The One-Week Job Project: One Man, One Year, 52 Jobs - Softcover

Aiken, Sean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345508033 ISBN 13: 9780345508034

Verlag: Random House Publishing Group, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

THE REMARKABLE AND INSPIRING TRUE STORY OF ONE GUY WHO TRANSFORMED HIS UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE INTO ACTION
 
A year and a half after he graduated from college, Sean Aiken found himself struggling to answer the question “What should I do with my life?” His mother suggested teaching. His older sister told him to apply for an entry-level corporate position. His father said, “It doesn’t matter what you do, just make sure it’s something you’re passionate about.” Taking his father’s advice to heart, Sean created the One-Week Job Project and launched himself on an epic journey to find his passion. His goal: to work fifty-two jobs in fifty-two weeks.

After the launch of his website, oneweekjob.com, the offers began pouring in. Sean’s first gig was—literally—jumping off a bridge, as a bungee operator in British Columbia. From there he traveled across Canada and the United States, reinventing himself as a firefighter, an aquarium host, a radio DJ, a martial arts instructor, an NHL mascot, and a snowshoe guide. During the course of his seven-day stints, from a Florida stock-trading floor to a cattle ranch in the wilds of Wyoming to a real estate office in Beverly Hills, Sean found time to make new friends and even fall in love. Whether choosing a spring fashion line, brewing beer, or milking a cow, Sean continued to ask himself and others about what success really means and how we find happiness—all while having the adventure of his life.
 
Inventive and empowering, witty and wise, The One-Week Job Project is a book that will give you the courage to follow your passion. Or, as Mark Twain said, “Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sean Aiken graduated from Capilano College in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with a degree in business administration in 2005. At the top of his class, with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, he was voted class valedictorian. He started the One- Week Job project in February 2007, at age twenty- five, and finished his 52 weeks in March 2008.

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WEEK 1    


JOB: JUMP MASTER
LOCATION: Whistler, British Columbia
EMPLOYER: Whistler Bungee
WAGE: $10-$15 hour*

INDUSTRY IQ:
 •    InVanuatu, a boy's acceptance into manhood involves jumping off a wood platformover two stories high with only vines attached to his feet (his head must touchthe ground).
 •    Theworld's highest recorded jump is 760 feet, with 4-5 seconds of free fall,reaching speeds up to 125 miles an hour.
•    Eachbungee cord lasts about 600-800 jumps and costs approximately $800-$1,300.

APPLICATION PROCESS: My soccer coach is part owner of thecompany.

 WHAT I LEARNED: Jumping off a bridge attached to anelastic cord is surprisingly safe.

Many jump masters say it's safer than driving your car towork. That comparison has never offered me much comfort, but I'm told that onebungee jump is as dangerous as driving a car one hundred miles. Since mostpeople don't drive a hundred miles to get to work, I guess I'll buy it.

 *Source: employer. Most of the wage information I'veincluded has come from my employers. I will specify when I've used othersources. The notation "BLS" is used for information from the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008(www.bls.gov/oco/).

 You can't overthink it. You just gotta jump.
 -Matt, jump master, Whistler Bungee

 The cheers from the crowd quickly faded as I plummeted160 feet toward the river below. My eyes struggled to stay open as wind crashedagainst my face, then resonated loudly in my ears. Ten feet short of the river,I felt a sharp tug on my harness and my view quickly shifted to the metalbridge above. Moments later, I was suspended in the river canyon while Mattlowered a rope to me.

It was only when I was back with both feet on the bridgethat I realized how much fun I'd just had. Now I was one of the crowd. I couldadd to the peer pressure of the countdown that faced the next jumper-jump orface the disapproving sighs of the peanut gallery.

 It was my first day on the job, though I didn't dare tellthat to the jumpers who desperately sought some form of reassurance as Itightened their harnesses. "No worries," I'd say. "You'll loveit." Then I'd politely ask that they sign the waiver that would absolvethe company of any responsibility if something happened to go wrong.

It was a week of firsts for me; I also got my firstcellphone. Even though Zack Morris had introduced me to cellphones at a youngage, I'd never had one. I still didn't wear a watch, but now that I had acellphone with official satellite time, I was confident that I'd be able tocure my habit of being five minutes late to everything-never ten or fifteen,always just under five. I've always suspected that this has something to dowith what I call microwave time.

