ryan dawidjan

Blog.....

February 28, 10:08 PM

New Blog Format and What I Can Do For You

Wow, two weeks and not one blog post...that's lame. After doing a lot of work and school stuff these past two weeks I had trouble making the effort and time to write a quality blog post. I was sorta of thinking that it needed to be a expertly crafted and lengthy post and that's WRONG. I will now be posting a lot more frequently (still "good" content) with ideas, thoughts and observations that I haven't been able to publish.

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One thought: I recently received Jack Canfield's The Success Principles book which really epitomizes "self help". After reading a discomforting and slightly arrogant introduction I started flipping through the book and came across a section titled, "Just Say No!". Canfield goes onto state that

We suffer under project and productivity overload at work-taking on more than we can comfortably deliver in an unconscious desire to impress others, get ahead, and keep up with others' expectations. Meanwhile, our top priorities go unaddressed."

After briefly explaining the need to say no to people, he lists several of his "don't do" policies. Examples -

- I don't lend money. I am not a bank.

- I never lend my car to anyone for any reason.

- I don't give endorsements for books of fiction.

- I no longer coauthor books with first-time authors. Their learning curve is too time-consuming and expensive.

- I don't take any calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those are writing days.

I don't know about you, but I'm personally like to define myself by what I can do for you, not what I can't, won't or like to do. These "don't do" policies just present an aura of superiority and a false sense of confidence in oneself.

At this stage in my life, I enjoy taking the time and energy to do what I want but also what other's ask of me [within reason]. I want to be that generous person who is willing to "give the shirt off his back" and I also believe "A simply way in life to be successful: be helpful" - @jonathanmead.

Here's something to think about. Canfield's "don't do" policies could be great things..but too bad they will never be.

- He could invest some angel money to a budding entrepreneur who could go onto launch a successful startup and the next Google/FB/Twitter...

- Could lend a car to someone that needs to save money and doesn't have to purchase a rental. That person could also do someone else a favor and give them a ride. 1 action = multiple positive outcomes

- Could give an endorsement to the next "J.K Rowling". Instead, he can never endorse a friend of his who happens to be a fiction writer (aka a genre he doesn't particularly like)

- Could give some of his "valuable" time to an author aspiring to be the next successful "Jack Canfield". But instead, the young driven and talented individual won't be supported.

- Could have chatted with a long time forgotten classmate. Could have connected with a future business partner. Could have had an amazing talk with a grandson or granddaughter. Nope..won't happen on Tues and Thurs.

Conclusion

"I wish more people would extend a hand and ask how they can help someone else. We spend so much time selfishly trying to build brands, and grow followers. Perhaps launch companies, or release products. We forget that people are the most important resource we have in the creation and achievement of dreams. And a simple extension of your hand–without expectation–can accelerate your ability to achieve your goals." - Micah @ learntoduck

This thought encompasses a few guaranteed future blog posts along with a list of "Can Do" policies. Any thoughts or comments? Leave below..or email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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February 14, 05:50 PM

Why I Cold Email and Why You Should Too

Flickr: Guinnevere Lee

As Gary Vaynerchuck has frequently said, "It's 2010..you can get to anyone...just grab it". He means that in this day age of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BrazenCareerist, etc virtually everyone can be contacted or connected through a variety of mediums. In my search of a valuable internship experience for this coming summer, I have had this attitude. Throughout the process, I have resorted to cold emailing rather than the more traditional cold call. (Although check out Garyvee conduct a spontaneous and successful cold call here) Why?

The first reason I employ cold emailing is that it is almost always the preferred way to contact an individual that you have had little contact with the past or even no contact. In my experience, companies, authors and bloggers would gladly provide their email address rather than their office phone.

Secondly, and I think that this is a big advantage, emails are usually read when the individual consciously decides to read his or her email. Sure their iPhone or Blackberry may give them a notification, but that doesn't mean they have to immediately respond to your outreach. In my own opinion, phone calls are a lot more intrusive and "stalker-ish" if they don't know you. Plus, these successful individuals have lives outside blogging, writing, speaking etc....they don't want to answer your call at the kid's soccer game.

It's relatively obvious if your cold emailing or cold calling that you are looking for something...whether it might be a job, internship, piece of advice, update, their time etc. The way in which you present the "pitch" or desire is extremely important. You need to demonstrate that you "deserve" this person's time, advice or favor.

To do this, the cold email has to be very personal and unique. It has to show that you actually know what this person or company does. A cold email also gives you a much better opportunity to introduce how your familiar with this person. (They might recognize your name, @name, or email address after you commented or tweeted to them)

The great advantage of a cold email is that all the information you wanted to convey is right there in the format you desire. The reader of the email is getting whatever you wanted them to experience. Unlike a cold call which could go any number of which ways, the email is presented in a scripted structure. A cold call requires that you do a lot of talking and explaining up front and this is not the most ideal experience.

