Tiny Buddha

Tag: risk

  • No Price Tag for Happiness

    No Price Tag for Happiness

    Happiness

    “Give yourself permission to immediately walk away from anything that gives you bad vibes.  There is no need to explain or make sense of it.  Just trust what you feel.” ~Unknown

    Last year I graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Business Writing.

    During my college career I created public relations material for both my Business Writing minor and the public relations firm where I interned. As I thoroughly enjoyed my minor and the internship, I decided to apply to more PR positions.

    About a month into the job search, I was hired to work at a reputable public relations firm. Excited to start the next chapter of my life, I thought I had it all—a new apartment in San Francisco, great roommates, new friends, and a stable job.

    Wow! This was the real deal. However, the excitement of my first “real” job quickly wore off. Although I may have enjoyed my experiences in college, I failed to ask myself an important question: Was I really passionate about agency PR?

    As much as I loved San Francisco and the new friends I was making, I discovered that PR didn’t give me a sense of fulfillment. I got no thrill from bouncing around client accounts doing tasks like monitoring media coverage, drafting pitches, researching speaking opportunities, and reading about client competition.

    I couldn’t spend my days working in an office doing something that didn’t make me tick. I quickly realized that in order to be happy I needed to make a change. (more…)

  • Living Life at Full Throttle

    Living Life at Full Throttle

    Arms in the Air

    “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” ~H. Jackson Browne

    When I was fifteen, I “died” for about a minute or so and then came back to life. A very severe case of bronchitis that lasted for over a week caused my brush with death. What complicated the situation was my allergic reaction to one type of medicine.

    I had what’s known as a near death experience, and it was typical of all other near death experiences.

    There was bright light, lots of love, and a huge reluctance to come back. I tried to negotiate with the dude in charge about letting me stay, but he told me I was still needed and that my time was not up.

    He told me a few more things about my life, things that were too private to share. Interestingly enough, they all came true.

    The last thing I remember before coming back was that I saw my body in bed, and I remember thinking that I looked so peaceful. It was kind of weird to see myself from the ceiling of my bedroom and to watch what was happening as if it were happening to someone else. I then opened my eyes, and life as I knew it was never the same.

    Prior to this experience, I didn’t have much awareness of death. I knew that it existed but it didn’t seem like it would happen to me any time soon. It was like a distant relative that I knew I would meet in the future, which was many years away.

    My childhood was bad for a variety of reasons. When I was born, I had a defect that made my head look like it was on crooked. Kids made fun of me daily.

    When I was nine, the defect was corrected but the scars of the pain remained. To complicate matters even more, I was the first ethnic kid in a neighborhood where racism was rampant.

    As a result, I didn’t like going to school. I went through most of my days complaining or lamenting about how miserable things were. When I first got the case of bronchitis that practically killed me, I was happy because it meant that I could stay home from school. (more…)