In No Uncertain Terms

In No Uncertain Terms

Morgan Pirkle

TO: the cherished memory of my Yaya Mary Masterpoulis

Introduction

This is a book that kind of talks about things that are important to me. Things I think I believe, things I want to believe.

Said in different ways by different people, taken out of their context and strung together for my own. This wasn’t easy to do- there were sleepless nights and grieffilled revelations, several mugs of coffee and buckets of self doubt. More than once, I thought, what am I even doing? Is this advice? Is this even for anyone, or is it for the sheer selfish pleasure I get from creating it?

These are the words I would say even if no one was listening. This is the work I would do even if no one was paying for it. Welcome to the inner ramblings of my mind, electric with optimism, the way a neon light echoes vibrant colors into a dark night. Maybe it makes no sense at all to anyone but me; it contextualizes the obsession I’ve had with letters since I hand-lettered my birthday party invitations at seven. In No Uncertain Terms is a time capsule of this point of my life in my own words. Some of these phrases have been hanging out in my subconscious long before I thought of creating this as my final project, and others I sought out specifically to include here. They span decades and genres, from simple greetings (left) to Mexican proverbs and the theme song to The Golden Girls. The only commonalities these phrases share is that they bring me some kind of happiness or positivity and that now they are included in this book.

phrase completed, at least two more were started. More than one piece I started was worked on for hours upon hours, only to have been abandoned in the end for the betterment of the final product. The one rule I set for myself was that while my letters could be inspired by typeface, they would all be hand-drawn.

Some have since been vectorized and are smoother, while others needed to remain raw and rough to convey the tone I was looking for authentically. I’m honestly not sure how not a single Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, or Mindy Kaling quote made it in here- I’m definitely going to follow up with my editor on that.

Oh wait.

I am the editor, the copywriter, the publisher, the creative director, the judge, the jury, the executioner, and the delivery woman. This experience has been an incredible journey in editorial experience and working within certain self-imposed structures. It’s taught me so much about lettering and deadlines, and even more about myself. Using these phrases as prompts for writing allowed me to flex a muscle that had atrophied in recent years.

I hope you find in these words, and the words about the words: happiness, joy, motivation, love, and confidence. If not, that’s okay too, because I know I found them while writing it.

-Morgan Pirkle

Each phrase was approached differently and offered a different process. Some took less than half an hour, while others took literal days. Yes, plural. For each

3

Blink by Blink

Sophia Amoruso is the author of #Girlboss, a book that’s been described as the modern feminist manifesto- a sentiment I agree strongly with, but moveover it was a book that helped me take control of my life. This book applies to both sexes, people of any sexual orientation; really anyone that needs a swift kick in the ass. In saying “you create the world blink by blink,” it’s a reminder that each and every decision leads you’ve made has been compiled to place you where you currently are. What decisions can you make today that will put you closer to your goal tomorrow? By visualizing who you want to be, you can move forward with intention. This isn’t to say everything can be planned, but by having a clearer vision for your future, it’s far easier to move forward and not be as derailed when things do fall out of order.

Knowing that the world is exactly what you make of it puts things in perspective.

While Amoruso had no idea when starting her Ebay shop that she would someday become a worldwide fashion mogul, moving forward with a clear vision has been proven to be an effective mental training technique. Incorporating visualization meditation has helped top athletes like World Champion Golfer, Jack Nicklaus and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Imagining the scenario beforehand in vivid detail by tapping into all five senses impacts cognitive processes in the brain such as motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. Emotional rewards have been found using visualization techniques as well, such as enhanced motivation, increased confidence and self-efficacy, improved motor

performance, and increased states of flow (Psychology Today).

Try incorporating a visualization meditation into your morning routine, such as this one, adapted from an exercise led by Coca-Cola Director of Global Capability, Delia Cochran. Answer the questions in the present tense and as specifically as possible.

First, find a quiet and calm place to sit.

