So Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years...

Knowing that I am in a serious place of transition, a friend recently sent me a cool exercise to help me craft a grand life vision but with a really cool twist: write it in the form of a press release. A sort of Put-Into-Writing-What-I-Want-To-Do-With-My-Life kind of thing.

You might think that coming up with this baby might be difficult. Actually, it was the easy part; I knocked it out in 90 minutes.

The Real Challenge: Take a plunge and send it to just about everyone I know by 8:00 PM tonight or else face walking the dogs by myself on every walk for the next four days.

It may not seem like it at first glance, but this is truly an exercise in fear. I mean come on, I'm gonna conjure up a beautiful, grand, glorious and ambitious dream…

and then share it with everyone I know!?

Riiiiiiight.

You may think, ‘Why do this?' (Believe me, I thought that in an *instant*) Well, to quote a friend, “You have to just ‘put it out there' – the world can't give you anything if you don't tell it what you want.” (that IS why it's called a dream, after all.)

My want: that you will read it, think of connections, opportunities, references, friends-of-friends etc. to help bring this bad boy to life.

I'm not kidding about this. If, after reading this, you say, “You know, I was just playing softball with this guy who's sister does…” then this whole thing is working its Mojo.

So read on, friend. Hell, if you feel so inspired to come up with a press release of your own, by all means go for it. Just be sure to pass it back tome so I can see if I can help you out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mark Konold Added As Keynote Speaker For 17 th Annual FranklinCovey Symposium.

Salt Lake City, UT – February 1, 2011 – Today, The FranklinCovey Corporation (NYSE: FC) announced their addition of social capitalist and world renowned team leader Mark Konold to this year's lineup in their annual Symposium conference. The FranklinCovey Symposium is a series of keynotes, sessions and special events designed to infuse participants with great new ideas, strategies and renowned motivation.

This year's Symposium, entitled “Manifesting Abundance: 1 + 1 = 3,” already boasts such speakers as former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, author Marcus Buckingham and FranklinCovey vice-chairman Stephen R. Covey. “Adding Mark was the most logical move we could make,” said Covey. “His abilities to see third alternatives, communicate and inspire people to move outside their comfort zones and to effectively lead teams towards goals much bigger than any individual is tantamount to our idea of manifesting abundance especially considering the areas in which he has applied those talents.”

“This is a dream come true for me,” said Konold. “I have been a practitioner of the FranklinCovey models for a very long time and feel a very strong identification with their values, visions and methodologies. In fact, a lot of what I've learned through them is largely what has empowered me to make the decisions I have, which in turn, has led me to where I am today. So it's kind of a ‘things coming full circle' moment. I'm thrilled to be a part of such a great team of presenters and of such an influential event.”

A certified leader of the ManKind Project's ‘New Warrior Training Adventure,” Mark has honed his skills as an authentic servant-leader very adept at moving a large team towards a much larger goal. As a newcomer to the program in 2005, he showed great potential and skill in the areas of facilitation, conflict clearing, and group leadership. This was recognized by the leaders of the MKP Chicago community and he was added to their staff in 2006 in an effort to grow, stabilize and sustain the Chicago chapter.

The growth of MKP Chicago caught the eyes of social capitalists and social entrepreneurs which resulted in Mark spending time bridging the gap between corporate and non-profit. “It was crazy how similar the needs of both worlds are but how differently they go about satisfying those needs,” Konold says. “It's almost as if the business world is missing everything non-profits are great at and vice versa. Blend the two together and ‘wham-o,' effectiveness all around!”

As if that weren't enough to keep him busy, Konold has also invested time to develop his facilitation and conflict resolution skills as well as his skills in the area of life coaching. This balance of seeking out-of-the-box, creative solution and of fierce, grounded and bold action and communication ultimately made him a highly sought mediator for management/labor disputes in the airline, automotive and hotel industries which then led to government officials tapping him for work on U.N. peace talks and nation-state resolutions in places such as Haiti and Sudan.

A regular contributor to FastCompany magazine, Mark often centers his writings on themes of risk, realizing potential, stretching out of comfort zones and living life more fully. “It started out as a blog that tracked my jump out of corporate America and into the great unknown,” says Konold. “It proliferated into something people identified with and used as inspiration to face fears, take risks and live more fully. To know that people have used it as inspiration to take action in their lives is probably more of a gift to me than the writing has been to them.”

