Some of you may recall my previous post of this title. Unfortunately, the video was taken down almost immediately after I posted that post. Fortunately, I found another copy of it through Tim on Facebook! Check it out!
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You know what’s gross? How much we dispose of unnecessarily every day. According to the Ubyssey, the SUB produces 40 bags of trash every day, just out of the bathrooms. Picture that. Picture your bedroom, full to the ceiling of barely used paper towels. Now imagine that happening every day. I mean, really?
A student project has been created with the intent of reducing the amount of paper towel waste UBC students produce (Ubyssey article here). They’ve set up a booth in the SUB handing out handkerchiefs in exchange for a donation to the Ancient Forest Alliance (you can also pay five dollars for a prettier hanky, which will help make the project more sustainable in the future).
I picked up mine today, and I think it’s time for a behavioural change. Yes, it’s a bit easier just to take the available paper towel and throw it out after and not have to worry about washing your hankie or how to dry it after use. But in a lot of ways, doing things that harm the environment are born out of laziness and convenience. Taking just the little bit of effort here by using that little towel could result in hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds of paper towels not being used. And in turn, less trees would need to be cut down. And more living trees = healthier planet!
A few other ways you can cut out needless disposables out of your life: bring a reusable travel mug for your morning mocha and keep your own chopsticks handy for when you’re craving sushi. In the kitchen, opt for a rag instead of paper towels and tupperware instead of plastic wrap.
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You is a non-fiction book in which he explains “Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love.” I found out about Newport’s book as I am a regular reader of his Study Hacks blog. I was driven to read it by the provocative claim that “Follow your passion” is bad advice.
Newport decided to take a provocative marketing approach by being an antagonist to the passion hypothesis. His book opens with “‘Follow your passion’ is dangerous advice.” Many of his articles, such as in the Harvard Business Review, share the same message. This provocative statement drives his marketing campaign, and is antagonist to much of what many (young) people believe today. I think this is what really drove me to read the book: to see what he had behind his claim.
Early in the book, Newport clarifies the Passion Hypothesis as “The key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job that matches this passion.” Note that this is much more specific than simply “Follow your passion.” I think this is where the marketing campaign is a bit misleading. To say “‘Follow your passion’ is dangerous advice” is, in my opinion, a very different statement than “‘Passion alone can land you a job’ is dangerous advice.” But I feel that this latter message is what this book intends to say.
This book, in a way, states the obvious by pointing out (and elaborating on the fact) that employers hire you for what you can do, not simply what you’re passionate for. I think it is a well known fact that if you cannot sing well, you aren’t going to land a place in an opera no matter how passionate you are about singing. If you cannot act, you’re not going to get the lead in a play no matter how passionate you are about acting. If you don’t know how to program anything beyond HTML, you’re not going to be selected as a software engineer for a major project no matter how passionate you are about software design. But I think (read: assume) this is pretty common sense for most people, non?
In any case, this is the main point pushed by Newport in his book. He expands using other points that I also believed to be pretty common sense. For example, to stand out, you need a valuable skill, sure, but that valuable skill must also be rare. But this is simple supply and demand. It doesn’t matter if you get an A+ in ANAT 391 if most other people also got an A+ in the class. Sure you’re damn good at naming body parts, but so are the thousands of other people who took the class. (Why should you be hired over them?)
All in all, I did like this book by Newport. I liked the way the information was presented, and I like the key points he highlighted. I do not think that this book really brings many new ideas to the table, but I think it is a useful read to some people who have not yet perspective on how employers select employees.
What I didn’t like was the marketing campaign behind the book. I thought it was misleading, and I don’t think I was the only one misled (for instance, I feel that Eunice at 54:29 in the attached audio below may have been misled as well; though, I did not talk to her directly about it). When it comes to things non-career related, “Follow your passion” can still be great advice. Additionally, if you have two equally qualified people apply for a position, but one is passionate about the position whereas the other is not, I think there would be preference to hire the passionate one. Pretty much, I don’t think it’s right to say not to “Follow your passion”… …I think it would be more accurate to say “Follow your passion, but in the case of careers, if you choose to follow your passion, make sure you’re damn good at it.”
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Doing something alone can be scary and sometimes not terribly fun (or so we think), and often times it can discourage us from doing something at all. This past weekend, I had my heart set on going to Victoria but none of my friends wanted to go with me. I hummed and hawed for nearly two weeks prior: to go or not to go, that was the question!
In the end, I decided to go by myself. After all, I’m only here for four years and I’m going to make the most of that time and see the surrounding areas and explore! And man, am I ever glad I went. It was definitely an exciting adventure: I took a ferry and booked a hotel by myself for the very first time. I feel like a grown up. (I’m pretty proud of myself.)
My hands don’t want me to type much more, so here’s a video of my trip from the video blog I do with my friends:
Don’t be scared to do what you want just because no one else is going with you!
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Start With Why is a book by Simon Sinek. After watching his TED talk, I decided to check out his book on the sample topic. That is, in this book, Sinek argues “How great leaders inspire everyone to take action”. Although I agree with the fundamental premise of this book though, I was not impressed with the presented argument.
