Creative Direction

This week I've had two young friends reach out to me to ask me my advice on what they should do with their careers. I think this is hilarious because I'm still wondering what the hell it is I'm doing going on...a long time now.

I'm going to tell them both to make a list of what they like - brands, companies, and what they do on their own time. I'm going to tell them both to find a mentor, someone doing what they want to do and take them out for coffee. Learn how to use design programs. Talk to people. Work at it. What good advice, I think. Wish I took it myself!

I think people come to me for advice on their career is not because of my own illustrious career but because I know so many people who have done amazing things with their work life. I was/am a head hunter, and I just like people. Head hunter is a horrible job title that doesn't describe me at all, I think. I guess I'm more like a mid-weight career coach with a lot of advertising industry contacts. I hope I've helped a lot of people. The question is, how do I help myself?

People keep telling me to write write write my blog - so here I am. Writing my blog, sitting at my beautiful tulip table looking at my wilting Trader Joe's rananculi, listening to David Sedaris's new (audio) book in the background. I have listened to it already about 20 times and will continue to listen to it daily for probably the next year, at least. That's what I've done with all his books. His stories are like aural spaghetti bolognese - very comforting, and funny. Funny spaghetti. People ask me how can I stand to listen to his weird, high-pitched voice, but I don't think of it as annoying. To me it's like a friend's voice, which I know is weird it's just very familiar to me. Some friends gave me some tickets to see him speak at Royce Hall last week. I've never seen him live, which I can't believe. The tickets are so effing expensive though. I was so happy to be there and when he started to talk he sounded exactly like he does on the tapes. I know this is one of the dumbest observations ever, but there you have it. I don't know why I thought it would sound any differently, but it was like seeing a kookabura live after only ever hearing about one in a story. Which is just how I got distracted on youtube watching bird videos like this one on the incredible Lyrebird that can mimic any sound (Seinfeld bassline, Richard Attenborough): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y