Another advantage of cold emailing is that you have the great opportunity to link to and present your web presence. You can easily link to your widely read blog, LinkedIn profile or the website that you previously connected with the specific individual on. This can be done in a non-obtrusive way and it does not take away from the content of your email; it adds to it.

In an attempt to cold call someone and mention to them of your blog, you will probably stumble mid conversation by saying something like, "Oh yea, great point. I recently discussed that same exact point of being a Linchpin of my blog. I would love for you to check it out. You can find it at www.ryandawidjan.posterouscom, that's R-Y-A-N-D-A-W-I-D-J-A-N, no spaces or caps, at symbol at p-o-s-t-e-r-o-u-s.com" Now the tempo has been completely destroyed and there is 2% chance that the person will remember what you just said.

Hopefully you've been able to take a few good tips away from my experiences so far. Don't be afraid to include your phone number in the email so that the individual you are reaching out to can call you if they so desire. If I ever come across your awesome blog, company or portfolio, you can expect that I will reach out and cold email you.

If you've got any questions, comments or suggestions please comment below, that is one good way to get in contact with me. Also, feel free to cold email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com].

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February 09, 07:17 PM

Shhhh...Keep Those Secrets

Flickr

No this is not some misinformed marriage counselor.

Lately I've come to the personal conclusion that some things are just better off being revealed at the end. Let me explain:

After a long day of work at the office, dealing with finicky clients, you eventually reach home after 2 hours even though the commute should be just under an hour. You immediately think to yourself, crap, I've got to cook dinner on top of all this. But as you are about to walk in the kitchen you get a wiff of something delicious....SHEPHERD'S PIE!! "Wow honey, I didn't know you were cooking dinner tonight." WHAT A SURPRISE. "Thanks so much, why don't we call Timmy and Kaitlin down for dinner?"

What I am getting at here is that events/ongoing processes (large or small) often have a much more pronounced effect when they are revealed after completion. Had "Joe"'s wife told him three days in advance that she was going to cook dinner and then reminded him several other times, the overall feeling of impressiveness and surprise would have greatly diminished. (It's still an incredibly nice gesture though.)

Another example:

I recently became interested in obtaining a virtual intern position with web startups. I began searching the internets for a virtual intern "career" board. After finding a great one ( on Urban Interns), I posted a bio, resume and applied to several positions. The next day I heard back from a company and began conversing by email. Half a dozen emails later and I was hired. I was ecstatic because this would give me an opportunity to apply some skills and not have to report to a physical office while going to school full time. Later, I told my mom casually that I had been hired as a virtual intern and she was shocked. (SURPRISED). She was curious about all the details and how I was going to handle it while going to school, working....

Had I given her updates that I was searching for a virtual internship, finding a directory and conversing by email, the sum effect of telling her I got a position would have been next to nill.

Why wait to reveal certain things?

- It becomes much more of a shocker, hopefully you reveal good things

- It usually leads to the other party asking more details/questions about your accomplishment rather than having them simply say "Wow" to your first update and never again bring up the subject

- Shows a sense of independence and ability to handle things on your own

- Demonstrates that you've got stuff going on in the background and thus people won't later assume that your not working/learning/studying when not in their presence

See, I didn't tell you that I was writing this blog post and now your jaw is on the floor after reading such a great post...jk

Thank you very much for stopping by my blog. I encourage you to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions below. Feel free to email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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January 30, 02:33 PM

You'd Better Be Damn Good

Flickr

Life is a blur. In today's world we have more than enough things to keep us busy. This requires us to better manage our time so that we can focus on the the things in life that are necessary, enjoyable and/or useful. This has led me to believe that the products/services we use must be worth our time. Although Time ≠ Money). Seth Godin would say that these products need to be "remarkable" (Purple Cow); worth making a remark about.

I'd like to focus this idea specifically on the internet. Internet use and dependence is continuing to grow at an exponential rate. New startups are founded daily. This makes it all the more important to stand out for the right seasons.

The new social network, social/game location app, or video service must be able to separate itself from the pack. This can be done in countless ways, but the service needs to be "remarkable" so that I will either join or convert. Despite being an early-adopter, I don't want to spend hours figuring out how to use your service or importing data. We are provided endless choices and it is vital that companies realize that if they want to be in my core group of web applications, they need to win me over.

Posterous (the blogging platform you are currently reading this blog post on) won me over with their intuitive and slick handful of features. They made it easy for me take my blog posts and blog from WordPress to Posterous. I feel that switching to and using Posterous is worth it. I recently came to the conclusion that using Springpad is a better experience than Evernote.

