NickVenturella.com 6-29-14

NickVenturella.com | GrowLoop.com | NickVmusic.net | Insperity

Hi, I recently took a little vacation with my wife.  During our vacation I had more time than usual to journal and be with my thoughts, and I had some clarity around my Tiny Career idea.Essentially, I was trying to define out what having a Tiny Career means to me.  I'll share some of what I came up with and perhaps it will resonate with you too, or you'll be able to pull aspects of it into your life and turn them into something new for you and your journey.What is a Tiny Career? - The simplest way to have the life and career you want on your terms.I came up with about 7 main elements of a Tiny Career (keep in mind this is still pretty fresh, so I may need to think through some of these a bit further).Your Purpose:This is the place to start.  Why do you want a tiny career?  What will you gain from having a tiny career? -- a sense of control, a sense of purpose/contribution, more health/less stress/piece of mind?  How does having a tiny career better your life...your family's life?  For me, I want ultimate autonomy, to work from anywhere if I'd like and keep an alternative work schedule if I choose (not necessarily an 8-5pm traditional business hours). That means me working for myself and/or stringing together various endeavors and employment that line up with my ideals to allow me to achieve what I'm after.A bit of commentary:  For every employer who has ever employed me, I am a company man, meaning I will do my job to the best of my abilities, exceed expectations and keep the company's best interests in mind -- I always have and always will for any company that hires me.  However, I truly work for my family and myself as a means to achieve the kind of life I want to give my family and to afford to pursue the various endeavors that are important to me...those endeavors that best utilize my strengths, passions and talents to positively impact and serve my larger community.  I'm lucky that I do have a day-job that aligns with many of my tiny career ideals, but my work for an employer does not define my life, I do.  A tiny career is about self-awareness and self-empowerment.A Sense of Purpose Bigger Than YourselfWhile the idea of a tiny career is to serve you, what you do in your tiny career should serve others (that's really the only way you're truly going to serve yourself).  What's the larger impact of your tiny career?  Is it just to help those who choose to do business with you?  What's your overarching purpose and vision for how you help others (think as far out as impacting the world and as close to home as your own family)?  For example, I want a tiny career and by focusing on what it takes to get there and sharing that journey with others interested in a tiny career, in some small way I can help them achieve their own tiny career.  Essentially, I want to lead by example to help others find a positive, sustainable perspective and approach to an alternative career that is not necessarily a typical corporate latter climb.Engaging Work that Plays to Your Strengths and PassionsIn a tiny career, and really any career, it's important to be engaged with the work you do.  It's important that you are ever-curious about the subject matter you're engaged in, otherwise, you will tire of it, and that defeats part of the sustainability aspect of a tiny career.  Now that doesn't mean you can only pick one interest and never evolve or change that interest.  Rather, it's about keeping your interest long enough to dig into the subject so you don't constantly jump to something new causing you to continuously start over -- unless that's your goal and you can figure out a way to monetize that.  Personally, I want to be engaged in work that I can continuously be a student of while earning an income from it.  I love to constantly uncover and discover new things about the pursuits I'm passionate about.  Calling one's self an expert implies that you've completely mastered something, so I don't fully believe in that term, rather I want to continually strive for mastery knowing full-well that there are always new things to learn and discover.  It's a subtle, yet distinct difference that doesn't put a cap or end point on your endeavor, which allows for a long relationship with your passion(s), which will benefit your motivation when times are tough.We're beginning to move into the more practical and actionable areas of a tiny career.A Sizable Audience to AssistIt's important that you're able to find a niche and target audience in and around your passion to serve that audience and eventually monetize what you're doing.  Or to find employment with your strengths, knowledge and pursuits.  Especially when you're pursuing your passions as your own business, you'll need to find a client-base who seeks knowledge and/or has a need that your strengths and passions fulfill.  Also, it's crucial to find an audience that has a willingness and ability to pay you well for what you deliver.  It's also important to consider that when someone makes a purchase from you that you have a simple way to deliver your product or service to your audience.  Part of the tiny career mentality is to keep everything as simple as you can.  Simple is increasingly valuable in our society.That's likely enough to get started.  I'll share the remainder of my 7 elements of a tiny career next week.Hit reply and let me know what you think.Thanks,Nick Venturellawww.nickventurella.comwww.nickvmusic.netwww.growloop.com