Alex Trevisan

Journal Entry 2
4/1/15
Chapters 1-3 offer an optimistic perspective for finding a career right
for you, despite the various challenges life throws at us. In chapter one,
make the most of unplanned events, we are given specific pointers on
how to make the best of unexpected circumstances and how to be prepared
for such circumstances. It seems to suggest that a combination of
proactivity and a positive mindset will give one the proper tools to deal with
unpredicted or unfavorable circumstances. For example, it advises us to be
open to a new set of work (6), for this will offer us a new experience as well
as a new set of skills. It also says to be willing to move to a new location (7)
and to remember that someone always has it worse than you (10). It gives
evidence of how individuals have persevered through difficult and
unplanned events to substantiate their point. This is relevant to everyone,
as things happen unexpectedly every day. An individual living in Italy
pursuing her dream job got in a terrible accident where she was
hospitalized and unable to make progress on her goals for a long time. She
soon noticed that there was a Bosnian solider near her in the hospital who
was suffering extensive injuries from war. She gained some perspective on
her own life from this experience by realizing that there is no need to feel
sorry for yourself, and people often have it worse than you. It is important
to remain mindful of where you are and to understand that life is not
predictable; so capitalize on what you can when opportunities present

themselves! Chapter two, always keep your options open further supports
the argument of remaining positive while exploring in the world of work.
Reacting to pressure by remaining open minded is a piece of advice I must
keep in mind. At wake, everyone is surrounded by pressure in all realms of
life- School, looks, social life, and it is easy to get down when you feel you
do not meet the expectation of the outside community. The dreaded
question comes with a lot of pressure, but this chapter reminds us people
who do not remain open minded when answering this question may end up
somewhere they were not meant to be. You want to enjoy what you do, so
stay open and aware of the potential around you. A second piece of advice
reminds us that we do not need to commit to a certain future goal, despite
societies expectation for us to know what we want (25). As a senior, still
unsure of what direction I want to take my life, this advice is comforting.
Resonating even more with my personal situation is the suggestion for
individuals who do not like the field for which they trained (31). I am a
psychology major realizing now that I do not want to pursue a profession in
psychology, and I feel guilty for wasting four years at an academically
acclaimed university studying something I do not want spend my time
doing. The book says that it is nonsense to continue working in a job that
you hate and it is true. I have to let the guilt go and spend my energy in a
progressive manner. Chapter three reminds us that making a decision is
easy and making things happen is the hard part (38). We must stay
motivated toward our goals and we have the tools within us to do so.

Keeping a positive mindset, realizing the resources around us, and using
them to the best of our ability is all we can do. Passions are created by
taking action, not sitting around (48). These three chapters remind
everyone that dysfunction and hardship is unavoidable but each of us holds
the power to overcome such hurdles. Staying motivated in a key factor in all
of this, if you give in to pressure, or give up when the going gets hard, you
are the one preventing yourself from reaching your goals- no one else!
Keeping this in mind is motivating in it of itself; we will succeed if we think
we can.
Chapter six and seven give steps on how you can make simple
changes to your everyday life in order to benefit your future. Chapter six
tells a story of how a man who had a habit of watching TV changed his
hobby to baking. He ended up owning his own bread company, and claims
all he had to do was change the color of his t-shirt. What he meant was that
it can take small changes in your everyday routine to make a big change
happen. Chapter six advises us to take things one step at a time, to commit
your actions to paper and to try new things and involve yourself in order to
help you learn how to make your specific goals a reality (105). Chapter
seven enlightens us that our education is never over, we should never stop
learning (116). You can learn new things from jobs you have, or even from
small encounters with people (119). A man was between jobs working for
an assistant for a construction superintendent who taught him math skills
on the side. This assisted the man in going back to school and pursuing

engineering. Anyone can be your teacher; even if you do not have a specific
goal in mind, you can look for new things to learn in each new experience.
This book really reminds us to keep ourselves on our toes at all times.
Engage in conversation, ask questions, and make a plan. Taking action
happens in the little things we do and see each day; use your resources.
Happenstance as a career theory suggesting that any circumstance
you experience can and will shape you in some way. Activating this theory
takes effort from the individual, to harness the available resources and keep
a positive mentality to capitalize on the events of our everyday life, planned
or unplanned. Every detail of a career does not have to be planned for it
work out. Careers often happen because of circumstance, and the way we
utilize our opportunities. Knowing that there are always possibilities is a key
component to the happenstance theory. No one is tied to any one thing;
there is always opportunity for growth and renewal. Expanding our network
and knowledge does not need to be systematic, but can be casual and
gradual. I talked to a former high school teacher and coach about
happenstance and her career path. She started off as an English teacher
after college. She began coaching cross country while teaching and became
close with many of the runners, myself included. She had always exercised,
but doing so as a team offered her a new perspective on it. She ran with the
team and started to design banners to motivate runners at the races. After
a few seasons, her banners became more and more intricate and people
began to ask about her design skills. She had never thought about doing

anything with design but began helping individuals design t-shirts, banners
and flyers. She started doing this for different organizations at school until
she got pregnant and took leave. While she was at home, she continued
making digital designs for parents of students at the school and various
organizations. She even took an online course to improve her skills,
because she enjoyed it so much. In the end, she decided to stay at home
with her child and do freelance digital design work. She had never dabbled
in the field until she involved herself in a new opportunity-coaching, and
accepted an offer to help design banners. She now loves her part time
career and is looking forward to reentering the teaching world in addition to
her new lucrative hobby. This example portrays how one can end up in a
place without even planning to get there, simply through small changes in
their daily routine. She stayed open to new opportunity and once involved,
put in the effort to do her best. It seems that as individuals we have the
ability to succeed in ways we cannot even imagine. Because we do not
know all the open opportunities, we must stay aware and look for them.