Tag Archives: accomplishments

The Gambling Trilogy [Part 2] – What you can learn from Craps


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

I’ve always been a blackjack and roulette kinda girl.

Up until two weeks ago, I had never learned how to play craps. Every time I would go to a casino, the craps table always looked like it had the most exciting crowd of people surrounding it, and I always envied them as I sat on my barstool and took another card from the blackjack dealer.

Why didn’t I join in on those hot tables? What kept me from participating in all of the fun and excitement?

Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it’s because I was being a little wimp…

I had no idea how to play craps. I didn’t even know where to begin. The people at the table clearly knew what they were doing already, and I felt like I would just be in the way. I had so many questions… and didn’t want to ask anyone for fear of outing myself as the rookie. Seeing as the game moved so quickly, the questions in my head were racing at a mile a minute:

Why are people yelling?

Why are there so many chips randomly thrown across the table?

Why does the guy in the suit keep asking the hot girl next to him to blow on the dice before he rolls them?

Why do people love 7s and then hate 7s?

Why did everyone just bust out the high fives and pound its?

Why did everyone just unanimously say “awwwwww maaaannn….”?

… It was simply safer and easier to sit back and watch.

But what’s wrong with this picture? When did I become a “watcher” instead of a “doer”? WHAT’S THE FUN IN THAT?

Then it hit me – nothing good can come from watching. Not only does the act of watching cause extreme Lame Syndrome (I’m pretty sure that’s the scientific name for it), but it will also leave you with a world of regret for never taking a chance. The action happens when you roll the dice, when you’re part of the play, when you’re mentally AND physically on track to becoming a high roller.

This week, do something you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t had the courage to make happen.

Are you bad at meeting people, but need a job? Go to an event, and talk to a stranger.

Do you think you’re more valuable than what you’re being used for at work? Talk to your manager about other opportunities within the company! Show them how important you are.

*I recently learned how to play craps by way of an awesome iPad app…and I will be putting my newfound love for the game to use in a few weeks while sailing through the Caribbean. I may come back penniless, but I’ll be proud of myself for trying!

What gamble are you going to take this week? Roll the dice, and start winning!

-Jessie


The Gambling Trilogy [Part 1]: What you can learn from Blackjack


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

What’s the draw to this crap (pun intended) called “gambling”? 

This is the first of three posts to help you look at your professional and personal life from the perspective of the inner workings of a casino.

This week, I bring you blackjack: my gambling gateway drug, and previous addiction (until I discovered craps).

In blackjack, while on your mission to have the sum of your cards equate to 21, your only competition is the dealer – not the other players at the table – just you, the cards you’re dealt, and the man or women across the table anxiously waiting and hoping to take your dignity. You have tunnel vision and are aiming for 21… you’re aiming to hit a blackjack – to be dealt the perfect hand and feel the sweet satisfaction of immediate success.

Well, here comes a bubble burster: the odds of getting dealt said blackjack are 4.8%. That’s it. 95.2% of the time, you’re going to have to put in a little bit more effort if you expect to truly find success!

So, for your life, what’s the deal? (Pun intended…again)

If you’re only up against the dealer, then who are those people sitting next to you at the table?

Those people are in the same metaphorical situation as you. They are playing with the dealer and only the dealer. They have their own knowledge of the game, their own experiences, and their own views about gambling, just like you do. These tablemates may make a stupid decision like taking a hit with a 13 against an upright four on the dealer’s side (essentially causing you and the rest of the table to epically fail and want to punch him or her in the left eye), but you can’t really do anything about that.

All you can do is play your cards as they were dealt, and play strategically by what your dealer has presented you with.

To quit with the cryptic messaging in this scene, the dealer is your interviewer and potential employer, and your tablemates are your fellow interviewing candidates. Don’t worry about them! Yes, they are technically your competition, but in the end, all you can do is the best that YOU have to offer, and your competition can’t change that.

Now that the players have been identified, and we’ve got the dealer, the tablemates, and yourself, what am I proposing?

The more money on the table, the more you can pocket or lose, right? (Right). I propose that you put yourself out there and take a professional gamble! Don’t be meek or shy about your goals and job search. If you want a particular position, GO FOR IT. If you want 21, take that hit (unless you’re already above 17…then you may want to call it quits). Take big risks, and the rewards may surprise you.

Maybe there is a job you feel you’d be perfect for, but it says that you need 3+ years of experience. Maybe you’re looking to change your career, and you’ve got ample amount of professional years under your belt, but not in this direct field.

Well, amigo… you have to start somewhere.

Apply for the friggin’ job. You can’t get hired without the application, even if it does attempt to deter you by way of listed qualifications.