In his book, Sinek provides a plethora of examples of people and companies who succeed, or not, and then provides an explanation that he ties to as their WHY (their purpose). My issue with the book is that every example is tied to Sinek’s perspective of the example, with what I found to be lacking concrete evidence supporting his claims.
For instance, possibly his most famous example is Apple computers. He claims that Apple markets their products from their why. That is, that in everything Apple does, they challenge the status quo. But I remain unconvinced that this is actually Apple’s WHY as opposed to something that Sinek sees in Apple (regardless of whether or not Apple recognizes the same thing or not). I may just be biased in this case especially since at the University of British Columbia, owning an Apple computer is not challenging the status quo: it is the status quo. Regardless, I had the same concern with most of the other examples.
All in all, I was unconvinced and unmoved by Sinek’s arguments in this book. Although I do agree with his claim on the importance of starting with WHY, I do not see this book as an effective argument supporting the claim. Perhaps a worthwhile read for people simply looking for an introduction to the idea, but not so worthwhile for those seeking a more critical or convincing argument in defence of WHY.
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This is my current study jam for my EOSC 114: Natural Disasters midterm. It’s my very last midterm (holla!), and I have been submerging myself (get it?) in tsunamis and storms over the past couple of days on a mission to get a good mark.
The biggest lesson this course has taught me (aside from the fact that Vancouver is a very, very treacherous place to live) is that at UBC there is no such thing as a “bird course”- -you know, those courses that will send your GPA as high as a pyroclastic cloud from a Plinian volcanic eruption (see, I’m totally learning things in this class!).
After hearing multiple stories of my friends acing EOSC 114 with minimal effort, I went into this course looking for an easy A. I did super well on the first midterm, gained false confidence, and decided to start slacking off. I fell behind on readings, missed a couple of lectures, and put it at the very bottom of my priority list. By the time the second midterm rolled around, I found myself cramming frantically the night before. Needless to say, it didn’t end very well: my mark was about 30% lower than my first one. So much for my GPA booster.
The moral of the story is that you should be careful about expectations going into classes. UBC is a challenging university, and every class is going to require a considerable amount of effort. Some courses are going to require a more considerable effort than others, but this is going to depend on the person, not on the class itself. So if you’re struggling in a “easy” course, don’t let it get you down (you’re in good company, after all!). On the flip side, if you’re working your butt off and rocking a notoriously difficult course, kudos to you. Keep doing what you’re doing.
I feel like I’m in the 1800s, writing a letter with quill by candlelight. That’s how little light I am using to read my EOSC 114 textbook right now.
Why am I putting myself and my poor, squinting eyes through this?
The answer: Do It In The Dark.
No, this isn’t the punchline to a dirty joke (although if you can turn it into one, more power to you). Every year, all the houses in Totem Park and Place Vanier participate in a residence-wide energy-saving competition. We compete against other residence areas in UBC as well as over 39 other universities and colleges to reduce your electricity and water consumption as much as possible. In return, you get cool stuff and the bragging rights of being the most sustainable residence building.
Kwak has been slacking a little on the DIITD front so far, but today I badgered everyone to take the stairs, turn off the lights in the bathrooms, and air dry their laundry (I followed my own advice – every surface in my room is currently covered in drying clothes). I also put up these super cool 5-minute mini hourglass timers to help people reduce their shower times. One Salish RA has gotten his shower down to 30 seconds, so try and beat his record y’all.
Why go to all this trouble? In case you haven’t heard, UBC is huge on sustainability. Not only did it coin the phrase “ecological footprint” and build the greenest building in North America–UBC offers 30 degree programs related to sustainability and tons of classes with a sustainable focus. Plus, frequent events like DIITD are especially great because they help students to become more conscious of their energy usage and think about the global impact their actions can have. Which is pretty cool, if you ask me (and you obviously do, since you’re reading my blog right now).
Want to learn more about sustainability initiatives at UBC? Check out the Sustainability website. Also, if you’re a current student interested in sustainability issues, you should think about getting involved with Common Energy or the Sustainability Ambassadors Peer Program. And if not, at the very least turn off the light when you’re done in the bathroom (I’m looking at you, Kwak 6th ladies!).
A lot of people think that the world is going to be ending next month. It’s a big thought for many people, and the anxiety grows as we get closer and closer to December.
But I’m not talking about December 21, 2012. I’m talking about final exams.
Instead of worrying about your final exams, why not prepare for them so you’re ready when they arrive? Take advantage of some of the free resources available to you on campus! (Such as free pizza to keep your mind working when you really want to sleep instead!)
Check out these Deal With December Now workshops and a workshop on Exam-Writing Strategies to gain some valuable skills to help you conquer your finals! Whether it’s your first time taking final exams at UBC, or the tenth season taking final exams, these workshops will help you polish up on your skills to prepare for final exams! And rumour on the street has it that there will be free pizza at these workshops 
Be sure to register soon, as seats are limited!
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