 Almost every day after middle school I'd come home andput last night's leftovers in the microwave for a minute and a half. Then I'dgrab a glass from the cupboard, take some juice out of the fridge, pour someinto the glass, put the juice back into the fridge, take a long, dramatic drawn-outdrink, stare out into the backyard to watch the birds take turns at the feeder,and ponder my homework. Then I'd walk to the living room, flip on the TV, tunein to a brilliant lineup of late-afternoon programming: Saved by the Bell, FullHouse, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Then, stalling for time, I'd slowlymeander back to the kitchen and glance at the microwave, and there'd still beat least twenty-five seconds to go. Microwave time takes forever. Sometimes I'drush around to see how much I could do before the microwave beeped. To thisday, it never fails to surprise me. And so, I blame microwave time for my falsesense that I can fit more tasks into a fifteen-minute period than is humanlypossible.

 But back to my week of firsts. That week, I also had my first-everradio interview. I sat in the interview chair across from Bill, a well-knownVancouver radio host. Somewhere in his sixties, Bill spoke with his deep radiovoice and a "Can you believe this guy" attitude: "This morningwe have a young man who thinks he's a jack-of-all-trades. Sean Aiken graduatedfrom college top of his class, a 4.0 GPA, he was even voted class valedictorian-onewould think that he could find himself at least one decent job. But Sean sayshe wants fifty-two! Welcome to the show, Sean."

 "Thanks for having me," I replied.

 "So, tell us a bit about this idea of yours,"he said, a hint of mockery in his voice.

 I felt like I was being set up. "Well, I don't knowwhat I want to do for a career, but I made a promise to myself that whatever itis, it's going to be something I'm passionate about," I cautiouslyreplied. "So I came up with this idea to try out different jobs, to seewhat I like and don't like, and learn from others about how they decided on acareer."

It was like he hadn't even heard me. "This is justso wacky," he said with a smirk. "So, you want employers to hire youwith no prior experience, spend the time to train you, and then at the end ofthe week, you say Goodbye, then go elsewhere?"

"Yeah, that's right," I said.

 He couldn't get past the concept and didn't even try tograsp my reasons. I admit, my idea was a little wacky, especially when comparedwith the traditional route: Go to school, get a job, buy stuff, start a family,buy more stuff, retire, die. But far more wacky is the number of people who getout of bed in the morning and absolutely dread going to work because they hatetheir jobs. I was trying to avoid that fate. I wanted to find something thatI'd love. Something that I'd gladly spend forty hours of my life doing eachweek and that would allow me to pay the bills. Whether this was possible orsimply the unrealistic hope of an inexperienced, idealistic twenty-something, Iwasn't sure. But I worried this same hope could easily become regret if I didn'tfind out for myself.

Back on the bungee bridge Friday afternoon. A teenagegirl looked up at me skeptically while I tightened her harness. "So, isthis thing, like...safe?"

 "Yeah, totally safe."

She didn't seem convinced. "Seriously," Iassured her. "One might even say..." I paused for effect, thencompellingly added, "...safer than driving your car to work."

WEEK 2    

JOB: TV TALK SHOW INTERN
LOCATION: Vancouver, British Columbia
EMPLOYER: Urban Rush
WAGE: None-typically volunteer

JOB DESCRIPTION: Greeted guests in the greenroom, helped out around the studio, learned how to work the camera, brainstormed ideas forfuture shows, and shot a couple of short segments.


APPLICATION PROCESS: Jay, a producer at the show, heardmy previous week's radio interview and contacted me through the One-Week Jobwebsite.

 WHAT I LEARNED: Passion increases productivity.

All the staff at Urban Rush love their jobs, and so theyhappily work hard to ensure the show's success. They're often laughing,generally in a good mood, and always eager to contribute their ideas for theshow at the daily meeting.

 During my week, the hosts of the show, Mike and Fiona,would mention on air how they were doing their best to make my experience atthe studio worthwhile, then they'd cut to a shot of me organizing theirwardrobe, washing windows, being loaded up with a ridiculous number of tapes tosort through, or walking one of their dogs. This fun attitude created apositive work environment, but more important, it added to the creativity ofthe production. Simply put, people who love their job do it better.

 WEEK 3    

JOB: SNOWSHOE GUIDE
LOCATION: North Vancouver, British Columbia
 EMPLOYER: Mount...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Random House Publishing Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0345508033
• ISBN 13: 9780345508034
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 320
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland