In the Summer of 2007, four recent college graduates, discouraged by their professional experience out of school, set out on a cross country road trip to find answers. 16,000 miles, 120 days and 300 interviews later, this documentary chronicles their experience Pursuing the Passion.

Today is a sad day as two of the most wonderfully interesting people I have been familiar with have passed on. Through ones stubborn disregard for the taboo and the others stalwart escape of the mundane, both changed my conception of the status quo and effectively enriched my life by shifting out the borders of my perception, even if only slightly.

Of these two individuals Jack Dulles was the only one whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person. Born in 1913 Professor Dulles was the oldest Professor at the University of Texas when we met him in October of last year. Having attended Princeton for his undergraduate education, Harvard for his MBA and working several years at a Bank in New York, Dulles decided to head south of the border to work in the mining industry. He would begin studying the communist military regimes of South America, ultimately becoming one of the world’s primary historical authorities.

Professor Dulles’ stories of meeting with communist government officials and surviving the dangers of the mining industry while friends and co-workers perished before his eyes were of a romantic nature I did not realized existed outside of wildly creative historical fiction. Sporting wild grey hair, candy red framed sunglasses and a smile with more sincerity than some express in a lifetime the 95 year old professor let us in on the secret to life, “Have a great interest in what one is doing and be active.”

The second person that we’ve lost today is none other than George Carlin. While I can’t say I new him personally his cultural significance is unquestionable. Comedians are some of the most tireless studies of human nature and in my opinion offer incredibly valuable and astute social commentary. George Carlin challenged issues in a public forum that few had the guts to question privately and through this vocal disregard for the status quo enabled us to be far more brazen and free in our own lives. Carlin was a professional wordsmith and has left the world with more valuable quotes, quips and phrases than I could begin to describe. One of my favorites, “Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.”

These men had one profound similarity that was characteristic of who they were and the successes they realized. They never stopped growing, questioning and evolving and were prolific and significant in their chosen fields until the day they died.

I think I’ll always recognize the importance of romance and idealism in the way I choose to live. But, it was certainly nice having these two men around to remind me.

Two months ago my girlfriend was caller number 104.  The prize?  Two tickets to go see Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour at the Jobing.com Arena.

    Seated far from the front row in the back of the arena, I was offered an interesting perspective of the concert.  A full floor of screaming teenagers willingly stood before me for the whole show despite paying an average of $100 for their seat.  Flashing lights and video screens brightly projected themselves our way, sending me away dizzy after four and a half hours of hip-hop-pop music.

I was sent away with something else besides a headache- lessons, or at least, reaffirmations from the self proclaimed biggest star in the universe, Kanye West.  

1) At the end of the concert Kanye said, “Music is the soundtrack of our lives.  It’s what we wake up to in the morning, listen to on the way to work, and defines us in who we are.”  As he continued on about how he loves music, I interpreted the statement to be the reasoning behind “why” he raps.  That same “why” should be prevalent in “why” we’re at work, or looking for work on this glorious Monday afternoon.  Needless to say, my “why” was reevaluated.

   2) That having a goal- in Kanye’s case, being bigger than John Lennon, Madonna, U2, aka, the greatest- is essential to success.  If Kanye simply just loved music without the goal of becoming the greatest, he’d be nowhere near as successful as he is today.  It’s like having passion without reason, or reason without passion- you need both to be successful.  Having a lofty goal like Kanye’s allows him to continue into the depths of decades.

3) As one would expect for $90 a ticket, the performance did not disappoint.  There was captivating video, lots of sing-a-long moments and interaction from a crowd rocking sunglasses indoors.  As 20,000 people threw their “rock signs high in the sky”- truly a mesmerizing sight- the essentials of a successful presentation became apparent.  Reach the audience audibly, visually, and most important, make them do something besides sit in their seats.

    This morning Zach and I spoke to 100 5th graders at Chandler-Gilbert’s Destination College program about Pursue the Passion.  Lessons number three, two, and one were incorporated into the presentation.  The result? 

A successful presentation highlighted by a loud, synchronized “Pursue the Passion” chant.  I’m no Kanye, but for twenty minutes, I was able to feel like one.

I am the endangered character that rarely disposes of junk mail. I slash open the envelope, read the first line of the standardized letter, and usually toss it aside without bothering to read the rest. The process provides me with enjoyment, however meager it may be.

A piece of junk mail I received yesterday had the catch phrase “Important information about your RV” embodied in big bold letters on the regular white envelope. Taking a moment to briefly glance at the Pursue the Passion RV in my driveway (which is now much more of an icon than an active participant of sporadic, nomadic travel), I opened the letter.

Inside the first paragraphs read:

Dear Brett Farmiloe,

You live an active lifestyle. You’re young at heart. And odds are, most of the great things you’ve experienced happened while traveling with your RV.

There are few things in life that are as great as packing up the RV and heading out on the open road- ready to embark on the next great adventure. And GEICO wants you to know that we’re right there with you…

I read the lines to my roommates because of its truthfulness and non traditional nature. GEICO expressed themselves in a unique way, and as a result, left a positive impression.

I write about this letter because this is something we should all do in our email communication. Whether you are sending an email for a job, communicating with a co-worker, or coordinating with a potential client/partner, the lessons we learn from this letter are this:

1) Provide an interesting subject line- otherwise, why would someone bother to read your email?

