It Never Gets Easier Than Now

I mentioned the book “I Will Teach You to be Rich” by Ramit Sethi a couple Friday’s ago. I’ve ordered mine and it should arrive in the next day or so, but I received his subscriber e-mail today that is spurring this very blog post.

I admit that I’ve been a little hesitant to post about this book (not to mention "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind") because I don’t want it to seem like I’m obsessed about being rich and having tons and tons of money. Because I’m not. I grew up in a very modest household and was taught to work hard and be responsible for my own wants and needs since a young age. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a lot of money, rather finding ones own financial success is an awesome accomplishment, whatever that entails. But something about reading books about (seemingly) being rich is a little off-putting…do you agree?

With that, I do want to mention that there are so many versions of being “rich,” aside from finances. I suppose it can all relate to your personal definition of success and how you’ve come to that point. Hmm, to clarify I think there’s a huge difference between (1) working hard, long hours at a sometimes pointless (to you anyways) job that wears you out and drains from other parts of your life and is only a means to reach a certain paycheck or pay for your lifestyle and (2) working towards a passion and interest; something that you are excited about and, as a result, pays off personally and financially in the end.

For me, especially right now, I don’t want to be working for money or because I have to. I want to be working because I enjoy what I’m doing and believe my efforts will help someone on the other end. And I think that is the kind of “rich lifestyle” I want to strive for, regardless of the financial outcomes.

Now back to Ramit Sethi. His e-mail today really stood out to me (titled same as this post). As I’ve talked about starting my own magazine, I’ve often put it off and said it’s something I’d do in the future—after I’ve experienced other professional things. Over the past 8 months or so, I’ve become more keen on the idea of starting it sooner rather than later. Several people I’ve shared my ideas with have said things like “Why do you need to do it now?” or “There’s no need to rush to do it; you’ve got your whole life.” Yes, true points; I don’t want to rush into something just to do it. But I’d try to explain that this is the prime time for me to do it. I’m young and have very few financial obligations. I don’t have much to lose, and have the most time that I probably will have compared to years from now. Perhaps this is why Ramit’s open paragraph stuck out to me so much:

Have you ever heard friends say they'll start a company "some day" or start investing "next year" or even just hang out on a weekend "another time"?

I wrote up a long rant about this BS a while back:

"Every time I hear someone say "I'm too busy" to do something, a little puppy dies and I want to stab myself in the eye with a katana blade. I don't think people realize how good we have it right now: We're young, we're only responsible for ourselves, and we can do basically anything we want. If you think about the responsibilities we'll have in 20 years-or even 5-you start to appreciate that doing almost anything will never get easier than it is now."

He then directs us to a post on his blog that covers some of the many things we put off until a later time that are actually the easiest to do RIGHT NOW. Check out the post and topics, which I listed below with some of the things that stood out to me. Keep in mind that this is directed towards those in their early 20s.

Saving money
Monthly expenses can be about 10 times as much with kids as they are with just a couple. If you think you can save later, you are probably wrong.

Working out
We’re in the best natural shape of our lives; It’ll never be easier than today

Starting your own business
"For those that want to, there’s nothing like learning by doing–and if you fail, what’s the worst that can happen at our age? You don’t lose your house or wife and kids. You go and…get a regular job. You can always go to the corporate world. Going the entrepreneurial route gets harder and harder."

Just hanging out with friends

Doing your own side projects
" The question is, can you track what you spend your time on and redirect it to something you care about? Something that will have an impact for the next 5, 10, or 50 years? The answer is yes. And we’ll only get busier in the future."

Taking risks in investing and life
"What would happen if we lost all our money right now? Most people admit that it wouldn’t really be that bad. Maybe they’d go live at home for a few months, get back on their feet, and go get another job. But what happens when you’re 35 with a husband, 2 kids, and a mortgage? Losing most (or all) of your money would be catastrophic. And if you’re 65 and spending your money on pills and bingo, losing your money can be a matter of life and death."

Meeting interesting people

Traveling
"Traveling to visit (or live) in other places is unbelievably easy right now. To visit, it costs about $200 roundtrip to anywhere in country. To live, we pick a place, get a job, and it’s done. We have no one to answer to, and imagine the amount you can learn by living somewhere else."