With your feet planted firmly on the floor, place your palms facing upward resting on your knees. Take ten deep, even breaths. Next, imagine five years have passed. You are your happiest, healthiest self. Money is not a concern.

You wake up. Describe your morning routine. Where are you? What do you see? What does your home look like? Who do you share it with? What can you smell, hear, and feel? What environment do you see outside the window? You get ready for work. What do you wear? Do you drive, bicycle, or just walk into the next room? What does your office space look like? What does your work community feel like?

What activities fill your day? What do you do after work? Are you exercising, enjoying nature, grabbing drinks with friends, or reading a book in quiet solitude? How do you end your day?

Now, evaluate what specific actions you can do to bring you closer to these goals. Write them down with an ideal frequency, such as blogging // 1x a week, yoga // 4 x a week. You create your world. What can you do today to make it the best one possible?

(Visualization techniques)

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7

Wishbone (previous)

This quote is taken from Elizabeth Gilbert’s autobiographical novel, Eat, Pray, Love. This passage comes from a night during Gilbert’s stay at an ashram in India to pursue devotion. After a particularly rough night replaying regrets and could-have, should-have thoughts, Gilbert is discussing her residual feelings of heartbreak at dinner with a fellow yogi in the ashram she describes as Richard from Texas: “But I love him.”

“So love him.”

“But I miss him” “So miss him. Send him some love and light every time you think about him, and then drop it. You’re just afraid to let go of the last bits of David because then you’ll really be alone, and Liz Gilbert is scared to death of what will happen if she’s really alone . . . Let it go.”

But I wish me and David could--” He cuts me off. “See, now that’s your problem. You’re wishin’ too much, baby.

You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be” (150).

This is a reminder that no matter how much we wish for things, we yearn for them- that nothing can replace hard work. Wishing does not move forward.

Work does. By taking a more active role in the situation, we can progress and create change. Sometimes the work is more abstract, like letting a past lover go.

But by becoming aware of the patterns our mind tricks us into, like staying up all night just wishing for things to be different; for people to be different, for

ourselves to be different; we are taking ourselves out of a place of control. Maybe it’s my inner cynical control freak, but by placing things in the hands of fate, destiny, or luck, we absolve ourselves of responsibility. Instead, by taking accountability for the things we can control and working to create change where we can, we can see the relationship between our work and our end goal.

Pay Attention

It seems so straightforward and simple, but this phrase resonates on a few layers.

My primary intention here is to remind people to vote with their dollar. In a world that seemingly revolves around the dollar bill, choosing how you spend your money ultimately reflects what you support. By purchasing goods that align with your values, you are able to make an extraordinary difference. Paying slightly higher for goods that are created fairly, by companies that do not use child labor and pay fair wages makes a huge statement to manufacturers about what their consumers stand for. Shopping this way means you are making a difference in labor laws with very little effort.

Money talks. When businesses see what consumers support, change inevitably happens.

Additionally, this piece is meant to say time is the most valuable resource you can offer. With issues close to your heart, when you can’t offer financial aid you can offer time. Think of the things you care about- often the thing they need most is your time. Your community, your family, your friends. Pay attention.

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To Be Lost

“Trust the process,” is a phrase repeated often in the creative industry but it’s much easier said than done. Every creative has their own process, so I can speak of mine alone. Some days lettering comes effortlessly- I see the letters and they come out of the pencil as if I had just pressed “print” directly from my brain.

Those are the days my eyes beam with self confidence and assuredness. Other days, it’s much more difficult. There are days that no pencil, paintbrush, or tablet can bring my imagined letters to life. There are days that I wrestle and wrangle each point along a bezier curve, as if herding kittens; just as one begins to cooperate, all of the others seem to lose their minds. These pieces are a careful dance of compromise: two steps left, one step right. But when that dance is over, and that piece is finished? Magic of the purest form.

