Gap Year szn: Week 1

Why I decided to take a gap year & my initial thoughts.

If you’re more interested in my updates/syllabus I created, scroll down for a couple seconds — this is my back story on my decision.

As I sit here, writing this blog on my bed, I realized something pretty incredible. Life is all about enjoying everything you do.

Maybe not in the moment, but there shouldn’t be things in your life that you do continuously, and hate it at the same time.

For about the last 2 years, that’s how I viewed college. The classes were boring, I didn’t learn anything exciting, and I knew it wouldn’t translate to my business.

My mindset before COVID-19 was that I was already so invested in school and was so close to finishing, which is true. I have about $10k in student loans and was a senior in college. Plus, my parents and older people in general really want me to graduate.

Well, my Mom does at the very least 😉.

But I just couldn’t do it this fall. I preach and preach about the value of school lying within friendships, group projects, and meeting new people. But with COVID, that was all up in the air.

As I looked over my schedule for the fall, I would honestly get mad. I literally was wasting my time with this. This summer I’ve really come to appreciate the brutalness of time.

You can never get it back. When you waste time, whether it be 2 hours or 2 weeks, that’s gone forever.

With my business, school, other work opportunities, working out, being with my family, spending time with my girlfriend, and being with friends, I knew I couldn’t balance everything at once — or I couldn’t give each of these my best effort, which for me is a non-negotiable. If I committ to it, I give it everything I’ve got.

School was the easy choice to cut out.

However, I still love structured learning. I just want to learn about things that will benefit me. So I created my own semester plan. It includes these courses:

~Sales, psychology, and the power of influence.

~Advanced digital marketing.

~Copywriting 101

~Leadership in 2020

~Books that will change your life.

Each “course” will be 15 weeks and I have assignments under each one. If you want to check out my syllabus, just hit me up on LinkedIn ;)

I chose these courses because it hits on all 3 of my dislikes about higher education: it’s not outdated, unpersonalized, or expensive.

It’s exactly what I want and need.

The content I’ll learn is taught from the best of the best out there. The leaders in each of those topics. It is the most up-to-date information POSSIBLE.

I use MasterClass, LinkedIn Learning, and YouTube. Things college rarely uses. Well, except for the awful YouTube videos some professors use. And then don’t know how to stop the auto play feature and get SO rattled when a video starts playing. #Iykyk

It is centereted around me as a marketer. All of those things will help not only my personal growth, but the growth of the business as well.

The total cost of everything is $330. Beat that, college.

Well that’s a little bit about what I’m doing, and here is my update on how it’s been going!

WEEK 1:

So far, I love the topics. MasterClass has been awesome and I would highly recommend it. The content is easy to engage with and there as so many interesting topics.

I’m focusing a lot on MasterClass for the first couple weeks. I find it easier to get in a better routine on the same platform.

Here are the courses I’m taking first:

Chris’s Voss teaches the Art of Negotiation. Okay this dude is so sick. He’s the former FBI hostage negotiator and teaches you tips about conversations and how to get people to agree with your offer. He teaches you how to read people and their emotions, and ways to get what you want.

Here’s what I learned so far:

• Use mirroring. Use the last 1–3 words a person uses and repeat it using a question tone. This shows active listening and will get them to keep talking and trust you.
• Then, use labeling to show you understand what they are saying. Follow it up by saying, “It seems like you….” (Insert whatever you have learned about that person).
• Silence is key in conversations.
• Manipulate mirror neurons. Smile when you talk — it makes them feel happier.
• When people lie, they tend to use the Pinocchio effect. If they lie, they will use more words than normal. They will have to explain it more because they are trying to justify their lie.

Robert (Bob) Iger teaches Business Strategy and Leadership. He was the former CEO of Disney. Wow. Talk about having A TON of great wisdom. He can bring in so many great examples of success and lessons he has learned.

Here’s what I learned:

• Be true to yourself and what you believe in as a leader.
• Invest in creativity, embrace technology, and grow nationally.
• Great leaders make it clear what they expect out of their employees.
• Great brands stay true to their values. Never abandon core values for brand value.

Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein teach advertising and creativity. These dudes are genius. They came up with the Got Milk campaign and have won many advertising awards. My favorite thing about them is how genuine they are with advertising.

Here’s what I learned:

• It’s not advertising — it’s telling a story.
• You want to be remembered for something funny or beautiful!
• Everyone in the world is insecure. Speak how you feel and stay true to who you are. Then you never have to fake it.
• You have to be enthusiastic about what you’re promoting. Others will see that emotion in your work.
• Mass intimacy — know that ads are intrusive. Be appreciative that you are able to show them your ad.
• Run towards the fire. Find things that will be provocative or upsetting. Make sure people see it and notice it.
• Humor sells. All the time.
• The client will have GREAT ideas — never neglect them.

Book I’m reading: The Alchemist.

So there it is! I will be doing these each week to keep myself accountable and to share the wisdom and knowledge I’ve gained.