Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Not Santa's list...

OK, so Sebastian Driver Salazar came into our class today and pretty much turned my world upside down for about 3 hours...For those of you who don't know, Sebas was the sports director when I first got here at Westminster, AKA my idol for about 9 months...Anyway, he told me that if I want to be on-air I should really go for it, and as much as I would LOVE to do on air for the rest of my life, it may not be my strongest trait, and in our business, you have to put your best foot forward and pray that it gets caught in a door somewhere. Right now, I feel that my best trait is being a creative idea man...I have to go with what I feel off the top of my head, and I think that producing would be in my best interest. Not to mention being the boss, I mean, who wants to be second best. Not this guy, I feel I am meant to be the best at what I do, and what I do is sports, and there's only one place that I feel I can harness all my creative energy effectively, and ESPN is it, I truly do believe. So nobody else has the problem I see occurring alot with not only BC Majors, but all majors in college, I've come up with a list of things people can do to succeed in life, and in the workplace. Granted, I only have 21 years experience, so it might just be my parents/professors talking through me.

5. Don't take no for an answer: Basically the rule I've had since I was born, if you want something, don't let anybody try to take it from you! It's your dreams/goals that keep you alive, and make you get out of bed every morning. Whether it be getting your children to graduate, or getting the job of your dreams, NEVER let anybody tell you something is impossible. If you want it bad enough, and you work hard enough, you'll get there.

4. Find a Forte: Be a well rounded broadcaster, know how to edit, shoot, and write, but then when you master the arts, take something and go! It could be as simple as writing articles, or it could be as difficult as being an on-air personality/producer/director. Whatever it is, find it! The sooner the better, because then you can take your "forte" and use it during an internship, or perfect it during your job.

3. Money isn't everything: When it boils down to it, would you rather have a ton of money and be miserable, or have maybe not as much, and never work a day in your life. Because when you enjoy what you do, and what you have, it really doesn't matter about how much you make (At least to me.) Besides, if money solved all your problems, broadcasters would still have many questions. Don't get me wrong, everybody loves green, but to be successful, don't let it bog you down, because it just creates problems.

2. See your potential: This goes along with #4, but at the same time this is taking your forte and seeing what you can do with it. Taking yourself as a broadcaster to the next level is probably the biggest step one makes (besides getting married, or buying a house.) How can you as a "typical college student" make yourself stand out from everybody else? Again, the faster you see, and
harness your potential, the faster you can take it to the next level, and quite frankly...impress somebody!

1. Love What You Do, and Do What You Love: This is the most important guideline to use as you move along in your journey. Whether it be on air, behind the scenes, writing articles, or something you least expected, but fell in love with! The best part of being on the brink of graduating from college is the fact that there's so much opportunity out there. So many people look at the end of college as a scary process, and stress out. Why stress? Finals puts enough stress on people, why add to the pile? There has to be some part of you that feels confident enough to present to an employer, so why not put on a show? Be able to show a passion for what you do as oppose to just being another employee! Employers in broadcasting when looking for an employee look for enthusiasm, if somebody's excited about their job, they'll perform better than somebody who just wants to fill a position.

To sum up everything, and something Denny, Sebastian, Bob, and Bill have all helped me realize...Find something you love, take it by the horns, become the best, and prove to everybody why YOU ARE the best! If you take that advice, I guarantee you'll have a hard time failing at whatever it is you do. I hope this helps...and I hope that those graduating soon take the advice, because there's alot of talent there, and I'm positive they'll be great at whatever it is they set out to do. That's all for now, until next time...I'm DJ Yokley