Planning Wall

Although I drew out the plan in about 15 minutes, there were many thoughts running through my head as I did it.

Although I want to be a "planner" for a living, planning my own life has proven to be quite hard. There are so many things that just assumed. But writing a plan means that there has to be a Plan B. Quite truthfully, I haven't thought that far in advance. That means that I have to get over with plan A. Writing this down also gives you a timetable about when things should happen. It is a great opportunity to see if you are moving forward or if you are letting your fears and phobias get the best of you. I just wish that this exercise had come much earlier in my life. It would have allowed me to focus on a PARTICULAR goal. This is important because without that, you are just going thru the motions. I didn't want to wake up at 50 and say GOTDAMMIT...I hate my job and where the hell is my life. But I was well on my way because I was doing the things that I was supposed to do like go to school and get a job...Blah, blah, blah. Nobody ever tells you to find your passion and pursue it. That is the key. Anyways, enough with my babbling.

I can't find any pictures of my role models. Amazing...only two people come to mind. One is a professor at UIC! I have added her to the role model list because I admire her work. And she works sorta around the area that I see myself in.

Update: I now have two role models. Jane Jacobs (pictured top left at age 81) and Janet L. Smith.

Interviews...1 down and 1Thusday

I blogged before that reaching out to other people is hard. And it is. The thing is that reaching out only helps you now and in the future. Barbara Sher was right. In people's heart of hearts, they want to help someone achieve their goals. The thing about getting help is in the seriousness and intensity the person you are reaching out sees in you. With that said, I had my first interview today. Although the person that I interviewed is a Ph.D student, he has been out in the field. And as a Ph.D student, we were able to talk about the LARGE disconnect between what academia teaches and what occurs in practice. Basically, they are not the same.

The conversation that we had today was quite enlightening. I didn't even take notes. It was amazing that he could really center and get to the point. There are many different areas of planning. His major piece of advice to me was to: 1. Find the area that will be the most fulfilling to me. This means that I need to decide what areas I really want to see change in. I have already decided that: its Real Estate. The second thing is to find my voice. He was telling me that there is an inner battle against making actual change and going to work everyday. Of course, i could graduate and get a job as a Planner 1. In this capacity, I would be ensure that plans that were already crafted met certain regulations that are already in place. As he says, "I didn't spend all this damn money to be a glorified paper pusher".
The second portion of finding your voice is balance. The balance between speaking your mind and keeping your job. There are many interests that need to be served when planning is involved. If you speak up against the wrong interest, you may find that your services will no longer be needed. So according to Andrew J. Greenlee, the guy that I interviewed, I need to find a way to voice my opinions and try to create change and following the dictates of the people that I am hired to serve.

Another thing that we discussed is networking. Mostly, the importance of it. The beginning of the connection is just that: the beginning. These relationships that we are establishing need to be maintained. In this manner, we can gain advantages or information that will help us well after if not years after the initial connection. (because maintaining the relationship will keep you on the brain for future endeavors) Because he, as everyone else says, " it is not what you know but who you know.

This was a great interview. I am sooooo happy that I did this. It will encourage me to do more in the future.

Interview...The hell is that???

I am facing it. It is quite difficult to reach out to people outside of your network. I have shot out plenty of emails most of which, appear to be unanswered. Followed all the tips that I learned in BA200:

1. Subject is a direct link to what the email is regarding.
2. Be short and concise.

Waiting has proven to be torture. Can't give up because this is my future. All I can do is what I know. Everything else will have to fall into line. Hoping that my grade doesn't take a hit because I am waiting on other people.

On the other hand, I have trillions of pursuits. In the exercises where we had to list the five lives that we would like to have, one of mine is was a writer. I love to write. It especially feels good when I can see it in print. Actually, I write for an on-line hip-hop magazine. Although, in infancy, the CEO's goal is to make it a Wikipedia for Hip-Hop. The website is in the works. For now, there is just a blog until the website is up and running.

So, I guess that Barbara Sher was right. You can have more than 1 life at a time. On that note, I am published. It is nothing but a record review but you can't start at the top, right? There is also a blog that I am linking you to. Feel free to check it out and excuse the swears.