As much as we techies and early adopters would like to use every service, app, or network available on the internet, it is impossible to do so. Even leading social media expert Chris Brogan feels the same way. In a recent post, he points out that his presence on the web is too splintered: he has "too many points of contacts." Chris is considering deleting his LinkedIn account and taking other actions to consolidate his presence. Famed marketing guru and thinker, Seth Godin, only focuses on email communication as his way of connecting. He feels that this is the best method for communicating and refuses to use Twitter and FB because those services would detract from what he does best.

In order to for me to register, use and re-use a product, it's got to be worth the time, effort, and money I am allocating. Once you are in my core group of frequently used products/services/companies, you've got me a "True Fan."

My core of services are: Twitter, Facebook, Email [ryandawidjan@gmail.com] and LinkedIn. If you would like to get it touch we me, feel free to use anyone of these. Also, feel compelled to comment below with a question, suggestion or remark.

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January 25, 08:54 PM

Pros and Cons of Being Respectfully Ignorant

Flickr: LeoMore

In the very recent Massachusetts' Senate election race between Martha Coackley and Scott Brown, I have to be upfront and explain that I knew little about each candidate besides their respective political parties. (I did hear some grumblings about Coakley's insulting and aggressive campaign ads.) To be honest, I didn't care to spend my time, money (Time ≠ Money) and time to inform myself about this election. (Not 18, can't vote) I didn't feel it was worth it to take away time from the things that were most important in my life; family, school, reading and lacrosse.

I refer to this as being respectfully ignorant. By being respectfully ignorant, it didn't mean that I didn't believe politics was important or that this election was not a key factor in how this nation will be governed, but as vital as it is to know a lot about a little, you simply can't learn about everything that life has to offer.

A few Pros and Cons of Being RI:

Pros

- Allows to devote your valuable time to what is most important to you. (family, job, sport, hobby, sleep)

- Lets other informed individuals (or talking heads) fill you in on what is most pertinent

- Provides you with the time and focus to be the best in the world at something (Seth Godin-ish)

- It prevents you from looking like a total idiot by trying to talk about something that you have no real clue about

Cons

- It excludes you from being an informed voter/player/student/etc in a specific topic of discussion

- Some people take your RI as a personal insult and will not understand your decision to not know about their particular interest

- You may be RI of something that you would really enjoy to study, learn or talk about

I believe RI can be a wise move in many circumstances but be sure to use it in moderation.

Thank you very much for stopping by my blog. I encourage you to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions below. Feel free to email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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January 20, 08:25 PM

Anti-networking (yes..anti-networking) as an Attitude

Anti-networking is the art of getting what you want by never coming close to asking for it. The key to the anti-networking approach is to impress without imploring. The goal is the one day the contact, who has grown fond of you and is impressed by you and your integrity, will notify you that he or she knows of a job opening, and will be willing to recommend you if you are interested.

This tip comes from well known author and blogger, Cal Newport and his book, "How to Win at College". (highly recommend)

As I read this piece of advice, labeled "66 - Don't Network", I was initially was shocked and disappointed. After all, I had read so much on networking and promoting your personal brand, from people like Dan Erwin and Tim Sanders. But as I reread the whole two page entry it became clear to me that as a student/lacrosse player/teenager, I really have nothing too valuable (besides time) to offer to a more experienced businessman, speaker, etc. Cal Writes,

Let's say that I would in the telecommunications industry, and you are a college student. I probably don't care about you. This is a pragmatic decision because there is no mutual benefit. You want a job. There is no doubt of your goal. As a student there is no really other reason why would be proactively trying to meet me, and quite frankly giving out jobs to recent graduates is not all that exciting.

Lesson

As "harsh" as this observation this and as I thought more about this, I chose to incorporate this advice into my everyday life. I decided that every interaction that I have with people (in person, over the phone, on social networks, etc), I would do my best to "impress without imploring." I don't mean sucking up to people, pretending to be someone your not or trying to please everyone (you can't).

It's about being genuine, and showing, not telling, a person how impressive you truly are. Your impressiveness can lead the other party to take a variety of actions in the long term.

Offer you a job.

Come to you in a time of need.

Recommend you.

Form a close relationship.

Do nothing.*

(Occurs most often, but what harm have you done?)

I've personally implemented this technique on the golf course. As a caddy and pro shop worker at a local country club, there just aren't too many options for advancement within the organization and thus saw a great opportunity to "anti-network" with many successful members. By viewing every round as an unofficial personal interview, I looked to quietly and humbly impress them so that after every round they would think to themselves, "Wow, this kid has his stuff together and in a few years time I would love for him to work for me."

One notable thing to mention: I didn't look at every member that I worked for as having a $ sign hovering over the top of their head and I don't think you should do that to anyone. I most enjoy knowing the fact that I have formed closed friendships with many of them and as an example I often play competitive golf with them as an equal partner. Because I was honestly looking to connect with them, countless advancement opportunities have arisen.