Often my process means changing physical places and leaving a trail of tracing paper in my wake. I may need to search for inspiration for while before I can sketch to determine what “language” the letters are speaking. Are they thick but fluid, stretched like salt-water taffy, or are they loose and inky? Maybe they’re bold and straight-laced, or whimsical and thin. Sometimes I’ll have a sketch all but finalized before realizing one letter has been lost in translation- which means image searching and sketching of a single letter for about an hour.

After I’ve finalized and scanned a sketch, a small fraction of my work actually occurs at my desk. The rest is split up between my couch, beanbag chair, office floor, and room 468 in the Art &

Design building. On my couch I practice a workaholic’s yoga routine daily. First, I sit straight, laptop on lap and legs outstretched, with a cup of coffee, working diligently for approximately five minutes. Next, I’ll slouch for twenty minutes, flexing and curling my toes as I work- this somehow relieves some of the tension of whatever I’m working on.

Next, I bend my legs and place my laptop closer to my face, before criss-crossing my legs and resting it on my ankles, working until my back starts to ache and my coffee cup drains to empty. I stand to refill my coffee, sometimes returning to the couch to repeat the sequence and other times heading to a bean bag chair in my bedroom. I morph from human to amoeba at my most dreadful points of slouching, oozing onto the floor onto my stomach with only my chin raised to look at the screen. I realize eventually how uncomfortable this is and move to the bed. I prop my head with pillows and get a lapdesk to work most ergonomically (because this is obviously a true concern of mine) and burst out a few minutes of design work before falling asleep. The next day, I wake up and finish two weeks’ worth of progress in the early morning hours- most likely from the couch.

Trusting the process is hard. It’s regularly a painful, embarassing, mind-numbing experience full of self doubt. There’s no short solution; the only way out is through. Sometimes the process looks like a waste of time, or looks like quitting.

It’s vital to keep the faith that whatever you’re doing, even if it feels like a waste of time, is somehow going to lead you to the right end product (even if that isn’t the same product as when you started).

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No Strangers Here (previous)

Early in 2017, I was very surprised to find out I was an extravert. It’s easy to say everyone knew but me; my friends did not receive quite the same shock when I shared the results of an in-depth MBTI Interpretive Report I had taken.

It determined that my personality type is ENFJ, which can be broken down to Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging. During the earlier parts of my life, I was deeply introverted and terribly shyregularly refusing to give my own order to a waitress at dinners out. Some time over the past few years, I transitioned from introvert to extrovert without realizing it. This change can be chalked up as a combination of experience waiting tables (shy waitresses receive significantly less in tips than personable ones) and a survival mechanism to meet people in the design industry that could offer me any advice in relocating to the west coast from Atlanta.

My results show that I am very obviously extraverted, but even more interesting were the additional results provided from this test. Many of the things I read in the report are true but had somehow long been unacknowledged. Some view personality tests as confining, as if someone is trying to put you into a box.

In some ways they may be, but in better knowing yourself you’re able to better communicate with and understand others. My results inspired me to include the quote “There are no strangers here, just friends you haven’t met yet” by W.B. Yeats because ultimately they show that I’m social in both large and intimate gatherings and enjoy creating genuine connections.

These results go on to describe this personality type

as “expressive, cheerful, and warm; blends pragmatism and curiosity; values cleverness and inventiveness; likes to praise, forgive, and be kind to others; enjoys planning ahead, but finds too much detail inhibiting; works best when the deadline is close enough to cause moderate pressure.”

Most valuable to me perhaps are the succintct recommendations for enhancing my communication style, such as recognizing when not to speak my mind or being aware that under stress I revert to toughness as a defense mechanism. By being more aware of my own habits and qualities, I’m able to more easily make changes where I feel necessary and be more cognizant of the feelings of others.

Let It Go

It’s hard to take a dose of your own medicine, but honestly I’m probably the least qualified person to talk about letting things go that I know. I am a sentimental, nostalgic fool (read: borderline hoarder) and often that risks being received as materialistic. It’s hard for me to let things go because I feel that everything has a story to tell.

However, I’ve recently found a sense of relief in letting things go. There’s an incomparable power in having a say in how your story is told, and letting go of what weighs you down is the first step.

