Category: Uncategorized

It’s All in the Name

I google myself randomly, often. I want to be kept up to date with what comes up when people search for me.

Today, I realized something. I have an edge on the blade of search engine optimization. Nobody else has my name. At least, I haven’t seen any other “Lolita Allgyer” pop up on a Google search. Continue reading It’s All in the Name

Note to My Valentine

Yes, it’s Valentine’s day on the 60th day of my daily blogging. That’s ironic, because I have fallen in love with content creation.

Yep, Cupid got me right in the heart. I never guessed that a 12 Days of Christmas writing challenge would have brought us here today.

I admired content creators from afar for years. I wrote personally for as long as I can remember. But I never knew one experience could impact me so much in so short a time. Meeting daily blogging changed my life.

Here’s what writing every single day means to me:

  • It pushes me beyond my limits.
  • It shows me things about myself I never knew before. 
  • It “gets” me. 

To daily blogging, all I can say is, I love you. May we have many happy returns.

Projects: Concrete Learning

I’ve been realizing anew the importance of learning through projects. There’s something about creating a physical representation of a new concept that concretes the information in your brain.

I’m not sure when humanity decided that information in the abstract is the most important part of survival. Slowly we are falling away from the practical application of knowledge; quickly we are approaching the day when no one knows how to apply what they have learned.

Knowledge is obsolete without wisdom to apply it. What better way to put information to use than a hands-on application? Continue reading Projects: Concrete Learning

Worst Work Fail?

While working for a dog breeder, I faced one of the biggest possible fails I could have ever imagined.

Princess was a poodle we had just bought. I had been earning her trust, spending time with her every chance I had.

This was the day I decided to let her run loose for the first time. The country property was around 3 acres. But on the north side of those 3 acres ran the county highway. I knew Princess was headstrong, and I didn’t want to risk her running onto the highway. So up until this day, we had taken walks on a leash.

The poodle did just fine, until I called her to come to me. Then I saw the look: that fiery glance of denial, recognizable in every strong-willed character. Princess turned and ran straight for the highway.

“No, Princess!” I screamed in my mind. But my voice managed to remain calm as I softly called her.

She turned, and like a spoiled, haughty heir to the throne, she pranced onward toward her doom.

I watched the scene happen in my mind, before the catastrophe actually struck. I couldn’t run; Princess was a hundred yards ahead of me and determined that she would not be managed. And she ran out onto the road like an idiot.

That very moment, a small car sped down the road into the dog. Princess was gone in an instant. But I stood there, thunderstruck. I couldn’t get the sights and sounds out of my head: that thud of the car hitting her little body, then watching her roll on the road and lie still.

Not only was I emotionally traumatized because of seeing an animal I loved die; I felt awful because I knew she was a $600 dog. Besides, her worth to my boss was much more, as each of her potential pups would sell for at least $400 apiece. I was in charge of a huge loss for this small business.

So I slowly trudged my 13 year old self out to the road with a shovel.  Not going to lie: I leaned on the shovel and cried. Thankfully a friend of our saw me and stopped to help me take poor Princess off the road.

My boss had watched the whole situation through the window. She understood that I had done everything I possibly could. That made the whole situation easier to bear. The battle was in my own mind.

I had faced the worst thing that could happen in the job that I was holding. But through this experience I gained an incredible mindset.

Even the worst possible scenario can’t take you down. Not unless you allow it to control you. I got up the next morning and loved those dogs with all my heart. I worked as hard as I could to make up for the loss. And greater than everything, I determined never to stop growing. Even if it means running into the biggest work fail ever.

 

But What If It Scares Me?

The book Go for No introduced a beautiful concept to me: Your comfort zone is not a static entity. It is constantly expanding or contracting.

That’s why it makes sense to do something that scares you every day. Push those limits of your comfort zone.

That’s why I’m starting a podcast. Does it scare me to make a commitment that large? Absolutely. Do I know everything about podcasting? Absolutely not. But that’s the fun in the journey, right?

I’m expanding my comfort zone. Here’s the ways starting a podcast will push my limits every day:

  • Audio Editing: What makes content pleasing to the ear? How can I maximize the time I spend editing?
  • Interviewing Skills: What makes a conversation flow? How do I bring out the best in each person I interview?
  • Technology: How much can I learn about the stats, the ins and outs, the background that makes each episode come together?
  • Relationships: How can I create healthy, strong connections by holding fun conversations with people?
  • Goal Setting: Can I make a schedule and stick to it over a long period of time? What is the best way to optimize my performance and make the most progress?
  • Education: What can I learn from each person I connect with?

Sure, it scares me! But that only makes me want to pursue it more. On to the next adventure!

Storytelling: the Art of Conversation

What makes Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People such a long-lasting, unforgettable work?Sure, it’s great writing and the ideas set forth are monumental. But if you narrow it down to a single concept, the success of the book has largely to do with Carnegie’s masterful use of stories. Every point he makes comes tied to an anecdote of someone who tried the idea and succeeded. Or he uses a historical figure we all know and love as an example of a concept working. The ideas draw you in with an unimaginable force: would that force be present in the book if Carnegie had simply laid out the facts without the use of stories? I highly doubt it. Continue reading Storytelling: the Art of Conversation

Why Mayday Became My Day

Mayday is  an annual event in our small town that is anticipated by all. Locals gather at the tiny park, featuring their small businesses at booths spread out all over park grounds. Food trucks bring some of the community’s greatest eats, and local music groups jam at the center of it all. May 2017 was my family’s first summer in the area, and we were excited to join in the fun.

I volunteered to help out with whatever the community organizers needed, which ended up being handing out bags of popcorn.

But when popcorn lulled and I noticed the raffle table had no visitors, I offered to run around the park directly selling tickets.  It was an idea off the top of my head, but was immediately accepted by the people I was working with. I was overjoyed: It’s not my preference to be stuck by a popcorn machine, and I wanted to interact with individuals from my community.

Even I was surprised when, one hour later, I had already sold several hundred tickets. I had met almost everyone at the park. I had made the community organizers happy by promoting their raffle. I had brought smiles to faces of both old and young. And it had been a blast.

And that’s the moment  I first got an inkling that I would enjoy sales. Several months later, I applied to Praxis, and here I am today, filling out the placement survey focusing on a sales role. Funny how one small experience can have such a huge impact.