Category Archives: Inspiration

Turning Sparkly Objects into Action

19th August 2011

Today, a coworker of mine encouraged us to take advantage of the sunshine and enjoy lunch outside for a change. Sometimes it’s the smallest actions that can change your day. As hard as stepping away from the chaos for 30 minutes can be sometimes, it’s 200% necessary.

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending Chick-fil-A’s annual Leadercast event, combining some of the industry’s brightest speakers, most passionate companies and enough momentum to make you want to go outside and save the world.

Chick-fil-A Leadercast Highlight Reel 2011 from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.

Leadership and momentum sound easy when you’re listening to someone yell about how you can change your life today, but putting the sparkly objects into practice, now that isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It’s the ability to push yourself to do more, break out of the mold, and treat work like something you love.

During my last year at Engauge, I have learned that if I don’t make time for the “fun” stuff or the “non” work stuff, my productivity and the work I produce suffer. Innovation certainly can’t live on an island, so working somewhere where I am surrounded by people who push me to do more, to be uncomfortable and ask why is truly the most rewarding action of all.

Setting a date

12th August 2011

Today I came across the following entry in my weekly planner (yes, at that point I somehow managed to find the time to write in a planner). My second, and what would be final, interview at Engauge a year ago tomorrow.

A year ago, I was working for an amazing brand, with an incredibly talented team, working on really cool projects and starting to discover exactly where my passions lie in the digital space.

I have always told myself I would know when I was ready to move on from a job, even an amazing one. Around this time last year, I started to test the waters for agencies around the Atlanta area, making lists, checking them twice and meeting with contacts. I knew I wanted to work somewhere where the people around me would drive my passions professionally through work and personally through culture.

You hear the stories about agency life: the endless hours, crazy clients, cut throat mentality. My cozy corporate fit sure seemed much safer, but safe wasn’t quite for me anymore. I wanted to work somewhere that would push me to learn more, to step up and speak my mind and have a great time while doing it. I found that at Engauge the first time I walked through the door. (It might have helped that half of my first interview consisted of college cheerleading memories with Carla and Dave).

And guess what, agency life is not really what it’s made out to be. Sure, I’ll never work a perfect 40 hour work week. I juggle multiple clients, projects, teams and meetings. I forget to each lunch sometimes. But I love it.

In the past year, I have learned more than I could have ever imagined, been given opportunities to grow that no 22-year-old should ever feasibly be trusted in tackling and made friends with people that feel like family. Not to mention, I get to have a little a lot of fun while doing it.

Looking back, I know I 150% took the right risk and I can’t wait to see where the next 12 months take me. I’ll probably fill in the gaps in more nostalgia posts over the next few weeks (if you know me, you know I love a good story, so if that’s not quite your thing, my apologies in advance) but until then, thanks Engauge for setting a date with me, taking a chance and teaching me that the ‘grown up’ world isn’t so bad after all.

Why I’m watching Sesame Street at age 22

22nd October 2010

When I was little you couldn’t tear me away from Sesame Street for hours everyday  and now it looks like I may be doing it again – but online.  Why you might ask would anyone over the age of 5 be watching Sesame Street? The gang has been hard at work these days – Tweeting, Facebooking and even singing along with Will.i.am on YouTube.

Lately the team has spoofed everything from the Old Spice guy to Mad Men and True Blood. Sure it makes adults laugh, but at the same time Sesame Street is staying true to their roots by infusing their content with educational moments for kids.

For instance, in the Mad Men reenactment below, the guys show off some ideas from the “Happy Honey Bear” account in search of a picture that show happiness instead of other emotions and in the end they all end up as Happy Men.

Amy Poehler, Rev Run, Jack Black and Jonah Hill have all stopped by to visit, each with their own take on education.

Be sure to check out the show on Facebook. Not only does the show have a page, but each of the characters as well. Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar The Grouch all have pages and you’ll event find the characters tweeting with  Twitter accounts.

As kids become more heavily involved in social media channels, it’s important to kind safe and relevant content to them, but it’s even better when it’s something you’ll enjoy watching as well!