Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams
by Cheval John
At times I wonder if I would find a full time job.
I know people who have graduated from college find a full-time job within a three to six month period.
With the current recession that began in December of 2007, it is harder to find a job because most positions requires that you have a certain amount of experience.
I worked in fast food restaurants during my time as an undergraduate and quit my last job after I graduated in May 2009.
I spent the summer in Chile because I wanted to experience the culture in a much deeper way.
During that time, I studied at a university and did an internship with a marketing company.
I thought that I was going to get a full time job once I returned because I speak English and Spanish, gained international marketing experience and had two college degrees.
To my surprise, no one was hiring.
It was frustrating because I grew up believing that if you had a college degree, doors would open up for you.
I kept searching for a year and wondered,“Will I ever find a job?”
I didn’t give up and when I least expect it, I got a job in a retail store.
Though it wasn’t what I wanted, I was happy because it was better than unemployment.
Along the way, I developed new skills that have put me in a position for a better job once the economy recovers.
You might think that your time in college wasn’t worth it because of the recession.
In reality, college is still the best option because you will learn new things that you would not have learned in high school and develop new skills within a campus organization that will give you an edge once you graduate.
And even if you did all those things and still can’t find a job, don’t give up because when you least expect it, you will land the job of your dreams.
Traveling Made Easy
Here’s the dream scenario: you decided to study abroad either for the summer, semester or year and you enjoyed yourself in the process.
At first, you were nervous because it was your first time away from family, friends, etc. for an extended period of time.
But during the duration of being overseas, you have adopted to a different way of live, made new friends, developed new skills and most of all, became more mature and after returning from the trip, you want to go back.
However, you face a dilemma on whether to live overseas after you graduate or go for the full time job that will give you the financial security that you have dreamed off since entering college.
You ask yourself, “is it possible to do both at the same time?”
Adam Costa and Darcie Connell believe that you can do just that.
The husband and wife duo have been traveling the world since 2009 and in the process have founded “trekity.com,” a company that provides travel destinations based on what you want and “travel blogger academy,” an online academy that teaches you how to build a successful travel blog and make a living in order to fund your travels.
They have written a book entitled, “Business In A Back Pack: How To Build and Run a Profitable Business While You Travel The World,” which shares their adventures and marketing strategies.
We recently caught up with Adam via email to find out their background, how both companies began and get their advice for those who want to travel the world and make a living at the same time.
To find out more about trekity and the travel blogger academy, visit at: www.trekity.com and www.travelbloggeracademy.com.
Vallano Media: Could you tell me of your background?
Adam Costa: My wife, Darcie and I both have marketing backgrounds. I worked as a copywriter (plus a small stint as a Market Analyst for Google) before we hit the road. We’re currently on a 14 month trip from Central America all the way down to Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America.
V.M. : Were both you and your wife avid travelers?
A.C. : Yes! We’re both travel junkies, and have both spent over 2.5 years abroad in dozens of countries. Travel gets in your blood; after awhile you can’t help but wanna go somewhere new.
V.M. : How did you came up with the idea of “travelbloggeracademy” and trekity.com?
A.C. : Trekity was developed because we felt most travel sites aren’t organized in a logical way. We wanted people to say “I want to go somewhere in North America in June that is great for outdoor activities” and find exactly what they were looking for. And since we’ve both got marketing backgrounds, we created Travel Blogger Academy as a place to talk about the business and marketing side of travel blogging.
V.M. : When did the companies began?
A.C. : The company began over cocktails in Austin, Texas in 2011. We hammered out the details and development and officially launched May 1st – so while both sites have lots of content, they’re still very new.
V.M. : How do you fund your travels?
A.C. : Lots of ways. We make money from other websites we’ve built over the years, plus contract work (copywriting mostly) and consultations.
V.M. : How many places have you been to and for how long?
A.C. : Between the two of us we’ve been to 40+ countries and most of the states (I’m still dying to check out Maine, though). We’ve spent over two and a half years abroad, staying in most countries for 2-3 months at a time.
V. M. : For someone who dreams of traveling the world and making a living from it, what is your advice to them?
A.C. : You’ve got two options: either do something travel related (which won’t pay as well) that you love or just work a traditional job. It pays better and gives you more free time to do other things. Of course, if you love the work, it makes it all worthwhile.
Staying “In The Zone”
by Cheval John
When people hear of Huntsville, Texas, the first thing they think of is “prison city”
because it is the headquarters of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).
But they fail to realize that there is more to the city than what meets the eye.
For example, it is home to Sam Houston State University, a Carnegie Doctoral Research University that have over 17,000.
These same students would believe that there is nothing to do when they first arrive here,
but would later discover that there is more to do
thanks to a magazine called In The Zone (ITZ).
ITZ is a free monthly entertainment magazine that was founded in 2006 by D.J. Schafer and Jason Naavasard.
It has articles about places to go, sporting events, fashion, movies reviews and a lot more.
“We had quarterly magazines for senior lifestyles…” Schafer said. “The only thing that we didn’t touch was the college.”
The founders held focus groups to find out the type of content that would be suited for the magazine.
They even allowed the participants to write down the possible name of magazine.
After looking at the responses, they came up with the name “In The Zone.”
From there, Schafer built the logo overnight and the first issue was launched in May 2006.
“We decided to start the first issue in the summer instead of the
first day of school because it allowed me to work out the kinks to everything,” Schafer said.
Over time, the magazine has gained popularity among the students, but like any business, it has seen it’s ups and downs.
Naavasard left the magazine last year and they
brought in Mallory Collins as their outside sales representative earlier this year.
Since she joined, the magazines have reached new heights and the team
are looking forward to new opportunities that will come their way
in the fall because of new students that will attend the university.
“You have to re-market yourself every year and target the new comers,” Collins said.
For more information about ITZ, visit their website at www.itzmag.com.
Merry Christmas!
To all my readers, I want to say a Merry Christmas to everyone. This year has been amazing and it can only get better. Though they have been times of pain and suffering, everything happens for a reason. What is most important is the fact that every one of you have persevered and things should only get better. And to the families who is celebrating without their love ones, all I can say is that God is with you and that the best thing that you can do is to celebrate that person’s live and that time will heal all wounds. So again to everyone, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
The Luckiest Man In The World
by Cheval John
I can truly say that I am proud that Eardley A. John is my father.
He has been there for us during the good times and the bad.
He has taught me lessons that I am trying to emulate today.
One lesson that sticks to my mind is “Never say that you can’t do it.”
The lesson behind that happened thirty-three years ago.
He was promoted to division manager of a industrial store after the previous manager was sacked for disclosed reasons.
He was there from the very beginning when the store opened in 1977 on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
It was a part of a chain of stores that was based in Puerto Rico.
When he became manager, he just went out with a can do attitude and grow the store from within.
Over the years, the stores was acquired by a global industrial corporation and he has learned new things along the way.
His hard work and dedication to us and his work is an example that I want to emulate
Hopefully, I can do what he did in a different capacity.
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