The second step: taking that bag marked “Goodwill” TO Goodwill to be donated. To give something away doesn’t mean the story is ending, but rather that new life can be breathed into it.

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Just Get On!

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg offers many quintessential gems of wisdom in her book, Lean In, but this is possibly my favorite. When searching for a job, it’s easy to put things like stability and salary at the top of your checklist. In Sandberg’s opinion, however, the one criteria that should be held above all others is fast growth. This advice came to her from Eric Schmidt in 2001 when he was Google’s CEO. Sandberg was considering taking the leap to join Google but was concerned at the lack of stabillity and organization. After extensive research and comparisons between the potential companies, Sheryl went to Eric honestly and straightforwardly with the issue. The role at Google was enticing but unclear, ambiguous and unestablished compared to the other offers (76).

Schmidt then encouraged her to forget the statistics on her spreadsheet and compare one thing instead: fast growth.

He told her that in companies that are growing quickly and crossing into new terrain, there are more things to do than people to do them. This leads to a much greater chance of new opportunities and many more learning experiences than taking a more established role on another, more developed team. Sandberg was convinced and took the seat on the rocket ship that was Google.

Six and a half years later, when she was no longer moving at warp speed, Sandberg reevaluated her position on Google’s team. No longer was Google the disorganized, small start-up it once was, and while it was still growing she decided to join Facebook’s team instead as COO.

Sheryl Sandberg is the exception the rule; women are statistically more risk averse than men often resulting in fewer available positions. Sandberg says, “the cost of stability is often diminished opportunities for growth” (78).

This quote is referenced in a chapter of Sandberg’s book called It’s a Jungle Gym, Not a Ladder. This viewpoint challenges the ubiquitous metaphor of the corporate ladder. She found that by 2010, the average American held eleven jobs from eighteen to forty-six (67). My personal experience has offered not eleven, but twenty-five jobs at my current age of twenty-five. Often, I held multiple jobs at once; on two different occasions, I held three part-time jobs and took a full courseload of college credit. This list includes positions as a data entry clerk, multiple stints as a waitress, the front end coordinator of a luxury hair salon, the dishwasher of a cafe, a salesperson at Victoria’s Secret, and most recently, four design internships. This number is absurd compare to more “traditional” paths, but each of these jobs has provided at least one nugget of solid career advice, even it’s something as straightforward as never working retail on Black Friday again.

I’m interested in not only getting to the top of the jungle gym, but stopping to help others and ask about what led them to take each turn. A jungle gym offers a much more democratic system than a ladder; many different paths to the same place, there are multiple views from the top, and “on a ladder, most climbers are stuck staring at the butt of the person above” (67).

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They Tried to Bury Us

This piece was inspired by the political climate when I began this project.

Donald Trump made clear his intentions for separating the United States and Mexico, deporting Mexican citizens, and otherwise stereotyping them as rapists and murderers during his candidacy for President. For an American to so boldly lecture the masses with little regard for the diversity that makes us so uniquely American is a disgrace to everyone involved. The beauty of this country is found in its differences, as we represent so many populations of the world. If someone can’t see that, they should not be given the honor and responsibility of representing the United States on the global stage.

The avocados are exclusively linked to this quote as they represent just a small part of the conversation regarding building a border wall. Trump has insisted that Mexico will pay for this wall, to which Mexico has maintained a firm “no.” The proposal at one point deviated to include a potential 20% tax increase on products brought in from Mexico. The Washington Post reported: “That would certainly work to generate a great deal of money. Mexico is our third-largest trading partner . . . The only trick is that this wouldn’t exactly be Mexico paying for the wall: It would be U.S. consumers paying additional costs for Mexican products to make up the total.“ For the estimated $25 billion border wall to be built would require Americans to consume specifically Mexican goods en masse. To pay for the wall entirely from

the tax of avocados would take between 25 billion avocados and seven years.