Unassumingly impress others through hard work, generosity and passion. Know that every action you take and word you say is judged by someone, and that someone could well be the person to recommend, assist, or teach you in the future.

I appreciate you stopping by my blog. Feel free (compelled) to make a comment, offer a suggestion or question. Please subscribe if you would like more thought provoking ideas and observations. Thanks

Ryan

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January 16, 06:13 PM

Holistic Blogging

Lately, I have been reading into the learning technique of holistic learning. It is focused on learning new material in a way that avoids the traditional and often times inefficient ways of studying. Holistic learning attempts to create a network of connections between learned material.

According to Scott Young, the young Canadian blogger and entrepreneur who I believed coined the term,

Holistic learning is the opposite of rote memorization. Instead of learning through force,your goal is to create webs of information that link together. Your goal when learning anything is to create a construct or an underlying understanding."

As I thought about this system and process, it came to me that developing a quality blog is very similar. Just as you are able to form more connections and insights with an increase in knowledge, you can start to form new connections with an increase with quality and on topic posts.

As you develop your blog’s backbone with a focused theme, the content in posts begin to relate to each other and build your brand. Timely and appropriate links to your own content can not only show your reader other relevant material, but it can enhance your reputation to deliver great insight or knowledge onto a specific subject.

Another piece of advice is to link to the content of other individuals, maybe even "competitors", because the no blog post or article is ever the definitive source of information. Chris Brogan, a famed social media expert, believes in a ratio of 12-1 when using social media: he will promote the content or work of others 12x more than he will push his own content.

As cliché as this statement is, the time to start blogging was a long time ago, but in order to start creating that solid core of posts, YOU'VE GOT TO START IMMEDIATELY. Get the ball rolling; holistic blogging can only manifest itself when there is material to make connections.

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January 08, 11:56 PM

Steal From Others...That Is Their Positive Characteristics

I'm a big fan of creating a vision for yourself. A template or mindmap for who you want to be and do.

To create this vision of who you desire to become, it is important to consider the inputs. What or who is shaping your vision for yourself? In order to constantly improve myself I look to my interactions and observations of others to determine who I want to be, in addition to the self-analysis I do. I feel as if my world view and morals are comprised from dozens of characteristics or lessons from the people in my life.

I think that "taking" (aspiring to have) the desirable traits from people and rejecting the undesirable ones is a pragmatic skill. Truth is, it is much easier to identify positive and negative qualities in the people around us than it is to do a complete analysis/survey our ourselves.

Example.

Recently I came across a well designed video presentation from a successful web entrepreneur and blogger. I was truly impressed and figured that it would be great to discover a new tool on how to create a similar video, so I emailed him. In a concise email I complimented him on his video and nicely asked if he would be share the service/technique that he used to create the compelling piece.

Within a 24hr period during the holiday season he responded by saying that he had used the service Animoto (which I would have discovered if I had just watched the final 10 sec of the video). Instead of ignoring my email and declining to answer my question because of my failure to watch the whole 4 minute video, he gladly helped a fellow lifestyle designer out and stated that I should feel free to email him back if I had any other questions.

As a follow up response, I thanked him for his time and took to heart his invitation to ask questions. I had read his bio on his blog and then I asked him how he had earned the opportunity to have a big time CEO become his personal mentor. Again, within a half a day, he answered and then began asking questions about the projects I was involved in. Here I am, this 17yr old stranger taking up his time and inbox, and he is showing interest in me and what I do.

To date, we've since exchanged several emails regarding muses, ideas and mentors.

What that Interaction Did.

It re-emphasized the idea of being generous: generous with your time, money and talents. It re-emphasized the idea of genuinely caring about someone in your tribe or community. It re-emphasized the idea of the importance of spreading ideas, advice and knowledge.

It made me think to myself, "Wow, as I become more successful and knowledgeable, I would love to do the same exact thing for another inquisitive 17yr old."

Conclusion.

Try and take the positive traits/behaviors/characteristics/acts of people and really commit to trying to do those same things in your life. And for the negative " ", do the exact opposite. Having seen their flaw, attempt to correct and/or prevent yourself from ever repeating what they did. (Note: We are all flawed, so that doesn't mean avoiding all of humanity.)

The mental mindset (neg) : "Please promise yourself [Ryan William Dawidjan], that you'll never do what XYZ just did. That was       and totally    . I would never want to represent myself in that manner."

The mental mindset (pos) : "Please promise yourself [Ryan William Dawidjan], that you will make every attempt and effort to replicate what XYZ just did. It was such a great      and this is a valuable lesson to learn."

