Welcome to The Break, a weekly newsletter where I provide stories and actionable insights on breaking work and building the future you want.
Today At A Glance
Each of us is a unique intersection of ideas and experiences
Your ability to see that intersection and provide your POV is a superpower
Uncovering that intersection is the hard part
Advantage Mapping Foundations Pre-Launch:
In my work, we deal with That feeling a lot. I’m getting ready to launch my first course: Advantage Mapping Foundations in about 30 days. Advantage Mapping is all about a systematic, high-odds approach to career discovery.
I would love it if you hopped on over to my sales page and reserved your spot (no cost to reserve your spot).
Here’s what you get, simply for registering:
A chance to win 1 of 5 free course slots (valued at $250)
Early access to our BREAKERs community
Access to an exclusive interview with an upcoming special podcast guest!
Simply click below to check out the Advantage Mapping Foundations page!
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The Intersection Of You
I never thought of myself as creative or unique.
But I learned early in my professional career that uniqueness isn’t about having original ideas.
Creativity and thus uniqueness can come from the ability to see the value in intersections, and combine ideas into something new.
I first came across the idea that a person could be creative by combining when I read James Altucher. James is an eccentric guy who practices his “idea muscle” every day. He has written a lot about “Idea Sex” - when two (or more) ideas can be combined into a novel solution.
This gave me permission to view myself as a creative even though I never had before.
Now, my creativity is an Advantage. Are there people way more creative than me? You betcha.
But that doesn’t stop me from expressing my creativity through combinations and intersections.
It also played into my psyche as a person who didn’t like to be put in a box. I could start to define myself as a unique individual at the intersection of many different boxes.
From there I could stand out and be me because when you layer on enough intersections, you become a box of 1.
While this didn’t come to me over night, my professional intersection is Human Centered Design, Investing and Entrepreneurship. I combine principles from this unique point of view to help unlock new perspectives on career possibilities for folks who are stuck wanting more out of their work-life.
I learned trading and investing by actually doing it, not reading books about it.
I learned Design Thinking from working with Ideo, the best design firm in the world on a project.
I learned entrepreneurship by actually building businesses (and failing).
None of those disciplines are my original ideas. On a resume they don’t look like they fit together. They don’t look like they form a “traditional path.”
So I did poorly in interviews. My resume looked scattered - like I didn’t have my shit together. Maybe I didn’t.
But now when I say, “I’m a diversified entrepreneur and I teach people to level up their careers by 1)thinking like a designer, 2)managing risk like an investor and 3) executing like an entrepreneur” people pay attention.
All of a sudden I have my shit together, I’m interesting, creative, unique. BLAH.
If I never picked my head up to see how those pieces can fit together, I’d still be stuck.
What is your intersection?
Each of us is an intersection of many different experiences. We can choose to throw these experiences away, or we can choose to excavate those experiences, view them from a new angle and use them in new ways.
That’s what Advantage Mapping is all about - uncovering the hidden pockets of greatness buried in each of us, and combining those into something magical.
It’s not easy. It’s actually incredibly hard. But that’s why having a map is crucial.
I’m here to help you find your unique intersection.
Join The Advantage Mapping Foundations Pre-Launch:
See you next week!
Mike
If you like what you’ve been reading follow along on Twitter ( @mngardon ) and LinkedIn for more community and conversations about breaking work.
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3 ways I can help you:
1. Book a free Intro To Advantage Mapping coaching call . In this 30 minute, no obligation call, we'll get you executing on a high odds career path by leveraging your natural advantages and Circle of Competence.
2. Find your new job! Remote tech jobs curated for you. Follow me on Pallet .
3. Get in the Breaking Work conversation on Linkedin. Messages are open. Follow me here .
The Break Job Board
I teamed up with Pallet to create a curated job board for our community ! These jobs are tech focused, remote first opportunities. I’d love it if you followed. Maybe, just maybe you’ll find your next big opportunity here.
Here are a few featured opportunities:
TestGorilla: Product Manager (Remote)
Hey Jane: Head of Marketing
Geisinger: Compensation Analyst Intermediate
BeyondTrust: Senior Product Manager
Also, If you’re looking to support the community and have a job to post, you can do so by clicking the ‘ Post a Job’ button.
What’s happening on the pod?
Teddy is a former D1 athlete. He played Baseball at UNC, then took his two passions: sports and writing, and built a career in sports media starting with ESPN. Somewhere along the line, as most of us come to find out, Teddy realized how he was using his talents wasn’t as impactful as it could be. He worked for a startup for a while, where he built the confidence to later go out on his own.
Today Teddy combines his unique skills to help executives become better digital writers and build powerful brands online.
Pulling lessons from the worlds of athletics, leadership and the military, Teddy has built quite a following of his own digital writing.
What enabled Teddy to parlay his experience into a business where he is creative, fulfilled and in control? He says it’s consistency. And consistency is all about the process.
This episode is packed with great insights about adversity, courage and being consistent. Plus Teddy shares from his experiences training with Navy Seals and climbing the equivalent height of Mt. Everest.
You made it to the end! Hopefully you learned something about breaking your career today! If so, please share this with someone you care about.
P.S. What did you think of today's email? Click one of the ratings below to send us your feedback. We'd love to know what you think!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was super helpful!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Could be better.