As Joel Runyon states on his Blog of Impossible Things:

Rules matter far less than you think, and oftentimes, they don’t matter at all. Qualifications are supposed to level the playing field. They make things “fair”. People with the same qualifications are supposed to be rewarded the same, get the same things and act similarly. Those are the rules. That’s how we know it’s fair. One problem. Life is not fair. Read that again. Accept it. Then screw qualifications and break the rules.

Odds:

What are the odds of the dealer winning? What are the odds of “failure?” That depends on how you choose to look at it.

Your hand as the potential candidate needs to wow the dealer (potential employer) in order for you to take home the dough (or for sake of the blackjack metaphor, just be closer to 21 without busting…and get the job you’re applying for).

Here’s the up side: your internships and college experience can be considered. If you impress the company with an outstanding resume, great references, and a SPAHKLING personality, who’s to say you’re not qualified?

I’m not suggesting that you apply for the Vice President of Communications at a Fortune 500 straight out of college; I’m just saying to take a chance on that “three to five years of experience” position, even if you’ve only been out of college for two years.

Potential outcome:

You could bust. You could get a 20 and you could be thinking you’ve got this one in the bag… but then the dealer could take hit after hit, statistically destined to bust, and then pull a 21, completely destroying your hopes and dreams (or just taking your money). Basically, the company could take a look at your resume, see the year you graduated, laugh, and toss that sucker in the trash. Fine. That company was weak sauce anyways.

ORRRRRRR, they could call you in for an interview, you can wow them with your charisma, guts, and ambition, and you could pull that sweet 21. Whatever happens, take the chance. You won’t get anywhere by sitting stagnant, and you’ll at least have the satisfaction of knowing you played the game and did it to the best of your abilities.

What gamble are you going to take this week?

-Jessie


Gotta get it done? Gotta get rid of the distractions!


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

Caffeine is the foundation for all of my focusing needs.

Before writing this, I spent at least an hour trying to write one sentence on a topic that has nothing to do with this one. Why? Because I allowed distractions to get the best of me until I finally left the room and found a quiet place to focus.

I’ve had the idea to start a new personal project for a while now, and when I decided that I was going to start this blog, I knew that I would have to set aside ample time each week to really shut off the world and focus on my priorities.

Well, this is much easier said than done when you’re living with two awesome roommates, learning about D.C.’s love for holiday parties and happy hours, letting friends stay with you while they’re in town for job interviews, working a full-time job, and making time for a social life all at once.

LIFE HAS DISTRACTIONS.

Not that I don’t love these distractions, but sometimes, something’s gotta give.

They are inevitable, and something will ALWAYS get in the way if you let it. The only way to conquer these interruptions is to learn how to work around them and to be serious about your priorities. It’s so easy to tell yourself that you will just do it later, but what happens when another distraction kills your “later?” Obvious answer: if you give in to those tiny distractions, you’ll never accomplish your goals, or you’ll just do them half-assed. 

If you have a vision, whether it be finishing an article for your blog, completing graduate school applications, working on a resume to get that job you’ve been desperately hoping for, or finishing up a deadline for your already existing career, the best thing you can do for yourself is to knock out the distractions right away.

Here are my suggestions to get you through those obnoxious disturbances that keep you from achieving your goals:

  1. Put in headphones. Even if you’re the kind of person who needs total silence when you work, if you put in headphones, people will assume you’re listening to music, and they will generally not try to talk to you. You get your silence, and they don’t get offended that you won’t carry on a fully engaged conversation. Everybody wins!
  2. Close out Facebook. This one gets me every time – I don’t know what it is about that little red notification from Hell, but if I see it, I’ll easily get sucked into browsing through my friends’ updates for at least 20 minutes at a time. It’s best to just not have it open at all.
  3. Go to a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi if you have distractions at home. This one is a little tricky depending on the kind of environment you need to thrive in. Personally, I can focus in a crowded coffee shop filled with 50 strangers better than I can focus in my own apartment with just two people in the room.
  4. I just checked my Facebook. I guess I’ll suggest re-reading rule number two if you’re anything like me.
  5. Set mini goals for balancing your time. If you really cannot focus for longer than 30 minutes at a time, then tell yourself that once you work for 30 minutes straight, you can take a five-minute snack or coffee break. If you divide up your time into sections, it makes getting your task accomplished much more reasonable because it gives you a smaller goal to work toward, and ultimately makes it seem less daunting.
  6. Turn off your phone. Seriously – just because Facebook is closed out on your browser does NOT mean that it’s off of your phone. Put it away to avoid phone calls, texts, Words with Friends, and asking Siri random irrelevant questions.

These are some of the things I badly need to work on… I’m terrible when it comes to allowing myself to be distracted and budgeting my time accordingly. How do you tune out the distractions in your world to get your goals accomplished?