The Jump - #2 - March 2024

Leap into new career spaces by seeing yourself and taking note

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Welcome to the 2nd installment of The Jump. It offers monthly musings to inspire and to encourage you to consider new things. We often miss the inspiration that is presented to us daily. It could be listening to music, reading the news, or taking a walk, to name a few. These thoughts may be quick, but they can offer powerful contemplative points in time to inspire your own career adventures.

In this edition, I’m talking the importance of seeing yourself and taking notes the right way to fuel your career adventures. We’ve got…

• A Great Quote from Lightning McQueen

• The Importance of Carrying Two Notebooks

• Career Inspiration from Oscar nominated Actor Mark Ruffalo

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Quote - Lightning McQueen

Cars 3 - Lightning McQueen & Cruz Ramirez - Pixar Animation Studios Film/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

“He sees something in you that you don’t even see in yourself. You made me believe it. Now, you’ve got to believe it too. You are a racer!!! Use that.”

Lightning McQueen, Cars 3 Movie

I love this quote from Cars 3. Lightning McQueen said this to his friend Cruz in the closing race of the movie. Most of the movie, Cruz has been McQueen’s trainer, helping him prepare to vanquish the mighty Jackson Storm. But, the tables have turned. Instead, McQueen is the pit boss / trainer and Cruz is the racer.

Cruz is threatening Jackson Storm for the lead. Jackson feels threatened by Cruz and decides to try to get in her head. Jackson basically tells Cruz she isn’t a racer, she sucks. Cruz starts to doubt herself. She slows down falling farther and farther behind Jackson.

That’s when McQueen helps. Cruz tells McQueen, “He’s in my head!” McQueen stops her. He tells her she’s gotten into Jackson’s head. Then he delivers the above quote.

I love this quote for three reasons: power of outside eyes, career transition, and kids wisdom.

1. We all need help in our career journeys - Others help us to see the talent, skills, or interests we might not see in ourselves. That’s what Cruz needed from McQueen. Someone to help her see that she truly is a racer, capable of winning the big race. Ask a trusted confidant what they see in you today!

2. We all will face career transition - Whether we choose to or not. McQueen suddenly was no longer the star racer. He embraced his new role as coach. What roles might you consider in the future? Write them down and take one step to explore.

3. Kids books are full of wisdom - We think the latest self help book will teach us. Take a walk through the children’s section of the book store. You’ll find hundreds of options that take far less time to read and are worth a heck of a lot more. Robert Fulghum opined once that we learned everything we need in life in Kindergarten. Oftentimes, I agree.

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Quick Tip - Carry 2 Notebooks Everywhere

I used to carry one giant Arc notebook. It was my marketing bible, replete with all the info needed to manage my business. People routinely told me the notebook was amazing!

But, there was one problem. It was work related. My mind wanders, in a good way. Many meetings have ‘fluff time’. I have all sorts of cool, non-work related ideas during fluff time. Some were entrepreneurial ideas. Others were people to connect with. You’ve got the notebook you say. The problem: Personal notes and tasks get lost and never actioned amidst the more pressing work stuff.

The solution: I started carrying a second notebook. It’s for ideas. The idea book helps me separate my personal ideas from work. As a result, my personal ideas or additional networking list is less likely to suffer. The concept is like dream journaling. You need to capture the thought immediately or else it will be forgotten.

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A Listen - Fresh Air Interview w/Mark Ruffalo

You know Mark Ruffalo. He’s played the Hulk in Marvel movies. He was in 13 Going On 30 with Jennifer Garner. He recently was on Fresh Air, discussing his latest Oscar nominated role in Poor Things and his career.

The entire interview is great! Mark talks about fear, confidence, leaping into something new, dealing with a brain tumor, and career evolution.

Here’s one discussion at the beginning that shows how even Hollywood stars experience lack of confidence and need others to tell them they are awesome!

“I hadn’t really played anything like this…You have a career going and you sort of get a brand and mistakenly you start to believe maybe that’s who you are, that’s how the world wants to see you.

I really wanted to be great in a Yorgos Lanthimos movie. I said to him,…‘Ah Yorgos, I want to work with you. I love you. But, I don’t want to suck in your movie. I don’t know if I’m the right guy for this’. He just laughed at me and said, ‘You’re him’. He just refused to entertain my trepidation.”

Mark Ruffalo

Discussing his career adventures on Fresh Air

Closing News & Notes

• Season 1 of The Career Adventurer Podcast is getting ready to drop. I tested the waters with a few interviews and they’ve been a success. People downloaded them! Stay tuned for the first six episode season beginning in March

• I’d love to connect. People have reached out to share career challenges they currently face. Shoot me a note.

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