Thank's for stopping by. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, subscribe or email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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January 06, 10:43 PM

The Need to Know a Little About a Lot

Recently (last few months) I've personally read about the strong discussion about being good a lot of things vs. being great at something. As Corbett Bar recently put it,

There’s an age-old question that everyone seems to struggle with at some point in life. Is it better to be a Renaissance man or woman and be good at a lot of different things or to be laser-focused and really great at one specific thing?

I have yet to reach a definitive conclusion on what I believe is better, but I strongly believe that whether or not an individual is a Renaissance man/woman or is "laser focused", an individual should be well rounded in that they are culturally literate.

What is Cultural Literacy?

The contributors of Wikipedia have stated that,

is the ability to converse fluently in the idioms, allusions and informal content which creates and constitutes a dominant culture. From being familiar with street signs to knowing historical references to understanding the most recent slang, literacy demands interaction with the culture and reflection of it.

I expand that definition to include having a slight clue of current world events, politics, sports or pop culture.

Why is it important?

I personally believe that it is important because it dramatically increases your ability to contribute and connect with other individuals. If you have some clue about the latest major sports result or world crisis, it makes it that much easier to create productive small talk.

In my work as a caddy, I have found it extremely helpful to glance at the headlines in the paper so that I have more to say than "good shot" or "nice putt" to my member during the course of 4.5 hours.

Knowing some obscure trivia or pop culture reference can help you connect with a classmate, teammate, stranger or friend that has a niche passion or interest. Not only can you genuinely connect with them, but you can then practice humility by asking a question(s) about their beloved interest. In the end, one party has learned something due to the sharing by another.

Lesson?

Remember those Snapple Facts, glance at the mornings headlines and read more in-depth when time allows, and use WIKIPEDIA. Why? Because it's free, simple and fast. Certainly don't use it for those school research projects, but anytime you have a craving to find out a little more about a particular company, word, person, trend, etc, use the world's free encyclopedia.

You never know when a fact like, "The Isle of Man's (a place I am visiting in May) parliament, Tynwald, is the oldest continuous parliament in the world."

Don't know what/where/who/when the Isle of Man is? Look it up

Free free to leave comments, suggestions, questions or subscribe. Also, I invite you to email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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December 31, 07:49 PM

The Moneymaking Cuban: Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban, the guy who always gets fined by the NBA, and the guy that I have never really known much about recently wrote about the Sport of Business.

The ultimate competition. Would you like to play a game called Eat Your Lunch. We are going to face off. My ability to execute on an idea vs yours. My ability to subvert your business vs your ability to keep it going. My ability to create ways to remove any reason for your business to exist vs your ability to do the same to me. My ability to know what you are going to do, before you do it. Who gets there first? Best of all, this game doesn’t have a time limit. It’s forever. It never ends. It’s the ultimate competition.

It’s the sport of business. It’s not for everyone, but I love it.

A pretty interesting and insightful post. I highly encourage you to check out his popular blog at www.blogmaverick.com

Feel free to comment, subscribe, or email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

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December 31, 06:58 PM

Embrace the Shark...Grooveshark

Recently, with my new netbook and a new focus on utilizing web technologies, I have been using Grooveshark.com. It is a great music streaming site that allows you to play music for free, form playlists and form a library of mainstream music.

I have nothing but good things to say about it, and neither does Techcrunch with their latest review.

Feel free to comment, subscribe (end of page), or email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

Happy New Year

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December 31, 02:37 PM

X-Mas Gift

With some generous gifts and some of money of my own, I was able to purchase a netbook, more specifically the Asus EEEPC 1015HA for about $330. For those who don't know what a netbook is,

Netbooks (sometimes also called mini notebooks or ultraportable) are a branch of subnotebooks, a rapidly evolving category of small, light and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing and accessing web-based applications; they are often marketed as "companion devices," that is, to augment a user's other computer access."

Just a brief rundown on the details: weighs less than 3 pounds, has a 1 gig of ram, a 160gb hard drive, a 10'' screen and a battery life of at least 8hrs.

I would highly encourage anyone who travels frequently, is an active person, or a lover of technology to pick up one up.

Feel free to comment, or email me at [ryandawidjan@gmail.com]

Have a Great New Year

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December 31, 02:12 PM

I'm All In

Ever get to a point in a situation where you say, f%*k it!!, I'm going for it?

This is what I call the yellow light syndrome. The point that we reach in a situation that we think that were already in too deep with our time, money or energy. I get the term yellow light syndrome from the experience of driving a car.

Shit, you think to yourself, a yellow light. Well, I'm already going X miles per hour and I can't (won't) stop now so let's just go through and hope nothing bad happens.

It is the similar thinking that leads an individual that is in a troubled spot to just continue their negative actions because they are in a mental state of where they don't care what happens to them.