The same amount of avocados would be enough to run the length of the Mexican border 793.5 times, yielding a 165.3 ft. wall. In truth, avocados alone would not pay for the wall, but in combination with crude oil, Mexican beer, tomato paste, Takis, certain LG, Lenovo, and Troy-Bilt goods, and Papermate pen refills. These are real statistics that people have really been paid to report; a true case of reality being stranger than fiction.

This proverb is appropriate because not only does it reference Mexican culture, but it can be applied to people under the thumb of an oppressor at any place or time. The most powerful movements for civil and human rights haven’t occurred during times of peace, but have rather been provoked by times of suffering and injustice. On an indivdual level, the message is one of hope and inspiration.

An avocado tree must be planted in the undershade, where will grow patiently until it develops the root structure and dense foliage to protect their sunsensitive bark on their own. At this point, the tree that was once dependent on darkness can burst through the canopy above and bathe in the intense sun. The idea that something so beautiful can grow from such a place of nothingness is the ultimate transformation of self doubt to self worth; something that can live for so long without any contribution can still prove everyone wrong. Despite whatever shortcomings you’re holding onto, whatever shade still creeps over you- you can still become something magnificent.

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Trying Times

The most painful, heartbreaking moments of my life are incredibly unique, yet in looking back on them they all seem to have hurt relatively the same amount at the time. As they happened, they were the single most traumatizing event of my life up to that point; each one replaced by the next. I can recall the pit of my stomach opening up to swallow my whole heart, and with it, my happiness, confidence, passion, strength, and hope.

Sam, my first memory and four-legged best friend from three to fifteen; my Yaya, my idol in the denim dress that got me off the bus each day; my Papa, the man who by no blood obligation claimed me, faults and all, as “his girl.”

For months at a time I was swallowed by darkness at these losses. Sometimes I still question how I got out - or did I just get used to the dark? Maybe I memorized the floor plan. Maybe I crept on all fours until the light seeped in under the door, the way a sliver so slight peeks into the film-loading darkroom on the second floor of the arts building; so small you wonder if it’s there at all.

Maybe I just opened my eyes.

What I really want to tell you is, it gets better. You will surely have times of unhappiness and doubt, sickness and grief. You’ll be tested to your limits and you may lose parts of your mind. You will see parts of yourself that are not shiny and new; parts that are far darker than you’d care to admit.

Then, one day you’ll find a part of yourself in a stranger’s smile, and you’ll wonder

why they’re smiling at you then you’ll realize they’re returning a smile.

That person in the reflection is smiling at them; and the person is you.

And the stranger is you, too.

To be quite honest (maybe overly honestI am an oversharer by nature), as of March 2017, I had serious doubts that I could graduate. I’ve maintained a 4.0 for 3 years, since starting at Georgia State but the thought of it all coming to an end was terrifying. Even more terrifying than failure is the threat of putting myself out onto the job market to face the unknown, or worse than that, rejection. I’ve come to realize that in the face of greatness, I begin to self destruct through a guise of workaholicism.

This semester, my final semester, I was simultaneously Student Board President of AIGA Atlanta, President of the Georgia State Graphic Design Club, an intern for three organizations, and taking sixteen credit hours worth of classes. I find it impossible to relax because downtime means dealing with my anxiety and depression. I jokingly refer to it as my longest relationship, but it’s true. Under periods of stress or uncertainty, I’m sometimes even more prone to saying yes to new tasks when the opposite should be true. This realization has presented a new form of “trying” for me; one that means stepping back and loosening my grip on the reigns. From the outside, maybe it looks like I’m not trying at all.

Don’t be fooled though, the work I’ve got ahead of me will be the most trying yet.

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Become What You Want

New Year’s Resolutions are always so daunting. They hover over you, just waiting for your untimely failure: the smell of fresh, warm donuts wafting through the conference room that will doom your new diet a mere three days in; the stressful phone call with your boss that leaves you craving the vice you left behind in the last year. My cynicism is not without reason. I am a huge advocate for self improvement and personal challenges. It’s the awe and consideration given to the beginning of a new year that can be baffling. The fresh start quickly become one of dreaded juice cleanses, alochol detoxes, punishing hours on treadmills and sugar withdrawals.

