Seven Principles to Earn Your Dream Job

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="3.0.97"][et_pb_row _builder_version="3.0.97"][et_pb_column type="3_4" _builder_version="3.0.47" parallax="off" parallax_method="on"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.97"]

"Wow, you have my dream job! How do I get that to happen for me?"

 Working on Epic Trails has been the most satisfying and fun work I have ever done. But getting to host a TV show didn't happen by accident. I have been asked a lot more lately about how one goes about getting your dream job. How does someone who loves photography break in to the industry and start getting their work in magazines? How does a writer get their words into print? How do you get funding for the short film you want to make? Let's put all these types of jobs; artist, writer, photographer, musician, producer, graphic designer, etc., under the title: entrepreneur. To be an artist is to be an entrepreneur. You are running your own business. So how do you go about running your dream business? First, being an entrepreneur is incredibly difficult. Most people don't actually want to live the lifestyle of an independent artist. There's no security. There's no promise of a "next gig" around the corner to greet you. You have to grind, a lot, forever unsure of whether you'll ever make another paycheck again. Living in that state is stressful and it plagues most entrepreneurs their entire career. Most people want the perks without the work.  You need to ask yourself pursuing your own business, whether as a writer, photographer, musician, whatever, is really what you want to do. Do not ask yourself if it would be nice to do because you would enjoy the perks. But ask yourself rather, if you crave it. If you can't stop thinking and dreaming about it, if pursuing this thing nags at you night and day, maybe you can make it. If your desire to be an artist is a "nice-to-have" and not a "must-have," there are more enjoyable ways to navigate through life. But let's say it's a given, being a photographer, writer, or whatever form of self-employment looks like, is at your core, then what do you do? 

• Find a way to be around those who are doing it

 Be around people who make you better. Study other people's habits and tendencies. Rub shoulders with those who are doing what you want to be doing. My very first opportunity to work in media came with Backpacker Magazine. Backpacker had run a video contest for new gear testers. The winners would get to go to an Outdoor Retailer Show (where brands like Patagonia, The North Face, and every outdoor gear brand you find in REI gather twice a year to conduct business and drink a LOT of beer). I won the contest (here's my pitch video that changed my life). That first year I got to walk the show floor with the indomitable Kristen Hostetter. Kristen was the gear editor of Backpacker, and I got to sit in on meetings with brands as they showed Kristen their newest products. Kristen is a terror, a bull (and downright wonderful lady) who can make even the biggest, snobbiest brands grovel at her feet for her time and attention. It was amazing to watch and learn from her and I am forever grateful for her kindness and encouragement to me when I was the lowest person on the totem pole. 

• Find a way to serve and be indispensable because you help others

 That single event, going to the Outdoor Retailer, was supposed to be the end of the road for me. I won the contest, I got some free gear to test, now thank you see you later. But that wasn't the end. The next Outdoor Retailer show came around, and I emailed Kristen about returning to the show as free labor in the "news room." I could run and fetch photos of people they were interviewing. I could grab lunch from the Mexican joint down the road when no one else had a free minute. And I could write a story or two for their social media. All I needed was a ticket in the door. Kristen said yes. And I did it again the following year. I offered free labor for the opportunity to be in the same room as everyone I admired, to be in the same room as "the industry." I had to be so helpful that Backpacker Magazine couldn't say no to my requests. Because it wasn't about them just helping a guy out. Frankly, that wouldn't be worth their time and it would be unreasonable to expect any favors. It wasn't about how I could benefit (although I definitely benefitted). The key was to make myself useful to them. Each time I attended I got to know more editors, more marketing directors for brands I wanted to work with, more athletes doing amazing things, more filmmakers making the kind of art I dreamed of making. Those relationships expanded and strengthened over the years because I found a way to show up and be around these people twice a year. When you are just trying to break in, you have to be so useful and helpful that you can't be ignored. Then, you have to follow it up by becoming great at what you do.

• You only become great by doing. So you must do the work to become great.

There's no other way around it. If you want any real shot of making it, you have to be better than good. If you are merely good, you are stuck in the realm of the hobbyist. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. That's where most people who love photography or writing or music are. But if you want to be a professional, you have to be great.And in order to get great you have to practice and hone your craft. You have to put in long hours and treat it like a job (as in like, 40 hours a week). Everyone has to do this in the professional realm. Even those with world-class advantages (think LeBron James) don't get by on whatever native skills they were born with. Even LeBron spends hours a day working out and practicing his jump shot.If you do not dedicate significant time to regular practice, you just won't become good enough to truly separate yourself from everyone else.

• Working on spec sucks. But you have to work on spec.

If you want to be a writer. You have to write all the time, even when someone isn't paying you. Most of your early work must be done without a paying client on hand. Then you go out and try to sell that work. The truth is, no one is knocking on your door first. You have to knock on everyone else's door, with your work in your hands, trying to get someone to notice. Most of your early work will be rejected. Don't let this discourage you. That's just how it goes. Rejection is the norm. Don't take it personally.Here's the formula: Work on a project. Hone it. Polish it. Labor over it. Love it. Hate it (in alternating doses). Then try to sell it. Or simply put it out in the world on your own platform. Watch it get rejected or ignored. Then do it again. It's brutal. But it's just about the only thing that works.Oh, and by the way, most people's work gets rejected even after they have "made it."