Next time you consciously identify yourself as being in a "yellow light" situation, take a minute to think about what you are really doing and what the consequences may be. Not all yellow light situations are necessarily bad; sometimes they have us go through on ideas or projects that we may have never had the guts to complete. But in most cases, emotional and rushed thinking tend to lead to poor choices.

Feel free to comment or email me at [ryandawidjan at gmail.com]

Have a Great New Years. Some great posts regarding 2010 and making the most of it.

Zen Habits - The Definitive Guide to Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Seth Godin - Seven Years Gone

Gary Vaynerchuck - It's 2010, You Can Get To Anyone You Want

Jarred Alexandrov - Why Promises Are So Powerful

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December 26, 01:04 AM

Time ≠ Money

For the vast majority of our day, time does not equal money. I am often disturbed when people are so quick to cite the old cliche if they are asked to give of their time. Sure, if your getting paid by the hour in a job and you miss one hour's worth of work due to traffic or appointment, you loose X amount of dollars. But I fail to see how spending an hour before/after school or work volunteering at a non-profit is costing you money. If you were scheduled 8-3 and you are asked to give an hour of your time at 4:00, there is an opportunity cost, but you are not missing out on income. Your employer didn't just give you the ability to come in anytime you wanted and make X dollars.

Or if someone ahead of you at a checkout line takes a few minutes extra, don't think to yourself, "Gosh, time is money, let's hurry up." Those lost few minutes are not preventing you from working and thus there is no financial burden.

My point: Next time, don't rush to assume that a delay or time commitment is hurting your bottom line.

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December 19, 12:21 AM

The Game of Life (and school)

I find that looking at life as a game makes it a whole lot less intimidating and confounding. As I work harder and achieve more, I gain more experience (points?) and become stronger.

From time to time I come across really difficult scenarios (bosses?) and once I overcome them, I can move onto the next level. Of my life."

Colin Wright of Exilelifestyle

I too like Colin, enjoy going through life like it is a game. It's about advancing to the next stage of life whether it is becoming smarter, stronger and "successful". I try to think of every challenge as an advancement opportunity; a chance to grow, learn and impress.

I tend to see the life as a game when I am presented a problem/assignment/project by a friend, teacher or parent. By doing this, it allows you to take it personally. It now becomes a question of; are you good enough to do this? It is a direct challenge to your ability to think, de-construct situations and problem solve. And at the same time while it is humanizing the situation for yourself, it is de-personalizing the authority figure. I now longer see Professor XYZ challenging me, I see the whole world and society challenging me to accomplish that something.

Next time your put in a situation where you feel overwhelmed, confused or contested, have the mentality that you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. As you go through life, be a game player, refusing to loose to society.

Any comments, suggestions, questions can be directed at me: [ryandawidjan@gmail]

Thanks,

Ryan Dawidjan

Flickr photo source

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December 18, 10:33 PM

Gary Vay-ner-chuck

While I would not go to the point of saying he is my hero, Gary Vaynerchuck has been a great person to follow and learn from. A very successful traditional businessman, he is also a best selling author of Crush It and a massively accomplished web entrepreneur/social media maverick. As I learn and dive into the new world of social media, Gary has been a guiding light. He doesn't focus on SEO, web analytics, adwords or all the little details that go into maintaining social netoworks. Instead his absolute focus and teaching is on giving a shit; giving a shit about blog readers, customers, friends, twitter followers, etc, whether or not you have one of them or a half million (like him). In the numerous posts and keynotes I have seen of his, this is the message he drives home and I believe it is a message that can be applied in many areas of life, not just the web. By passionately caring about something or someone, we can start a movement.

Anyways, I'm not interested in writing a biography on him but I just wanted to share someone who has had a great influence on me and I encourage you to check him out at his site.

Thanks

Any comments, questions or suggestions can be directed to me: at ryandawidjan@gmail.com

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December 18, 10:13 PM

Paperless Office

While this image above might be a slight exaggeration, there is an ever increasing need to reduce clutter, distractions and most of all paper, in an office environment. The world is digital and in a world with e-receipts, online banking, Paypal, and scanning/digital photos, the use of old fashioned paper is rapidly diminishing. Paper use is often wasteful and inefficient. Here are some quick steps to eliminating the mess and having a well maintained and organized digital collection of documents.

Reduce Junk Mail - Attempt to stop signing up for services/promotions that you know will do little but send spam and fill your mailbox. Visit this site to help you rid your name and address of those pesky snail mail spamming companies.

Make Online Payments / Use Online Banking - Relax, millions of secure financial transactions are made each week online. Take the appropriate steps to set up online banking with your primary banking institution. I find Bank of America's online banking to be a breeze and a very simple way to track accounts/transactions and make payments.

