Practical vs. youthful. Who wins?

When treating myself to my much-needed Starbucks favorite the other day, I noticed the day's horoscope on the counter, staring me in the face.

Libra: Don't let your responsibilities hold you back. You may choose a living situation that you will regret in the future. 

Whoa. It couldn't have been more spot on with my current situation, and it made me think.

After getting a great taste of the real world when moving out from under the confines of my oh-so-comfortable suburban home to the city of Chicago, I'll be facing a dilemma this fall: sign on for another year, or move home.

I know what you're thinking. Why on earth would I move home? But here's why I'm torn. The logical side of me - you know, the one who thinks I should be preparing for the future - thinks I should save money while I can. The city will always be there, I'm only 23, and there's no harm in giving in some time to build up my bank account. After all, I don't want to be in my late twenties with nothing to show for 5+ hard years of work, right?

On the other hand, the spontaneous, fun-loving, 23-year-old side of me says, why not? You're only 23 once. I should be out enjoying my youth, living it up without looking back and making the great memories I'll always look back on. College may be over, but that doesn't mean the fun has to entirely stop. The city is where it's at for young twenty-somethings. Period.

It's hard being a young professional these days. Growing up, I saw my parents providing so much for our family - over-the-top birthday parties, annual vacations and even a simple spontaneous shopping spree - and now, I can barely eat out without feeling guilty. I can't imagine ever being as successful as my parents, and it makes me anxious to save every penny I can. It makes me want to work as hard as possible to assure myself that maybe, someday, I'll be where they were.

And I know I'm not alone. A study of 571 recent college graduates this past spring revealed that less than half believe they'll have more financial success than their parents, and one in five expects to do less well than their parents. What's more, one in four recent graduates report still living with their parents.

So who wins? The career-ambitious, practical one? Or the spunky youth? I'm still deciding...

Always,
j.cole

The power of P2P relations

P2P? People-to-people.

I've been having a growing epiphany lately: relationships are everything.

Not the kind of relationship you're thinking of - love, family or even deep friendship. Just your everyday people-to-people relations with others, especially other professionals, both in and out of a professional environment.

Exhibit A: My coworkers. What started out as purely a work relationship has turned one of great friendship, but it wasn't only because we liked each other as people. Two of my coworkers and I have formed amazing professional and personal relationships in the workplace because of our good work ethic and positive attitude. It wasn't because we wanted to advance professionally, because we're all at the same level and won't gain any acknowledgement by impressing each other. But because of our willingness to lend a hand for each other, I think we've all helped each other grow even more, making our wicked trio a mutually beneficial relationship.

Exhibit B: My media relations. As a PR pro, I'm always trying to discover the secret to getting a member of the media's attention. Maybe it's that catchy email subject line, or the eager "I'm happy to help!" that you end your pitch with. But lately, I've been getting straight to the point - pitching media how I'd like to receive information, cutting through the wordy mess - and to my surprise, it's been effective. I'm forming relationships with these people, reading their columns, following them on Twitter and starting to realize that by gaining their respect, I'm giving them a reason to listen to what I have to say.

Exhibit C: Online connections. A few weeks ago, I saw a tweet from a large, local Chicago newspaper that they were looking for bloggers. I connected with the necessary individual, fearlessly shared my personal blog and applied. Turns out I landed myself an interview, and now, may be a part of something really cool. Without even realizing it, I taught myself a lesson: don't be afraid to connect- chances are, they're reading.

How do you think your people skills and interpersonal relations affect you positively?

Always,
j.cole (P2P advocate)

The post-vacation blues

Last weekend, I spent the extended three-day holiday in good company and the fresh outdoors of Point Beach State Forest, WI on a camping trip. Every day held sunshine on the beach, cookouts over the campfire and of course, S'mores. It was truly the low-key getaway I needed.

And then came Tuesday.

There's something about vacationing that makes the start of a new week particularly hard. You're away from real life with your time being your own to waste, and then boom - back to reality. It's like the word vacation seems to be synonymous with responsibility-free, and for those few days, we forget we ever had deadlines and ongoing assignments.

So as I regretfully woke up Tuesday morning to return to my dreaded morning commute, I thought to myself - what could make me eager to seize the day? Rather than my reality check at the end of a wonderful vacation, how could I re-position this day in my head to get motivated?

I considered three reflection points during my morning commute: 1) my future, 2) my past and 3) my present. If you're a recovering vacationer like myself, below are a few thoughts to get you started.

1.) Where do you want to be? Whether in two weeks, six months or two years, remind yourself of your priority goals and get excited to continue pushing yourself forward. For me, this was most motivating with my job - I love public relations and am extremely ambitious as a young professional, so I became instantly eager to excel during the day ahead.

2. ) Don't be sad it's over, be thankful it happened. Reflect back on your favorite memories during your vacation, and learn to treasure the past for exactly what it is - time that has passed. This inspired me to make photo books or even plan for next year's trip, again giving me something to look forward to in light of my enjoyable getaway.

3.) What can you look forward to NOW? Think about what positive things lie in the week ahead - whether a favorite T.V. show, your yoga class or a dinner date with a friend, reminding yourself of other positive aspects in your life can help minimize your dwelling on the past. For me, this inspiration came when I remembered that I bought a LivingSocial deal for a month of unlimited hot yoga. I became excited to challenge myself physically over the next month, and started plotting my plan of action.

These reflections helped boost my mood while returning to the daily grind Tuesday morning, and now, I'm back in the swing of things without ever missing a beat.

How do you cope with returning from vacation?

Always,
j.cole (ambitious, vacation-loving twenty-something)