• "Always bet on yourself." - Patrick Riley

Patrick Riley is the guitarist of the husband-wife duo Tennis. Tennis creates dreamy music that's full of nostalgia. They have established themselves in a unique brand of pop music. In their latest album "Yours Conditionally," the band turned down a six-figure recording deal in order to maintain all ownership and to release the album on their own. The gamble paid off big time for the duo as the record hit #3 on Billboard's Alternative chart without a label and earned them five times as much money.Patrick Riley happens to be my cousin. And I've talked with him throughout his career with his wife Alaina. I distinctly remember him telling me to always bet on myself. Patrick had this motto long before he was turning down major record label contracts. Patrick and Alaina bet on themselves when, years ago, they bought a boat and learned how to sail. On their first major sailing trip, the two started writing music together. They wrote a full album while sailing and decided to record it upon their return to land. One of the songs from the album ended up catching a lot of attention and their career was under way.Even though they had an early hit, they had to continue to plug away writing music and performing shows, and taking gambles. Year after year they grew and wrote better music and became better performers. Their career is now firmly established and they have hundreds of thousands of fans around the world buying their music. But they've had to bet on themselves every step of the way. And they must continue to do this for as long as they want to make music professionally.You have to take risks as an artist. You have to pay the price of paving your own path. No one will offer to pave your path for you. It costs a lot of effort, time, and money. And there is never a guarantee of a payoff. But if you continue and endure and steadily improve, life has a way of eventually rewarding you.

• Be strategic in your hard-headed perseverance.

While perseverance is an admirable quality, perhaps the most important quality in an artist, there's no sense in persevering in a poorly planned strategy. My first year as a freelancer I traveled South America, trekking and climbing in the Andes while I photographed something every day. I didn't just quite my job and sit around my house hoping for work to come my way. I had to go out and do something that would be interesting to others and force me to grow. After seven months of solo travel, I realized how much my photography skills had improved while shooting every day. There was a stark difference between my photographs from my first month of travel and my last. And my work began catching other people's attention.One of my writer friends (founder of The Write Practice) moved with his family to Paris and had his reader base submit ideas for endeavors, oddball tasks he had to accomplish and then write about it. For example, he spent a full night exploring the infamous catacombs with the top cataphile in Paris. He did this for several months. Not only was it a memorable experience for him and his family, it was a strategic opportunity to do something unique that attracted an audience and forced him to write every day and improve. He now has a book coming out in 2018.

If you want to live and uncommon life, you have to do uncommon things.

Be intentional. And be creative. Your chances of grabbing people's attention go up dramatically if you are doing something out of the ordinary.

•  Be generous with others. Give back. And be kind, dammit!

In the artistic industry, I've found that being someone people want to be around is a professional advantage. Sure, if you are ten times better than anyone else in your field, you can probably get away with being a total jerk. For everyone else, people will work with who they enjoy working with. And your chances of getting work improve dramatically if, when other people see you, they light up and want to be around you and want to introduce you to their friends and colleagues. Be generous and kind to others, especially to those who are not in a position to advance your career. It's better for you as a human. But it's also a good business practice.Those who are currently in positions of influence are constantly bombarded with requests and pitches. The vast majority of the pitches will never even make it into their consciousness. It's usually a waste of time and energy. It is better to spend energy with talented, quality people who are not currently at the top, and grow alongside them. If you have any longevity in your career, you will inevitably rise in the ranks alongside of others who had little or no influence when you started. Those who become hugely influential often start with no influence. If you spent your early years ignoring those people or being an ass to them, it will come back to haunt you.Pay it forward. Help others who are just trying to break in. Remember what it was like at the beginning of your career. Almost anyone who is now a powerhouse can think back on their early days and remember how someone helped them even when there was nothing to gain in the action. No one is 100% self-made. As you grow in your career, it's important to open doors for others who can't pay you back. Character matters in life. Character matters professionally. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_4" _builder_version="3.0.47" parallax="off" parallax_method="on"][et_pb_cta title="THE WAY OF ADVENTURE" button_url="http://erichanson.tv/download" button_text="GET THE FREE E-BOOK NOW!" _builder_version="3.0.97" background_image="https://www.erichanson.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Toroweap1.jpg" header_font="Alice||||||||" custom_button="on" button_font="Alice||||||||"][/et_pb_cta][et_pb_image src="https://www.erichanson.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/peruportrait2.jpg" _builder_version="3.0.97"][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.97"]

I'm Eric Hanson. I'm on a mission to discover the world's best trails and adventure destinations. My goal is to glean wisdom, collect a few funny stories, and of course, to share them with you.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_signup provider="convertkit" success_message="THANK YOU! Please check your email for more good stuff from me." title="SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER" button_text="SUBSCRIBE" background_color="#092f3d" _builder_version="3.0.97" use_focus_border_color="off" header_font="Alice||||||||" header_text_align="center" header_font_size="19px" body_font="||||||||" custom_button="on" button_font="||||||||" button_text_size="15px" button_text_color="#ccbe00" button_border_width="2px" button_letter_spacing="1px"][/et_pb_signup][et_pb_blog posts_number="6" include_categories="136" meta_date="-" show_author="off" show_date="off" show_categories="off" show_pagination="off" offset_number="1" _builder_version="3.0.97" use_overlay="on" header_font="||||||||" body_font="||||||||"][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]