Don’t miss opportunities…
The last few weeks have been a lot of me lending a hand to friends both old and new. I like to think that I am living proof that doing work for free in fact does get you somewhere since the work I did for free landed me my current salary job.
Whether it builds up your portfolio, helps you meet and create new relationships with like minded people, or teaches you so much more than a book, a classroom, or a blog post.
It doesn’t mean you should stop reading this though. (Way to go Jacob, now they won’t probably read the rest of this and go and do something cool.)
Anyways, my point is, help your friends out with things that you believe in. Sometimes all you have to do is ask them if they want any help, and most of the time they will say YES!
Do it because you care…
Don’t ask for money. Help them because you really want to see them succeed. The greatest part about helping friends is that everyone feels great when it’s all said and done, you learn more than you originally thought, and you can then share those experiences with others in the future.
Personally, the projects I had helped with in the past were the most inspiring and taught me way more than any client job.
Of course we learn from doing client work by handling payments, beating timelines, learning professional communication, etc, but there is something really great about having your heart involved in a project that truly takes you to the next level in your work.
It holds great reward…
I can’t say that I regret doing any of the projects I have ever done for free – each one was a success in its own way.
Whether it was success for me or for the person/team that I had helped, there was a celebration of completing something and sharing it with others. We can easily get caught up in a selfish path and that is just no good.
Traveling through life looking out for yourself is not a safe route to take. Life is about relationships, interactions, communication, and celebration. Why else are we here? To just not interact with each other? I think not.
If you feel like you have plateaued in your work or feel like you need a change of pace, don’t be afraid to ask others if they need help with something they are passionate about or even ask someone to help you get out of a rut too.
What projects did you lend a hand for that have been most rewarding to you?
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