networking business and creating it is a method brainstorming community events to bring foot traffic in front of the business. Like mini golf around town was the example she gave. A list of businesses that want to participate, where participants go visit during the game, and the business makes a simple putt putt hole, and the can make it as simple, fun, or interactive as they want. Probably good to make it memorable, and have your employees talking and cheering on the participants so you get remembered.

• with this networking, you could own your own business that is always taking advantage of the connections youve made, and drive business to yourself, you could do this on the side of your businesses and help each grow, allowing you to get more involved in the community, but have the specific questions i metioned earlier to give you a purpose of networking rather than just having fun conversations and being friends like most other people get, and simply ask for referrals.

Art class teacher volunteering at senior center

• This was someone i met at a senior center i was attending, i was really just there so i could become comfortable, and so they could become comfortable with me there because i was planning on holding nutrition classes there at some point.

• Well, this was the second week i had sat in at this lady’s drawing class. Today’s lesson was a lot less involved, and more here is a sheet, practice a little, and she came over and sat next to me, where i happened to be next to all of her stuff because i was talking to her before class.

• Well, she was telling me her story on how she has been teaching art classes all over the US, taking an RV around, and making enough money where they can live off of that income, and this was her first time ever volunteering her time to do an art class for the senior center in the community she is a part of currently.

• She also has wrote two short books, and was going to read those in the following week to the community center, so started to realize that there was a lot i could learn from her.

• So with my goals of entrepreneurship, i was asking questions to help with my insecurities and how to get over those because for some reason that has been what my mind is fixated on lately. So i was asking her questions like “how do you get over the fact that some people may not like how you teach, or they may not like your books”. We talked about this for a while and she gave me some good pointers, but the take home points are.

  • The opinions of others is nothing compared to the difficulties that come from not being able to meet your bills. Struggling to even ay for food, and being months behind on your mortgage is a lot harder.

  • There are a lot more people who appreciate your work than those who dislike it.

  • There is no way you could predict the possibilities of the people, places, and experiences you could encounter that come from putting yourself out there, becoming useful to your community, and spreading the word of your impact and existence, so people actually start reaching out to you, inviting you out to things in this world you didn't even know existed. Do build your personal brand, know that all the criticism and judgment is nothing compared to the exciting life you'll get to experience in the future! Follow your passions, do the best you can, prove your self worth, and opportunities will just start showing up beyond your wildest dreams! 

  • We all have to make mistakes eventually, they are unavoidable, and its not going to kill you, so just remember what happened but move on, realize that you are not going to die, you will be okay, and you are making memories, making progress, enjoying the human experience, and enjoying all of life and the emotions and feelings you experience as you go through. Dont be afraid and mediocre your entire life, be proud of your achievements and mistakes and know that it all gets combined to make you who you are. Don't ever forget your memories, and remember the only way to make memories is to do something interesting, enjoyable, exciting, and meaningful

Project management Career Specialist

• With regards to Career development, my suggestion would be to first see if the sample logistics office would allow you to work on a project. Perhaps some sort of VIP (cost savings) project or an optimization project. If not, see if you can get on someone else’s project. Someone in QC perhaps. That’s the best way to easily get your hours. Also, attending all the courses we offer will help in your decision as to whether Project Management is for you...As an entry level assignment, you could look for roles called “project coordinator” or “project specialist”. These types of positions can help get your foot in the door. I would, also, highly recommend connecting with your sites PM group and seeing if one of them can get you on one of their projects or help funnel you to the right group...Product Supply has many avenues you can take...You do need to be able to demonstrate that you can lead people so I think, first, it’s best to try your hand in leading a project. It can be small. This will be the first step in determining if project management is right for you. Next talk to the PM group at your site to see what the career ladder is to become a PM there. Different sites have different career ladders.