Becoming what you want isn’t an easy process. A day, a week, a month- they’re all so small in the grand scheme of things.

What we want changes, a realization that makes moving forward with confidence something of a struggle. Five years ago, what I wanted was to go back to school to study hospitality management. I wanted a tattoo of a feather along my forearm.

I wanted to marry my boyfriend at the time and have a bunch of kids. I wanted to shave the side of my head. I wanted to drive a yellow Nissan Xterra. I wanted to smoke cigarettes, eat Snickers bars for lunch, and drink exclusively Diet Coke.

Sometimes what we want is dumb.

Luckily we don’t always get what we want. I don’t even really like feathers or children more than half of the time, if I’m being totally honest. I don’t think I even made it to the registrar’s office to declare hospitality management as my major before I changed it. The order went something along the lines of: Sociology

-English - Photography - Journalism Studio - Photo-journalism (not actually a major at Georgia State) - English.

Marketing - Photography with a minor in Design (also not actually an option).

- Design with a minor in marketing (not impossible, but full of red tape). Then finally I decided on Design.

Just, Design.

Luckily the B.F.A. in Design Entrance Review came up before I changed my mind again. I submitted my portfolio in a whirlwind. My world hasn’t slowed down since. I fell head over heels into the world of design and was welcomed with open arms into the Atlanta creative community.

What I want now and what I want ten years from now probably won’t be the same. Life is non-linear in so many ways.

What I want now is to have a steady job in a new city. I want to marry my best friend and travel the world. I want to read a lot of books and work on projects that I feel passionate about. I want a sustainable garden bursting with red peppers and green onions and cucumbers that I’ll pickle in mason jars. I want to drink coffee, exclusively. It keeps me awake and feels so special to me- maybe because it feels like family, tradition, culture all in a little warm mug. I want a dog more than almost any of these things- life feels so empty without a furry little friend in the house. I want to be taken seriously and I want to be the most fun person at the room simulatenously. I want to work for a company that shares many of my values, fufills my creative needs, and pays well.

Ask again in five years.

23

Thank You for Being a Friend

Independence is invaluable. Knowing the strength that resides in the deepest wells of your soul is ready to be called upon at any moment is powerful. There is so much joy in being able to walk alone without feeling lonely- but solitude does not always bring bliss. Without friends to celebrate you at the peaks and crawl with you through the trenches, life can become diluted and stale. It’s in our human nature to seek community; to belong - even your neighborhood twitter trolls yearn for it. Why do so many struggle then, with “fitting in?”

I’ve always been a fairly independent person. I’ve been working since I was about 12- for my mom first, then at 15 started a nearly decade-long affair with the service industry. I loved serving tables because each day was different.

I was always meeting new people and bringing home enough cash to cover rent within a single weekend of work. Two hand surgeries and several cortisone steroid shots to the hip later, I was forced to call it quits. My bank account and self-worth plummeted. I found myself sleeping nearly twice my normal amount, mindlessly eating, yet still falling behind in schoolwork. As a full-time student, most of my family and friends encouraged me to “focus on myself,” and “put my health first.” But this newfound time on my hands left me feeling bare.

Exposed. I was spending more time with myself than I had in years and I was learning that I wasn’t all too sure I liked who I was.

Watching Brené Brown’s TED Talk On the Power of Vulnerability required confronting my insecurities and

acknowledging that I wasn’t alone in having them. Apparently the neverending soundtrack that I had for so long tried to silence was fairly common.

The fear of exclusion, of rejection, of abnormality, is something a great deal of people struggle with daily. She offers this advice instead: “You are imperfect and you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” These words have offered me hope and comfort in times of doubt.

Brené’s research aims to correct the disparity in self worth. In this talk she describes the research she’s been doing for years. Brené evaluates the correlation between feelings of love and belonging and a person’s perception of worthiness.