2) Express Yourself. Show some personality in your communication to prove you’re not another average applicant out there for the job, or a corporate drone out for the almighty dollar. The Jobing.com sales team does a great job at this…if you don’t believe me, call them (602) 200-6800.

If you just be yourself and embrace what makes you, “you,” people will respond. Try it.

The question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” really used to bother me. I believed it was a throwaway question in an interview that didn’t measure anything.

How are we supposed to know where we are five years from now?

I was flipping through old notebooks this weekend and I came across a quote I wrote down from Atlas Shrugged, written by Ayn Rand. It read:

“The greater the mind, the better the range. A man whose vision extends to a shanty, might continue to build on quicksands, grab a fast profit and run. A man who envisions skyscrapers, will not.”

The quote gave me a new perspective, so I thought I’d share it.

I have a real problem with career tests. I believe the questions force the person providing the answers into a should complex. People don’t know what they like or want, (which is one reason why they’re taking the test in the first place) so they try to provide the “right” answer. The “right” answers just lead to a match of occupations that confuse the tester even more.

I just took a test to test my theory. I answered to the best of my ability, even when I caught myself falling into the should complex. The results:

“Based on your results, it appears you enjoy DATA, and perhaps, THINGS. The careers that are suited for your interests include:”

Park Ranger
Accountant
Wedding Photographer
FBI Agent
Fish and Game Warden
Food and Drug Inspector

Really? What am I supposed to do with this?

The 2008 summer jobs outlook for teens is looking dismal. In fact, it’s the worse outlook in sixty years, dating back to WWII. Here are a few facts that draw a picture, based on a report compiled by Andrew Sum, Joseph McLaughlin, Ishwar Khatiwada, and Sheila Palma at Northeastern University- Center for Labor Market Studies. It’s called The Continued Collapse of the Nation’s Teen Job Market and the Dismal Outlook for the 2008 Summer Labor Market for Teens: Does Anybody Care?

• The average teen employment rate for January-March 2008 was 33.5%, implying that 1 out of 3 teenagers were employed. This is the lowest rate since 1948.
• Eight years ago, in 2000, the employment rate for teens was 45.2%, a difference of 11.7 percentage points.
• If teens had been employed at the same rate as 2000, there would be another 2 million teens working in 2008.
• During the national job recovery from the third quarter of 2003 to the end of 2007, total civilian employment rose by 8.747 million workers. The number of employed teens at the end of the boom compared to the beginning was 10,000 workers lower- despite continued growth in the size of the teen population.

I first picked up the phone on Tuesday and worked until an interview with Major League baseball’s youngest broadcaster- David Flemming of the San Francisco Giants- was confirmed Thursday morning. Many routes had been pursued but as Zach and I stood in the lobby, one rite of passage had blindly been neglected- the Arizona Diamondbacks PR department.

The end result: interview cancelled.

The takeaway: inform anyone who could possibly want to know a media interview is going to take place, even the opposing team.

Hope to reschedule this one in mid-September. Stay tuned.

Working years are never a waste.  As miserable and as wasteful as they may seem, those experiences are building up to something greater.    The majority of emails I receive are from people 45 years and older who feel their working years have been a waste.  My response, always, aims to reframe their mind.

While watching the 4-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs during this glorious three day weekend, I was exposed to a philosophy that head coach Gregg Popovich uses as a mission statement for his players.  Here is a summarized version in my own words:  

“A sculptor had a large stone that he wanted split down the middle.  He took a big swing with his hammer to meet the chisel with a vengeance, only to find the stone unaffected by his effort.  He repeated the process a thousand times, only to achieve the same undesirable result.  On the 1,001st time, the hammer swiftly met the chisel and the stone split perfectly into two equal halves.  A bystander told the sculptor that he must have put some extra effort into the 1,001 st attempt.  The sculptor replied, ‘I know it was not the 1,001st attempt that split the stone, but all the other times where I applied the same effort.  That set me up for success.’”

The story symbolizes many of our lives.  We spend our lives gathering puzzle pieces from different jobs, relationships, and experiences to get to that 1,001 st time.  It doesn’t matter when the stone is split, as long as we don’t lose interest in it splitting.   

Pursue the Passion presents interviews with people who have split their stones.  A few ones that relate to this story include Darius Monsef IV, Billy Beane, Nicolaas Bloembergen. 

Our world is tiny.  Myopic.  A speck.  But only when we allow it to be. 

After I wrote this sentence I got a call from Adam, who saw a post of mine on Craigslist that sought out local music to be used in our Pursue the Passion documentary.  The documentary itself is close to completed with an ample supply of music to choose from.  The only reason I sought out more music was to expand my world outside of the daily routine I have been living in. 

Over the course of our ten minute conversation, I found that Adam is a landscaper by day and rock band organizer by night.  He is the poster child of our trademarked Pursue the Passion phrase.   I realized that in the small world I operate in; an office building with a hundred familiar faces, a twenty minute commute over Camelback Mountain, and living with two roommates, one of who has a girlfriend- my world is rejuvenated when learning, hearing, witnessing, or meeting people passionate about their life.  It makes me realize that in the routine, the passion can be muffled.   

The one thing I will do this weekend is make my world larger.  I don’t know if this is through art, opportunities, having a beer at a bar, or entrepreneurial cock-a-ma-mee schemes, but the next three days will be spent making the world bigger.   

The daily M-F routine stymies, but when the record skips, the perspectives that enter put us in a state of growth.