Week 06, 2024 - Diary of a Revenue Engineer
What I thought…
The second week of focus on my future and I’m much busier than I thought I’d be. I’ve taken on some quick clients, people I know and want to work with, and I’m also searching for jobs, going through the interview process and also trying to launch the business here.
So, this weeks quote really does hit home with me - who we are and what we have within us can be an incredibly powerful tool when fully unleashed. Our potential as a race, as a society, as a people is seemingly unmatched in history… potentially the universe.
I’m stoked for the challenge ahead, let’s f*****g go!
What I learned…
I haven’t been through recruitment processes for a great deal of time, so it’s a stark immersion back into those cold waters. It’s uncomfortable, but ultimately a great practice to look at the work you’ve done in each of your roles and remind yourself that you’re actually pretty amazing.
I mean, how often do you really get to stop, reflect, identify the actions and the wins and the outputs of your duties? I’d go as far to say that there’s a great beauty and benefit to the exercise.
I’ve been working it all through whilst binging audio-books and Blinks about the stoics too - a very viable philosophy for right now, especially meditations.
Here’s what I’m juggling and learning about this week:
Stoics - There is a great deal of power in not shying from the tough thing, but to find the strength to face it. The stoics knew a thing or two about this for sure, they even had a framework for it (and you know how I love a framework). They suggested that a good life was one built around wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. It created a man capable of tackling the challenge.
Compartmentalisation - I love to focus and prioritise, but it’s been a real balance this week handling the inevitable psychological disruption of the redundancy process alongside needing to be an absolute boss in the interview process. Being able to compartmentalise, focus and prioritise has been incredibly important this week - not to mention a healthy dose of meditation. I really am getting a huge benefit from a bit of mindfulness, really appreciate the content calm app!
AI Collaboration - I’m getting much better at collaboration with AI now… The goal really is to avoid the copy paste and to use it as a collaborative tool with a specific project or output in mind. You have to put more in than you think, and be refined and specific, but the collaboration is incredibly fulfilling and efficient.
What I built…
I’m focused on two things this week, passive income and nailing interviews.
Passive income - I’ll certainly find ways to create more content as things progress, but I want to ensure it’s valuable and scalable, not something random and poor quality to throw onto the heap of burning, unwatched videos out there. I also leaned on a wealth management course I completed a while back to make my investment portfolio a little more streamlined and effective… it’s already paying dues with a 18% return as things stand today.
Nailing interviews - After a great conversation with my sister and some harsh lessons learned, I’ve decided that it’s integral that you be yourself in interviews and follow your own path. But what does “be yourself” mean? It’s easily said, it feels like the right thing to do, but can be harder to nail than a lot of people think. In short, I think it all falls back on your own comfort levels. Anyone could be someone else to get a role, but if you want a career, you need to approach it and the organisation naturally. Give your own honest answers and opinions, not what you think they want to hear. After all, you’ll be doing the role long term (you hope) so you’ll need to start as you mean to go on. And that, IMO, starts in the interview.
As a final note on this, I’d also be wary of people giving you “direction” before another interview. I’ve had three meetings with team members giving me a “steer” on content before a big interview now. It’s great that they want to invest that time, but there IS one major draw back… I’ve never had it help. More often than not it steers me away from my own beliefs and, on more than one occasion, took me entirely the wrong direction. So, stick to your guns and what you truly believe to be right, take on direction for sure, but don’t dive on it like it’s the key that will open that particular lock.
How I lived longer…
No major fitness goals this week, but I’m doubling down on my nutrition, restricted eating windows and fasts to help me combat a desire to dash towards the snack cupboard and grab a glass of wine.
Oh I’m totally doing that too, but I’m trying to find better coping mechanisms than just those ones.
To that end, meal prep is a massive winner… as much as I’ve mocked it over the years, you can’t deny the time save and how it helps your own eating habits.
How I stayed happier…
I’ve mentioned already that I’ve been leaning on meditation and mindfulness, which I have. But I also lean on a few other things to help me stay focused and on track:
3 Key Journals - I use three key journals at different times to help herd my emotions into useful directions:
A Psych journal I use for big, honest and reflective things. These I focus on big things I’m working through, that hurt me before or now, or I feel need to be addressed in an open and objective way. More often than not, these come up in my therapy sessions too!
A Gratitude journal is a core part of my morning routine, it pays massively to say “thanks” out loud for things that really are astounding. Getting up out of bed safe, turning on the lights, having a glass of clean water… there are billions of things every day to be overjoyed about. I find it useful to remember and acknowledge them. I’ve also taken to finishing this entry with a section where I write “An awesome day would look like…” and then put down my thoughts.
A reflection journal is best used at night to highlight three things you nailed that day and three things you’d like to nail tomorrow… simple but very effective
Being present with my family - Can be VERY hard to do when you’re mind is buzzing a million miles a minute… but taking a breath and bringing yourself back into the moment to be there truly with everyone is one of the best things you can do for you and for them. There’s no gimmick, there’s no trick, and the more you do it the better you get at it as you build that muscle. Just make sure you don’t berate yourself when your mind drifts… acknowledge it and gently guide yourself back to the present and revel in it… it’s beautiful.
Keeping up my exercise - is still key… no major milestones this week, but I did go to the gym 4/5 days so I’m happy with that.
Final Thoughts…
I’ve found the impact to my regular and (now) longstanding routine a major blow. However, It has also helped me focus on what matters most and there’s a lot already in place which has really propelled me forward to be effective at this critical time.
After all - what lies within is where the power truly lies.