Living in situations your parents would abhor
"As we get older, we naturally demand a more comfortable living situation. When we travel abroad, for example, we can stay in hostels with no problem. When older people travel, they need a hotel. The point is that we can live in a way that older people cannot. So whether that’s saving on rent by living in a cheaper place, or driving your 10-year-old car, or just realizing you don’t need that much…it’s never easier than it is now."

Introducing HS2COLLEGE

Thanks for brainstorming ideas with me for naming my hopeful business! Last week I kinda had an epiphany, and I believe the correct name just came to me. With that I'm introducing...

HS2COLLEGE

I don't remember exactly how it came to me, but I was at work and thought of it and got really excited. I've now set up several account using the name and loved every time I saw the generic "Thanks for signing up, HS2COLLEGE" phrase. After all the brainstorming and ideas that I liked, this is the first that really screamed at me and stuck. The full name reads High School to College, which, yes, is long, but I think the short phrase would be used most of the time.

Reasons I like this name:

1. It uses both "high school" and "college"

2. The name clearly portrays what it represents

3. It has a double meaning—both of which are applicable.

a. It's aimed for students transitioning from high school to college

b. It covers high school topics and college topics and everything in between

So this weekend one of my goals was to start coming up with logo ideas. I'm including some of the things I came up with—yes, even the really crappy ones so you can see the process of how I got to something I like. Changes are still likely ahead, so please provide any feedback or comments!

These are my least favorite of the bunch that I came up with. I liked the idea of incorporating a large "2" that stands out and is kind of the focal point.

This is where I started finding something I liked. I loved the capital letters and the fun, bright green. However, I know that sometimes I'd just want to use a loge with just text reading "HS2COLLEGE" and would want the text to be consistent. So I played around with those options...

At the time I really liked the lowercase letters on the top. (Writing this now, I'm having different thoughts.) But I never liked using small casing in the other logos. (See the first garnet boxes.) I also had to think about how the logo would work in with the rest of the design for a Web site, print materials and the such. I like the idea of using an earthy tan color as the base (exact color is yet to be determined) to offer a somewhat professional feel and using bright, youthful colors to make it pop and attract its intended audience.

This tan color does not look the same here on the Web as it does on my design screen...

I've saved my favorites for last, so here they are: I worked out the text logo by simply making the 2 larger (which is what I seemed to like from the lowercase text). Then there's the square, green logo. Let me know what you think!

Follow Friday Shout Outs

Hello all, here it is: my first Follow Friday blog! *Non-tweeters, see brief explanation at end. (And I must admit I have to restrain inserting a hashtag (#) every time I type that :)) Before I refer you to some of my favorite fellow tweeters from this past week, I have to mention how much this popular activity humbles me every week. It’s so easy to think your thoughts and messages are being sent out into vast nothingness and that no one sees them, reads them, or cares. It’s easy to forget how these simple Twitter interactions can really affect so much and actually so many people. So a sincere thank you for all those who have recommended me—it means a lot.

Also, @Careerealism just posted a great article about thinking outside the Twitter box (Follow Friday) for recognizing great professionals. Give it a read if you get a chance.

My Follow Friday picks this week are some I’ve had memorable interactions with this past week or so. There are so many others to choose from, but alas there’s always next week.

First off—My inspiration for this post comes from @DrMollieMarti whose Follow Friday blog post last week really stood out to me as a great way to recognize great tweeters. She’s a performance psychologist, founder of BestLifeDesign.com, and author of “The 12 Factors of Business Success.”

Recently I’ve LOVED learning more about @workinggirl, aka Karen Burns. I’ve been following her tweets and two weeks ago won her Twitter contest for a FREE copy of her book, “The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl.” And I’m absolutely loving reading it.
(I’m hoping to finish soon, but my free time has gotten away from me recently.) Not only does she offer practical career advice (derived from personal experiences from 59 different jobs) but she’s created this amazingly cute, girly, witty and sassy brand surrounding the entire product. (I love the polka dots, pink, and little cartoons, as well as the fun atmosphere it all creates.)