Send PDF's - PDF, a almost universal file format, is a great way to distribute documents, manuals and diagrams. Whether you are creating a Word document or Excel chart, simply save it as a PDF file so that you can email or post it instantly instead of sending it in snail mail. Install the quick and easy program doPDF to do this. (It is extremely easy - when you want to save a document as a pdf, simply go to the print option and select doPDF. Clicking "Print" will save it the designated folder)

Scan or Photograph Documents - So, any traditional mail or paper that does come in after taking the steps above should be digitized. There are two primary ways to do this. Scan the documents using any ordinary scanner and save the scan files to your computer as a jpeg image. Or, you can take a high quality photograph of the documents. This will be slightly faster and will eliminate the need to have another object (scanner) clutter your office. With both techniques, you will be able to amass a highly organized and accessible database without the need for cabinets and manila folders.

Make a conscious effort to eliminate as much paper use as you can. You will no longer have to deal with thousands of papers lying around the office. You can also promote sustainable business practices. But most importantly, you can become more efficient and more organized. Imagine having a customer/boss ask you for a document that they need asap. All you do is click reply to their email, search through your simple folders on your hard drive, select the pdf file and bam, your done...5 sec. No need to rummage around in a file cabinet, copy the document and then mail it with a 42 cent stamp. Thanks

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to contact me at ryandawidjan@gmail.com

Have a great Holiday season

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December 18, 09:32 PM

The Hyped College Process

Did you know that the whacky and energetic Jim Cramer of the tv show Mad Money graduated magna cum laude from HARVARD University? or that the manager of Fidelity Mutuals largest mutual fund graduated from a small and stigmatized community college right in my own city?

As I conclude my college process and send in my $500 non-refundable deposit to Babson College, I realize that it doesn't really matter where you get your fancy diploma from. As long as your willing to bust your tail it, you'll make it. If your driven and your remarkable, you will stand out from the rest of the pack no matter which category of college you graduate from (NESCAC, IVY, "Little Ivy", JuCo).

I recently saw a great episode on 60 Minutes about Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Zone (video) detailing his "social experiment" in a 97 block neighborhood in downtown Harlem NY. To alleviate poverty he incorporates countless free medical, educational and social services. Canada's ultimate goal is send every child in the "Zone" to college and the kids in his program are well on their way. In the interview, Geoffrey Canada never mentions where his students are entering college and rightfully so, they just are. His mission is to enroll 100% of the students in his program in a four year college and to do this he will spend thousands on each and every one of them. The point is to get them on the right path to college, keep them there, and then once they enter college they will find a path in life that leads to a successful job and family.

If you remove all the hype surrounding colleges you'll come to a key conclusion: You could just as well drop out of Brown University as you could a local junior college. Obviously it helps to a motivated and determined student graduating from the former, but in the end, I believe it doesn't matter. I can't tell you how many times my jaw has dropped after researching a successful educator/business person/you name it, to find out that they went to junior college or a community college close to where they grew up. And as much as I know that it will be nice to have a Babson undergraduate degree in 4.5yrs, it still means crap because a harder working and more driven individual from any one of the 4,000+ colleges in the United States could come along and beat me out for a job.

And it goes to show ya that some of the world's leaders (Bill Gates, Lebron James, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell..) don't even need a degree.

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December 18, 09:32 PM

Hail Mary - All or Nothing

I think that we all try to be like or are like Doug Flutie in more than just comparable height (5'9''). I think in everyday life we try and throw that hail-mary, the desperate attempt to do something all at once. Instead of making steady, solid drives up the field to score multiple times and put the game away, we resort to throwing a 48yd bomb with 6 seconds left. Let me explain:

- Instead of just picking up clothes, books, homework that litter my room everyday, I wait until it is a complete mess and then it takes me an hour or two every week or so to re-organize it. If I pick a shirt up here, and a pair of shoes here, my room would never have to go through a complete overhaul.

- Instead of reading or studying for a test a few nights before the actual exam, my classmates and I tend to save it all for one night. We resort to the cram session instead of the meticulous and non stressful method of learning the material bit by bit. (For great studying techniques and how to "build a remarkable life" visit Cal Newport's Study Hacks.)

- Instead of utilizing that one free hour of time in a day between activities, sometimes I just blow it off because the assignment I have requires more time. For example, if I have a 4-pg paper to write, I know that it is going to take longer than an hour. But, even knowing that, I should use that free hour to outline and maybe write the first page. I am wasting precious time but trying to find a unobstructed block of time that contains X amount of hours.

As you can see, the Haily Mary tactic is used in a variety of circumstances. I believe that if we can try and eliminate those desperate attempts to accomplish something, and instead replace them with step by step action, we can live a much more relaxed and organized life. Take the time to examine what aspects of your life could be taken in a methodical way to better improve your day.

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December 18, 09:30 PM

First Post: About

Fear.

