There are a ton of people out there who completely live for the weekend. They spend the first half of their week talking about last weekend and the rest of the week talking about next weekend… and that’s because most people don’t love what they’re doing.
They are working in jobs that they aren’t passionate about or are studying programs at school that they have no interest in whatsoever.
One of the things that every person I have interviewed has in common is that they all love what they do. It’s hard work, a lot of hard work but they don’t mind working their butts off because it’s doing stuff that they love.
Find what you love and then find a way to do THAT.
I am not trying to make it sound easy. It’s not. It takes hard work, heart break, setbacks, failure and more hard work but the payoff is better than you can imagine.
This week I hung out with one of Canada’s fastest rising photographers Jaime Hogge. He is completely passionate about his work and shared some insight into how he became a photographer and what he thinks about doing something you love.
“That’s how you know when you are really doing something you should be doing… when you want to do it all of the time.” – Jaime Hogge
I had no idea how to answer that question when I was younger… Actually in elementary school I thought it was a real possibility for me to be a cartoon when I grew up. I thought at age 18 I would jut magically become a character in The Flinstones or GI Joe. Just hand in a resume, fill out an application then, BOOM. You’re a cartoon.
The possibilities seem so limited when you sit down and try to answer this question.
In high school, I was shown a chart with the possibilities for my future. If you co to Community College you can do these 10 jobs. If you get a 4 year degree from University you can do these 15 things etc.
The typical jobs on these types of charts are; doctor, lawyer, teacher, plumber, electrician, retail associate, car sales, real estate, graphic design, accountant, and travel agent. There was nothing on here that said founder of the largest DIY skateboarding company in North America or Entertainment Entrepreneur. You wouldn’t be able to find Youth Speaker or Youth Media Expert. I am positive that “guy who trades a red paperclip for a house” wouldn’t ever make the chart.
There are so many opportunities out there and so many more to be created. But here’s the catch: it’s up to you to create them!
You create them by taking chances, by talking to people, by surrounding yourself with people who can help you. You uncover these opportunities by asking questions, traveling, volunteering, reading and living just outside of your comfort zone.
In Episode 003, I speak with Norah and Ted to hear how they are creating their dream careers one skateboard at a time.
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This week I got to sit down with Abby Tobias from Sole Power Productions, a mega-entertainment company based in Toronto, Canada, to talk about how he got from high school to where is now. Which is borderline world domination.
He had some amazing stories and awesome insight but the thing that stuck with me the most from talk with Abby was when he said, “I walked into a place for something and got something totally different.”
He didn’t have all the answers from the beginning. He knew where he was and he had an idea of where he wanted to end up, so he started moving in that direction. Now he is living the life he wants to be living and having a bunch of ridiculous experiences along the way.
You know where you are. Figure out where you want to be and start heading in that direction. As I learned from Abby, you don’t always have to know every step, you just need to keep moving.
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Here it is. The post you’ve been waiting for since the T-Rex became extinct. Make Your Own Lunch TV Episode 1.
Starting from today, I will be uploading a new episode almost every Sunday.
There will be funny episodes, awkward episodes, serious episodes and episodes that will make you wonder why my mom allows me out in public.
Make sure to leave your comments on the video and share it!
PS If you want to make my dad as happy as he gets when he sees the free samples at Costco on a Saturday afternoon, join the MYOL Facebook group here -> www.facebook.com/makeyourownlunch
PPS Make sure to send these videos to your advisors/teachers/principals and World of Warcraft Guild
So I cleaned out my travel folder and found my airplane boarding passes from my 2009 travels and this picture is what happened when I dumped it out. BAM!! (PS That’s a bout a third of them)
ANYWAYS…
The death threats and hate mail can stop. I am here to offer the reason of my recent absence.
Two of my favorite people in history were brothers with a crazy dream. Their names were Orville and Wilbur. (Kind of unfortunate names if you ask me) Their last name was Wright. That’s right, the guys who invented the airplane.
On the morning of December 17, 1903, the brothers decided to give their flying machine a test run. They called up a bunch newspapers ahead of time so that everyone would be able to read of their accomplishment but only ONE reporter showed up and it was only cause he thought they would crash and die.
After a coin-toss to decide who would pilot the first attempt, Orville jumped in the seat of the machine. He fired up the engine started off down the track they had made to help launch the plane into the sky. Can you imagine what the people watching would’ve been thinking? If it was 2009 they for sure would have been recording it on their Flip cams to send it to TMZ.com. Read the rest of this entry »
So you’ve seen the presentation. You’ve heard the stories. You’ve laughed at my travels and mishaps. It’s now time for you to Make Your Own Lunch!
“But Ryan, I don’t know where to start!”
Well looky here, I just might have some help!
GET HUNGRY
The hungrier you are, the more likely it is that you will want to eat. The more you see what you want to have, what you want to do, where you want to go, and the person you want to become, the more your mouth starts to water.
