Showing posts with label Personal Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal Goals. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

JHXXVI – Fresh Start, New Year


“Cut, it’s a wrap!”

Like many good things, my 25th year has come to an end. No big bangs or fireworks but many lessons learned from a challenging year which allowed me to explore my life as an entrepreneur, redefine my personal values, and lay the framework for some important “personal infrastructure projects” which I hope will pay off in the near future.

Looking ahead it’s hard to say what the new year has in store but if I learned anything from my 25th year, it’s that you have to put your best foot forward every day and plant all seeds of opportunity. The combination of these two actions will lead to the creation of a stronger and more prosperous future.  

In celebration of this milestone, I’ve created a personal curation project using Tagboard to capture the last few moments of my 25th year. I also drew up a list of personal improvements I hope to achieve in the coming year (listed below for reference).
To another year, *Cheers*


26th Year - Personal Improvement Opportunities 
  • Make regular investments in my personal fitness
  • Reconnect and maintain connections within my network
  • Hit a little harder when it comes to point of view (POV)
  • Recover quicker from “life blows”
  • Push myself beyond my normal comfort zone
  • Take action more frequently and ask myself “what’s the worst that could happen”
  • Think more strategically about new opportunities and alliances
  • Manage and respect my own time
  • Step out of the weeds and look up at the bigger picture
  • Don’t be afraid to take the lead occasionally   
  • Own good work and learn quickly from missteps
  • Strive to be the first to nod, smile, compliment, and forgive
  • Draft faster, revise with care, and hit publish more frequently
  • Exhibit a high level of emotional control



"Realign your life perspective frequently and often to avoid catastrophic derailments."

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Status Update – 5.26.13


As a professional teetering in-between unemployment and part-time communications consulting, it’s easy to lose track of the big picture and forget to count accomplishments. This week I reached two important personal goals. I won my first independent new business pitch and launched joshuaholland.co. In honor of these milestones, this post is dedicated to a few of my key accomplishments since leaving Waggener Edstrom at the end of 2012.

Books Read
The Elements of Content Strategy
The Last Lecture
Time Traps
The Great Gatsby
The Four Hour Work Week
Storyteller Uprising

New Places Visited
San Juan Island
Los Cabos
Columbia Tower
North Ballard

Events Participated In 
SMC Social Media Club Seattle – What’s Hot in 2013
Ignite Seattle 19
Citizen University
Jumpstart 2013
Think & Drink: How Technology is Reshaping Community

Personal Goals Completed
Launched joshuaholland.co 
Secured my first piece of new business

Classes Taken
HTML and CSS Level 1
HTML and CSS Level 2
Project Management for the Web

[Photo courtesy of Flickr user katiedee]

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

New Thread for the Web

Happy to announce joshuaholland.co is now live! As explained in “Adding Another Thread to the Web,” the site will serve as a central hub for me on the web and is an updated version of a childhood dream.

It’s not perfect but after hacking it together from scratch 
I've learned a website shares a lot of similarities to crafting a blog post. There is no perfect. At some point you have to let it go and make improvements along the way by creating additional content through other posts or in this instance, website updates.

Big thanks to the
School of Visual Concepts for a crash course in HTML and CSS and Rich Kim for hosting the site. Take a look around and let me know what you think! 




[Photo courtesy of Flickr user jamesrbowe]


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Returning to the Hunt After a Week of Seattle Sunshine



Unemployment finally caught up with me last week. After a few months of adventures around Seattle and a number of freelance projects, I found myself with a rather empty schedule and inbox. At first I was thrilled by the thought. It seemed almost too perfect. My to-do list had run out of boxes to check just as the sunny spring weather arrived in Seattle.

In honor of the sun I kicked off my shoes, lost my shirt, and planted myself in the yard to catch some rays and finish a few good books. This sense of calm didn’t last long however. With my natural state being mobile and fluid, I quickly became uneasy with this stationary life style. It’s safe to say that I have a hard time relaxing.

Sun kissed and mentally refreshed, I’m returning to the hunting trail reenergized for a new round. Opportunities don’t come knocking after all. It’s more of a hunt. You need to be at the right place at the right time to make things happen.

A bit about what I’m looking for below.

###
Digital Strategist and Storyteller Seeking Organization Interested in Digital Media and Collaboration

Smart and versatile communications professional with a passion for cultivating authentic relationships and stories for brands. I’m industrious, eager to learn, and filled with optimism.

I have over three years of experience helping organizations communicate effectively via traditional and new media. I love cuisine, travel, technology, trains, and urban environments. For a complete download about my history visit my resume here

I’m looking to create a long lasting relationship with an organization that has similar values and interests. If interested, please feel free to ping me on twitter at @jholland218.

[Photo Courtesy of waggingtales]

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Status Update - 2.17.13



Short post this week.


I'm...

Reading:
The Great Gatsby
The 4-Hour Workweek
The Elements of Content Strategy

Watching:
The New Normal
The Mindy Project
RuPaul's Drag Race
Amazing Race
1600 Penn

Playing:
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Learning:
HTML and CSS
Content strategy
Productivity tips
Life coaching and mentoring skills

Working On:
A personal website
Jumpstart 2013
Arranging coffee with "strangers" for info interviews
My next opportunity
An application for the Seattle Planning Commission
Running more often
A longer blog post

[Photo courtesy of Flickr user Frank Peters]