Posts Tagged ‘books’

A few weeks ago, I read “Do Fish Drink Water“, a book of the best questions asked of Bill Mclain (Internet Answer Whiz). The questions cover all walks of life, and some of them are just downright strange. It was extremely interesting to learn the answers to some very obscure questions – and stirred my desire to discover more question filled books. I was recommended  “What the Dog Saw” by Malcom Gladwell, and while it isn’t technically a question book, it is full of questions anyway. It is a collection of his top articles from The New Yorker – covering interesting people like Cesar Milan (the dog whisperer) and Ron Popeil (the king of the American kitchen). Each article is created because Gladwell asks a lot of questions: How do things work, why does it work that way, what happened when, etc.. While every article has a different main focus, the questions take center stage. Both Gladwell and McLain have an insatiable desire to learn more about the world around them, which makes them better writers, better listeners and definitely a more knowledgeable humans…Which leads me to today’s post:

I want to know what you’ve always wanted to know! What questions nag in the back of your mind? What have you always wondered about and wanted to know? Share your questions about the world, and I will find you an answer and respond in the comments.

If there is something that requires more explanation, or I just love the question, I may turn it into future blog posts!

Ready? ASK AWAY!

Over the next 25 posts, ending on my birthday, I will be covering an incredibly creative moment or idea from a year of my life AND one creative moment in either the marketing, advertising, technology or media world.

In 2007, I left the first job I had out of school (sales…yuck!) and took my first steps into the marketing world (yay!). But, those first steps were not easy ones. When I realized that I was not enjoying the company I was working with, I sat down with my husband and we talked about what I wanted to do (marketing) and the options I had (companies, etc). The problem was, while I didn’t like the sales job I had, I was good at it, and making really good money for just graduating. We had just gotten married, I had my appendix taken out and we needed the strong income. But he also knew how miserable I was coming home from work every day and wanted me to be happy. So, he gave me the green light to take the risk. After that, I spent a couple weeks sending my resume and information to every marketing firm in Orange County. Most didn’t respond, a few gave interviews, and one wanted to hire me. Unfortunately, they could only take me on part time at first, but it was still worth the opportunity…and quickly it became full-time. It was scary, intimidating and I was in over my head from the start, but I knew I had to make it work. And thank goodness I took the risk, since this was the company that made me realize how much I loved social media, blogging and working with others to build a message for their business. While I was only there for a year, that year changed the way I saw business and gave me the drive to start this blog and put myself out there (this blog will be covered in tomorrow’s post!).

In the media world, the final Harry Potter book, which sold more copies than any other book ever into a 24 hour period, released on July 21st, 2007. I spent from 1am-9am on that day reading the entire book, crying through the ending.

Which job did you have that changed your future?

Over the next 25 posts, ending on my birthday, I will be covering an incredibly creative moment or idea from a year of my life AND one creative moment in either the marketing, advertising, technology or media world.

In 1997, I was finishing 7th grade, starting 8th grade, and still trying to figure out who I really was (I think we all were at that age). Other than friends, boys and annoying my parents, I had 2 things I knew that I loved: reading and writing. I had a book and my notebook with me everywhere that I went, jotting down thoughts and ideas about every day life. I guess it was my first version of “blogging”. I was not a tech savvy kid, despite going to a school that had a computer lab donated by Steve Wozniak. I mean, I understood computers and knew how to use them, but was never really interested in anything beyond using them for school. I preferred the feeling of writing on paper to writing in Word. Which meant that I constantly had ink on the side of my hand from dragging it across barely dried sentences (one of the pitfalls of being left handed). To this day, I still love writing on paper, but find that I type much quicker than I can write, so my laptop has replaced my notebook (although at night, I do still keep a notepad by my bed for those random thoughts). I think that as long as I keep writing, my creativity will continue. I worry for the day that my hands will no longer cooperate and hope that by that point, there is a solution…

On the topic of reading and writing, 1997 marked the start of one of the most successful book series ever written – Harry Potter. While it wasn’t released in the US until 1998, the book became an instant star in the UK, winning numerous awards and receiving some of the highest compliments from the reviewers. For those who don’t know, this is one of my favorite series of all times and I have actually read all 7 books more than 5 times each. What impresses me most about Rowling (the author of the series) is the drive that she had to write the books, and the passion in which she wrote them. Even more impressive? According to Forbes magazine, she is the first author to become a billionaire from writing books. Now that is a serious accomplishment, and adds a little motivation to anyone out there who has ever been told writing can’t make you rich.