It's a powerful force in all of our lives. There are countless proposed solutions on how to quell our fear(s). Tim Ferriss believes in identifying them, and well, I have. As I type these words I am facing a particular fear: writing a blog. In writing a blog I fear of failing, wasting valuable time, and changing the light in which people in my life see Ryan Dawidjan. In the recent reading I've done, the theme of "Be Bold or Daring" and "To not just be like everyone else" has been a common one. But as much as I realized the words of Seth Godin and Derek Sivers were right, it didn't change the fact that I was hesitant to write a blog.

I had always wondered why people couldn't alter their behavior or thinking despite knowing that they needed to change or improve. When someone around me acknowledged a shortcoming of theirs, I would often think to myself, "Just change it" or "What's taking them so long?". And as I started pushing myself to start writing this blog I began to change my thinking a bit. I realized that even when someone truly knows they have a fear or a problem, it is still incredibly hard to change it.

I hope I have "conquered" this fear of mine. Instead of focusing on how little "bad" writing a blog could bring, I am now focused on the tremendous upside of writing one. Most importantly I now have an outlet for the never ending questions, observations and ideas I gather in a day. As a current high school student with little specialization, I will not emphasize keeping a strict theme to the blog instead it will a transparent look into my life and musings. I want to record and process those "Fringe thoughts" as Ben Casnocha says. I also see a blog as a way to refine my writing skills and to try and break away from the standard 5 paragraph essays that I encounter on a weekly basis.

So, I apologize for the long introduction but welcome to my blog. Feel free to contact me at:ryandawidjan@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

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Twitter....

About to watch at johns advance to the division one basketball state championship

8 hours ago from Zune HD
Check it out. @msuster Social Discovery - What I Love about @plancast http://bothsid.es/5Tw

28 hours ago from web
Reading @danpink 's Drive. Provides some awesome insights. Also just finished Sarah Vowell's "Assassination Vacation" - highly recommended

28 hours ago from web
Really starting to dig @davidusher 's music. Heard him at the end of @mitchjoel mediahacks podcast

29 hours ago from web
Upgrading soon on Verizon. Droid, Pre plus or Blackberry? Anyone know if there any new smart phones coming to @verizon?

2 days ago from web
Wondering if @flavorsme will integrate with @dailybooth . Seems like they could make a great pairing

2 days ago from web
@hearablog I feel for you, I've followed you and hear you on #TWIST. I think you have a great idea and would love to be a narrator for Godin

2 days ago from web
@tobeyboy_tellem Where is this new found enthusiasm and effort coming Toby? I'll be right by your side finishing up hw

2 days ago from web
@benrhughes Ben, @hearablog is great but they need to move from Switzerland to US and get funding, pay more narrators for more great blogs

2 days ago from web
@fredwilson Fred, maybe you could do a Q&A answer session once a month via @ustream / @livestream. Great way to be more accessible

2 days ago from web
@a4agarwal Didn't mean to put down your wine knowledge Sachin. Hopefully you can convert @garyvee to become a member of posterous tribe

2 days ago from web
@msuster Ah, the life of a VC...jk. I know you guys work hard. Insightful blog post today too

2 days ago from web
RT @msuster What's it Like Being a VC? http://bothsid.es/5R6

2 days ago from web
It's a B-E-A-UTIFUL day out

2 days ago from web
RT @UniqueVisitor A Vision of Students Today http://post.ly/OoW0

3 days ago from Posterous
@clayherbet Clay, any good book reviews coming soon? plus, what are you reading?

3 days ago from web
@Gr8estOfAllTime Nice, who would you rather face Matt? any early impressions

3 days ago from web
@etatcs Excited about suing the product but when I try to authorize my gmail account, I get a simply error message, "need oauth token" Help?

3 days ago from web
@jalexandrov went pretty smoothly, better quality. We focused on crowd b/c viewing angle didnt show it & it has been important, esp for SJ

3 days ago from web

LinkedIn...

Ryan Dawidjan

Tribal Linchpin at Little Pilgrim Ventures

Sports | Greater Boston Area, US

Jan 2010 - Present

Tribal Linchpin / Little Pilgrim Ventures
Nov 2009 - Present

Media Intern / ChineseResumeWriter

Responsible for developing marketing strategies, designing company website, and managing social media A virtual internship with Beijing based web company
Nov 2009 - Present

Paid Assistant / Pagano Media

Set-up, film, break down, resolve technical issues, handle customer service.
Sept 2006 - Oct 2009

Pro Shop Worker / Tatnuck Country Club

AA caddy
Aug 2006 - Aug 2008

Camp Counselor / Assumption College

Camp Counselor for both basketball and lacrosse summer camps

Babson College

Bachelors in Marketing, Entrepreneurship
2006 - 2010

Saint John's High School

Everything and Anything

Activities: National Honor Society, P3, Student Ambassador, Varsity Lacrosse, Mock Trial, Video