Her data examines interviews of people that consider themselves worthy of love and belonging and those that do not. After years and years of studying people and conducting these interviews, she found one thing that divided these groups: the ability to be vulnerable. Despite our eagerness to numb ourselves- whether that’s exhausting ourselves through overworking, tormenting ourselves with food, dulling our senses with alcohol- our lives are significantly improved when we allow vulnerability. In feeling vulnerable we are able to live more whole-hearted lives, Brené found. Trusting in the ability to be vulnerable is the difference between doubting self worth and celebrating it.

Regardless of a whole slew of external factors, the mere belief that you are worthy of love and belonging will create space for it to exist. So to my friendsthank you for accepting me at my most vulnerable and loving me when I couldn’t love myself.

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You Were Full of Joy (previous) Call it looking through rose-colored glasses or blissful naiveté, but studies have shown that optimism affects more than a cheerful disposition in life.

Scientists have found that optimism is linked to increased health benefits, leadership abilities, and generally do better in school, work, and extracurricular activities.

According to Harvard Medical School, optimism can be linked to a decreased risk of viral infection, coronary artery disease, hypertension, and even cardiovascular disease. Based on the knowledge that optimism seems to improve overall health, doctors searched further to find that optimism can actually increase the longevity of one’s life (Optimism and Your Health).

Being optimistic has also been proven to be a useful leadership skill. Optimists are more entrepreneurial by nature- where others see shortcomings, an optimist sees an opportunity to solve a problem.

Famous optimists like Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill have been held in great regard for their ability to lead with a positive outlook to the future and rally their people towards a common goal.

Their good energy has been contagious, with followers of Churchill even saying they felt braver in his presence (Gallo).

Evidence exists for the argument that optimism can be a learned skill, although most large studies have been conducted in younger age groups. Martin Seligman, considered the father of positive psychology, found that in the malleable and still-forming minds of children learned optimism created a preventative

measure against depression.

Typically an optimist and pessimist can be defined by positive and negative explanatory styles, or the way we explain to ourselves why bad events happen. The explanatory style is made up of three elements: internal/external, stable/unstable, and global/specific. An optimist is someone who likely explains the cause of a negative event as outside their control, something that can change in the future, and specific to that singular occurence. For a pessimist, the opposite is true; they perceive the failure as an internal fault, something that will always happen to them, and something that will affect all areas of their life. Through a series of lessons, counselors taught students in the experiment how to change the types of thoughts associated with a negative explanatory style (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking, Wadey).

Not Big Enough

Sheryl Sandberg asks in Lean In, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Public speaking has been a challenge all of my life. In high school, I remember looking down at a paper to see it violently shaking in my hands out of sheer nervousness. Anxiety is part of my daily life, but I think I can be more proactive in the way I approach it. So many pivotal aha! moments have taken place for me while watching a speaker share their story. The ability to speak publicly is so powerful and it’s something that I strive to be better at. My natural predisposition is to help other people realize their potential and I believe speaking to large groups is a great way to do it. The next step is figuring out how to improve.

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Biting Off More

I first heard this song by Alanis Morrisette in the back seat of my Aunt’s 1990-something Ford Bronco when I was about seven years old. I don’t remember where we were going or even what state we were in, but Jagged Little Pill played from start to finish. I sat in the backseat behind my older sister and tried to comprehend the lyrics- why is was this woman naked in a man’s house? (Your House) and feeling incredibly sad for the bride in Ironic. I was sure Alanis was psychotic.

Alanis was perhaps one of my first exposures to alternative angsty music and the phrase “bite off more than you can chew” (and many other phrases beyond the comprehension of a seven year old).

But this mindset became a mainstay. It’s something I feel strongly about- partly due to rubber band parents, always stretched thin but never breaking, and an idolization of Tina Fey who famously said “Just say yes and you’ll figure it out afterwards” (Masin).