I wanted to give a shout out to @JillianMika who stood out to me as I attempted to start some dialogue about various topics on Twitter. She's an industrial engineer currently looking for a job and is a great example of some creative methods to find a job. Check out her site!

Next up is @Schedulicity, who also Follow Friday-ed me (or #vivaviernes as she put it and describes in her own blog post). But even before I noticed my mention on her blog, she was standing out to me for the personal messages or thoughts she always includes in her comments, RTs, even RT thank you's. Visit the business site for online scheduling and email marketing info.

My last pick is actually not someone whose tweets I even see very much. But @Ramit is the author of "I will Teach You to Be Rich." I haven't gotten my hands on the actual book yet, but it is supposed to have lots of tips to avoid spending too much for everyday things, and as a result having more money leftover. I do subscribe to his blog and have most recently signed up for the e-mail list and received the first chapter of his book (which talks about optimizing credit cards and eliminating debt). Everything so far seems really interesting!

*Follow Friday is a popular trend occurring every Friday (surprise!) in the Twitter world. Tweeters recommend people they believe are worthwhile to follow. You can learn who your followers are following and possibly why you should follow them too. This creates a great way to recognize tweeters with similar interests, spread word about who you like, and help others increase their following numbers.

Customizing Twitter for YOU

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked in the past couple weeks how individual people in different fields should be using Twitter. OK, I probably could pinpoint it, but we'll just leave it as having come up frequently in several different conversations—and not by my doing by the way.

The main thing I've been saying is that you can use Twitter however you want to; there are no set rules and instructions. People simply come up with ideas, decide what they want to do and make things work out for them and how they decide to tweet. Yea, it's confusing I know. It's just hard to tell someone exactly why they should get on Twitter and how they could use the program. What I get out of Twitter might not be what you want to get out of Twitter. Since this is a relatively new phenomenon, people are experimenting a lot in a variety of ways. So, to help shed some light and provide some examples, I've gathered a few interesting and unique ways people and businesses are tweeting.

@waffletruck—Located in New York City, this company sells waffles throughout the streets from their truck. How they use Twitter? They tweet updates regularly to let customers know where they are located.

@reporterssource—This is a free service that links reporters and other members of the media with sources, businesses etc. Those interested in being a source (subject experts, professionals, etc.) can sign up and those looking for sources can submit a request. The program tweets requests and helps make connections happen.

@laundryroom—College students alert! Ever dragged your entire wardrobe to the laundry room just to find that no washers were available? Well, this program at Olin College (in Maine?) automatically sends out a tweet to residents when a washer or dryer is available. (I think it would be great if it tweeted you when your load was done too!!)

@Careerealism—Anyone with a twitter account can submit career-related questions which are then answered by various established and carefully selected career professionals. All in 140 characters or less. Nearly 200 questions have been submitted and answered so far. These include those about a religious person debating a promotion that requires working on Sundays; a job seeker having slept through an interview; using social media to find a job; and networking at a desired job. (Check out all of the questions submitted so far.)

@cookbook—This one is a little intense, but these tweets offer "tiny recipes" from all over the world. That's right, some have trouble tweeting with limited space, but this source offers entire recipes.

@SATwordoftheday—Forget the huge prep books and complicated study methods. Instead get a tweet a day (maybe specifically sent to your cell phone?) with a new vocabulary word to learn.

@twittercize—Every get bored of doing the same exercises? Following the motto "Get fit, one tweet at a time," these tweets offer one minute exercises delivered straight to your Twitter device of choice. You have all the instructions you need and maybe you'll love the exercises and fit them into your regular fitness routine!

@elemteachers—This tweeter lets elementary teachers share good ideas and effective resources. (In this same field, check out this list of elementary teacher tweeters AND this article about using Twitter to improve teacher/parent communication.)

These are just some examples I've found in the last couple weeks. There are a couple specific fields I've been asked about that I didn't address (local music group, dentists, techs in movie industry, etc.), so let me know what unique Twitter users you've found.

Also, what do you think about these examples? Are people ready to start using Twitter regularly in more arenas?