Look at the menu! Start exploring the possibilities for you and your future. Anything goes! Remember you decide what’s realistic for you. Is it travelling? Is it going to school? Is it volunteering near your hometown or another country?
Start by cutting pictures out of magazines, bookmarking websites, “Photoshop-ing” your face on Brad Pitt’s body (or Angelina’s, or both * weird *) or create a collage or video with music that represents the vision you have for your future.
Start creating your personal menu! The things you want to choose from. Just like a menu include some appetizers, or smaller things you want, like a picture of a fishing rod because you want to enjoy the outdoors more. Also, put some of the bigger things on there, like a picture of the Eiffel tower to represent the trip to Paris you want to take.
It’s your personal menu. You can add to it and take away from it whenever you want.
Start looking at it everyday. Every time you look at it, feel what it would be like being in that place, living that life, being that person or having those things.
Get ready to actually start having those things.
BITE-SIZED PIECES
“OK Ryan. I have been looking at my menu everyday and nothing is happening! This thing doesn’t work! You suck!”
Whoa! Take it easy junior!
It doesn’t work? Or you haven’t been working?
Sitting there daydreaming doesn’t work at all! There’s no magic to this stuff. It will require you to actually logout of Facebook and sign-out of Windows Messenger and remove your butt from the chair you have been sitting in.
Start deciding what needs to be done. Then tackle those things one-by-one.
If it’s a trip to Paris you want, what are some things you could do today to bring you closer to being there? It may help you to take your picture of the Eiffel tower and draw dots around the outline of it. Have each dot represent something you can do to get you on your way.
The dots could be things like, “start saving $20/week in a separate savings account” or “go to a bookstore for an afternoon, read about Paris and find some places that interest me.” Or it could be, “learn how to say, ‘Ryan Porter’s jokes are lame’ in French” You could even have “talk to someone who has been there before and get their experience and advice”.
List everything and anything you could do to help you get to Paris, then step by step, piece by piece, dot by dot, start putting it together!
Things will happen a lot quicker than you think because you will constantly be crossing things off of the “to-do” list!
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
The best part of Make Your Own Lunch is that you aren’t actually dealing with a lunchbox!
You have just stepped into an all-you-can-eat buffet. And I am not even talking about one of those dark and dodgy “everything-kind-of-tastes-like-chicken-even-the-vegetables” buffets. I am talking about one of those Las Vegas, award-winning all-you-can-eat buffets and you just showed up with an empty plate and an empty stomach.
You get to fill your plate sky-high of the things you like. You get to try all types of new things. You get to stay away from the things that you don’t like and best of all, you get to go back for seconds, thirds, fourths and as many times as it takes for you to get stuffed!
Make Your Own Lunch is about creating your own experiences. It’s not about trying to duplicate things I have done or doing exactly what people are telling you to do. It’s about jumping in the driver’s seat and controlling where you go. It’s about saying “I can’t take this peanut butter anymore” and making something you actually like!
There are so many experiences waiting for you. You don’t have to hold on to firecrackers or move to Japan either, you can start having the experiences you want today.
Make Your Own Lunch is not about me, it’s not about your parents, it’s not about your teachers, it’s about you and what you want.
Bon appetit
So you’ve seen the presentation. You’ve heard the stories. You’ve laughed at my travels and mishaps. It’s now time for you to Make Your Own Lunch!
“But Ryan, I don’t know where to start!”
or
“But Ryan, I could hardly understand you with that strange Canadian accent.”
Well looky here, I just might have some help!
GET HUNGRY
The hungrier you are, the more likely it is that you will want to eat. The more you see what you want to have, what you want to do, where you want to go, and the person you want to become, the more your mouth starts to water.
Look at the menu! Start exploring the possibilities for you and your future. Anything goes! Remember you decide what’s realistic for you. Is it travelling? Is it going to school? Is it volunteering near your hometown or another country?
Do you have a girlfriend? Did your mom really slam a revolving door? Did you eat the shirako? How can I travel around the world? How can I teach English in Japan? Are you sure you weren’t dropped on your head or exposed to heightened levels of radiation as a child?
These are typical questions I get asked after presenting to audiences across the continent. There’s one question though, that I should take some time and answer.
I have been working on some awesome things for YOU! So don’t get too crazy.
Here’s what I want to get off of my chest:
Everybody deserves to do exactly what they want to do for work.
Imagine this: A job where you get to travel to some of the most amazing places on Earth. On your days off you can go scuba diving or snowboarding. You can volunteer in local communities or learn how to speak another language. You could go whale watching or paragliding. Basically, you get paid to be on vacation.
So… I usually don’t do this but when I heard this song, I felt like everyone needs to hear it. I have never met Kae Sun, nobody asked me to post this for him, I am just a big fan of good music… and this my friends, is good music. Enjoy!