When asked what he sees himself doing in the future after the Symposium concludes its nationwide tour, he responds, “I don't know. Take a nap, maybe.”

To find out more about the FranklinCovey Symposium, visit http://franklincovey.com/symposium .

Mark's blog can be found at http://mark.konold.org/tipofthesword . To find out more about Mark and his story, visit http://markkonold.com.

So There I Was...

Earlier this summer I took a step of 'inappropriate' action by crashing a class at FranklinCovey in an attempt to further explore an avenue that catches my interest. I forgot to follow up with the results of that and some of you have recently called me on it. Thank you, because it's a fun story that I will enjoy telling you at a later time. For now, I want you to feast your eyes on Brian Fuhs, a fellow Marquette University alum who found/put himself in a very exciting and 'inappropriate' situation last month.

I have never met Brian. Couldn't pick him out of a lineup if my life depended on it - unless of course the lineup comprised him and a string of women, or some similar scenario. All I Do know is that thanks to the network of Marquette Alumni and Al Gore's internet, his story wound up in my Inbox one day and it put a huge smile on my face because I wish I had this guy's guts and because his story aligned with the philosophies I espouse. It made me happy to see that someone had decided to take a risk; to push a boundary; to be daring. And since fortune smiles on the daring, friends, his payoff was bigger than he probably imagined. So without further ado; I give you Mr. Brian Fuhs:

July 13, 2006

So it's Thursday of last week, a half an hour before I'm scheduled to take a customer out for lunch. I soon receive a call from him telling me that he won't be able to make it. With my customer’s cancellation, I now have an hour and a half to burn. At that point I recall seeing a blurb in the paper that Dwyane Wade was hosting his second annual basketball camp which was coincidentally 15 minutes away from my customer's site. I decide to try it out in the hopes of catching a brief glimpse of the Marquette star in the parking lot or something.

As I pull up to camp, it becomes quickly apparent to me that the task of getting a pic with D-Wade is going to be very, very, difficult. I calmly get out of my car, grab my planner, and approach the entrance of the building which is covered by volunteers and a couple police officers. As I'm walking to the entrance I still have no idea what I'm going to say until, "Hello, I'm Brian Fuhs from the Marquette Tribune, and I'm here to do a quick piece on Dwyane" pops out of my mouth. I have no idea where that came from!

Suddenly, the cop pages the camp director, who then approaches me at the entrance. The director, Dwayne’s brother, tells me to follow him around back, where they'll supply me with the proper media credentials I need.

I get fitted with my media pass and am directed to a room with reporters from NBC, ESPN, Fox, WGN, etc.. Now I'm thinking that I've taken this waaaaaaaay to far.

"Hello, Rich King, WGN Sports."

"Oh hello, ummm, Brian Fuhs, Marquette Tribune".

We're told to get ready for the "media session" before it will kick off in 10 minutes.

In walks Dwyane, cameras start to roll, reporters begin asking question. At this point, I almost remember thinking to myself, "Hell, I made it this far, might as well keep this rollin'." Next thing I know, there's a break in the action, and out pops my question.

"Dwyane...Brian Fuhs, Marquette Tribune. Could you talk about your time at Marquette with Coach Crean's demanding practices, and your run to the Final Four; how those experiences helped get you to where you are today; the NBA Finals Champion and MVP?"

Dwyane loves the question, dedicating more time to it, then any other question from any other reporter. I obviously don't have a recorder/camera, so here I am standing in front of Dwyane, holding my phone out in front of me as I record a voice memo ( real professional).

As the media session ended, I got a picture with the man and Alonzo Mourning, and had Dwyane sign my ticket stub from his Triple-Double in the '03 Elite 8 against Kentucky. At the end of the day, it ended up being one of the funniest things I've ever had happen to me, and I got a chance to meet one of my favorite athletes of all-time.

Still can't believe I did that, and still can't believe I pulled it off with no one catching me. Freakin' hilarious.

525,600 Minutes...

One year ago I took the risk that many people dream of – quitting the day job. I understand that not everyone is financially able to do it and that that is usually the overriding reason why they abstain. I had (and still do have) a very unique and rare opportunity staring me in the face and if I didn’t jump at it then, I Never would have.

I walked out the door of my office building and started a great trek into the unknown with dreams of finding more direction and fulfillment in my life. I imagined myself finding that purpose for which I was meant, and I had some half-baked idea that it would mostly come from a single job. If you had asked me where I thought I’d be in a year, I probably would have said, “I’m not sure. But I bet I’ll be a whole lot closer to finding what I’m looking for than I am now.”