So many opportunities are gained when you move forward enthusiastically in pursuit of a goal you may not be outwardly ready to take on. Authors, actors, politicians - many of the people we admire had no clue how to go about shaping their careers when they started.

They just began and tried to figure it out as they went.

Oliver Jeffers, a keynote speaker at the HOW Design Live Conference 2016, gave advice that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

“The art to storytelling,” he said, “is to never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” He shared with his audience the

journey of getting his first children’s book, “The Day the Crayons Quit” published.

With no prior experience to guide him, Jeffers figured it out. He learned where to compromise and where to ask for help, and eventually the book made its way to bookstores and became a best seller. “Act the part,” Jeffers said. “Everybody’s full of shit. Confidence works miracles. And if you don’t believe your own bullshit, no one else will.” Remembering that everyone is human and - whether they admit it or not - they’re still figuring it out too, brings everything into perspective.

That moment where you’re thinking outside the box- so far out, you can’t even see the edges of it anymore- and the mere thought of what you could become seems ludicrous and nauseating and makes your head spin? That’s it. That’s the golden ticket. Why settle for Plan B before Plan A even gets off the ground?

So bite of more than you can chew. It’s far better to choke trying to achieve greatness than to never try anything more than mediocrity.

And if you don’t like it? Spit it out. Failure is not admitting that things didn’t go well; failure is when you stop trying. There are so many things that I look back on knowing things could have gone better.

Being involved with so much at once has its disadvantages, but I wouldn’t trade my baptism by fire in leadership for the world. Opportunities were afforded to me and I didn’t have the luxury of rescheduling- I knew I had to jump on them. Thinking about how things can improve doesn’t mean regret- it means looking forward to the next adventure.

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Mistakes

Comparison is all too often the thief of joy, but in some case it can act as a much needed reminder of perspective. Most of the people we admire had to make a name for themselves at the beginning too. Being talented doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes. If things are always smooth, how can you be sure you’re pushing yourself? We learn much, much more from our mistakes than we do from the things that go off without a hitch.

One of my biggest idols is J.K. Rowling.

I’ve honestly read the entire Harry Potter series from start to finish at least six times (more for certain books). The suggestion that this story, the one that taught me so much about myself and life, could be rejected by publishers for years before it saw the light of day is mindboggling. When Rowling was asked how she continued in the pursuit to have it published, she tweeted: “I had nothing to lose and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try” (Guardian).

As I begin to apply for jobs, I try to keep this advice in mind. Half of the battle is just pressing “send.” Then I remember, what do I have to lose? My work is not so outright offensive to look at that I could impact my non-existent name in the industry. In companies that review tons of portfolios and resumes, the real likelihood is that my work may not even be memorable. I doubt that anyone would take the time to respond to my email with negativity or hatred. So the worst that can happen is that I don’t get the jobluckily there are a lot of them (even in our economy) and I’m pretty scrappy so I know I’ll land on my feet. If I don’t get a super dreamy office in a penthouse with

a fridge always stocked with La Croix, I’ll be okay. I know I have so much more to learn and I’m excited to get started, whatever that may mean.

Oprah Winfrey is another example of someone who faced rejection before ultimately becoming successful. Oprah was fired from her first TV job due to her inability to separate her emotions from the stories. She was told she wasn’t right for television. Truly she was tapping into a type of television that just didn’t exist yet. Oprah was a pioneer of television storytelling that placed value of intimacy, authenticity, and vulnerability. She faced colossal hurdles and discrimination but overcame them all, becoming “the richest self-made woman and only black female billionaire” (CBS). Workforce discrimination is definitely improving on a national scale, but there will always be obstacles. White women still receive seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned of their male counterpart and for non-white women it’s even less.

Oprah’s story reminds me that maybe my dream job doesn’t even exist yet. She cultivated a brand culture and has grown it into an empire that would rival even the Mother of Dragons’. What’s even more incredible is that she uses this wealth of power to create opportunities for others. I know that whatever my “dream job” looks like, it will include helping others reach their potential too.

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