I was right.

And dead wrong.

The past year has been an amazing ride of jobs, travel, introspection, feelings, and decisions; in a word: growth. I have ventured into areas in which I had zero experience and feel further developed in areas where I am a natural fit. I am much clearer around where I want to apply my energy and how that will look. I have a much more honed sense of mission and action. I still have fear, but it’s less paralyzing – that in and of itself is huge for me.

And I’m still staring at as much of a blank slate as I was last August; almost more so. I can still go in Any direction I choose and given the recent string of events, I am less tethered to my location than before. It’s a paradoxical feeling: internally knowing that I am much closer to that fulfillment and knowing that I have No Idea of what is next.

One of the biggest things I have learned about fulfillment is that it does not come from just one thing. I harbored under the delusion that a job would bring it to me and that once I found that magical job, everything else would take care of itself. Ho ho! What a misconception that turned out to be.

Friends, it comes from everything I choose it to. The job alone doesn’t bring fulfillment or happiness – that idea surrenders too much power and leaves it in the hands of something external. I bring fulfillment and happiness to whatever I do; it is up to me. It is intrinsic and the more aware I am in choosing the venues that are in line with my values and vision, the more fulfilled I feel.

It only took me a year to learn that. Some of you may have figured it out way before I did and I thank you for not sharing it with me sooner. You would have done me a great disservice. I have no idea what lesson I will learn in the next 365 days but if it’s as powerful is this first one… Giddy Up!

(btw - if you happen to have figured this one out too, don’t tell me but do feel free to offer hints)

Aptitude...

“Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you'd do if you had a million dollars and you didn't have to work. And invariably what you'd say was supposed to be your career. So, if you wanted to fix old cars you're supposed to be an auto mechanic.” – Peter Gibbons, Office Space

Ah, if only it were that simple.

In June I underwent an all-day aptitude test designed by the Johnson O’Conner Research Foundation. My friend, Michelle, works there and suggested I take the tests to get a better idea of where my natural abilities lie and that this information may be helpful as I evaluate future jobs and such.

The tests themselves were rather exhausting and yes, they took the entire day. When I came home I felt drained on all levels and really had nothing left in the tank but monosyllabic words and a few deflated chuckles.

But it was worth it! I recently received my test results and I am flabbergasted at the results – and simultaneously not surprised one bit. Check this out:

--I scored extremely high in many of the categories which pretty much labels me as one of those “mile wide and an inch deep” types. Basically, a generalist.

--I have an aptitude for communicating with words, specifically in a written fashion. Much of the areas in which this is applicable are things like advertising, marketing, journalism, etc. (Kinda puts this whole blog thing in perspective, eh?)

--Working with ideas, brainstorming and following a rapid flow of ideas is something I have a huge aptitude for. This apparently makes me a natural fit for sales, marketing and instructing/teaching/facilitating – anything that gets me in front of people to convey an idea or influence someone.

--I am meant to work with teams of people and not on my own. What’s more, I’m best used in a leader/manager/coordinator capacity. On top of that, I’m one of those people who loves to develop and evaluate a long range plan or goal. (See: enthusiasm and drive around the Community Center and Arts Festival.)

--I have high auditory aptitude and need to have some type of outlet for it. (Probably a genetic thing; my grandfather was a child-prodigy and played piano all his life starting at the age of 3).

--My aptitude with numbers is very high. Let’s face it; numbers can be like crack to me. I love budgets, charts, spreadsheets, etc. That, coupled with what looks like a high aptitude in visual design explains why I color coordinate my spreadsheets, graphs, charts… okay, I’ll stop now.

--Memory aptitude is also very high making me a great candidate for languages and international settings.

The real kicker came when I was told that my aptitude in the areas related to the various aspects of engineering were my lowest scores of the whole thing. (For those of you who do not know, my undergrad degree is Electrical Engineering.) This explains the level of difficulty I had with it and my absolute lack of passion around it. I could go into the whole ‘Why Didn’t I Change Majors’ thing but that is for another posting. Come to think of it, it also explains very clearly why my computer geek job was, well, not the right fit for me, but I digress.

Summary: Journalism, sales, marketing, development, facilitation, music, language and numbers are all easy marks for me. Couple that with a realm where ideas flow and teams abound and I should be happy as a clam.

Anybody out there got an opening that fits all of that? Just curious.