P2Become, a Few of Those Notes I Promised

   I'm finished with those sandwiches, and their accompanying chips and cookies! Not finished with all that water, though... and there's still plenty of condiment package left over. That vegetarian option, the wrap, was really good, very crunchy...

   What the apartment will not run out of any time soon, however, is bread. We've been eating a lot of it for the past couple of days, and... I'm not sure if we've made a dent yet:

Those fruits are life-size, by the way. Not midget fruits or anything like that.

   Protip: Jimmy John's sells breads in bulk for cheaps... if they happen to have forgotten to freeze the latest batch to keep it fresh like they should have done. Or, pardon, they did freeze the bread so that it was no longer fresh...

   Anyway. I promised you P2B notes last Friday, and so should, like, give you those! The opening sessions don't yield much in things to share-- just people delivering inspiring talks about their own paths to greatness, that kind of thing, but, the breakout sessions of day 2 yielded some things worth sharing...


SPENCER TAGGART: TELL YOUR STORY

1. "Everything communicates." Everything. Even those, transliterating the example from his anecdote into relevant terms, those fruits by the breads. First impressions communicate- if you go into a job interview, assume that they're Googling you. You must exist, for one, but also for two you must not have any, again transliterating from that same anecdote, bruises on your fruits. What you do conveys different things to different people, so know your audience as well.
2. Learn how to tell your story the right way. A story breaks down into four steps, 1 "once upon a time," 2 "suddenly!..." 3 "luckily..." 4 "...happily ever after." Remember this structure as you tell your story, and don't shy away from the "suddenly!" moment in it; this moment of tragedy deepens your story and your willingness to share it connects you with your audience; you trust someone who's willing to be vulnerable. The "luckily" can either be a hero or a victim card; don't play the victim-- be sincere with your story.
3. Ask the right question. Albert Einstein was asked, if he had only one hour to solve a problem, how he would spend that hour. He replied that he would spend the first 55 minutes figuring out precisely what the question is, and once the right question is asked, it would only take 5 minutes to answer it. FOCUS your story. If you're vague, then I don't know how to help you. It's about VISION. Dial it in, or else you won't know when to say no to opportunities presented to you. The hardest part isn't when to say "yes," but when to say "no."

ROBERT SULLIVAN: NETWORK EFFECTIVELY

   Be genuine. "Networking" in its classical connotations is, well, bad. It's a lie. The basic leadership practice today is to throw others under the bus over yourself. That's the given; that's the law. And it fails over and over again. Gains gained are in the short-term strictly, in the worldly conception of networking. Mormons network every day: all those callings in church are networking, the right kind-- if you were born into the Church, you're a networking pro! (Network=circle of people you serve, and whom you can call upon for service.) Expand the people you serve. As you serve the people in the network that you do have, others will see you serve, and be drawn in.

1. Show genuine interest in others. It'll surprise 'em and make an impression! Constant access to technology and media can disconnect us from those physically around us. "Centering" means to focus on the task at hand. Barriers break down when we get to know people, and networking becomes what "networking" has been looking for.
2. Three LinkedIn protips. 1- start with a great profile pic. 2- Your top banner is populated from your entire profile; complete the whole thing. 3- There's a BYU-I program of Super Connectors, people with at least 500 (but frequently many more) connections. Complete the prerequisites, and get those people to add you.
3. Be active. Update your profile often. It's freaking impressive. Let people know what's going on. Ask for updates from other people in your network. Do more than the minimum-- it will be noticed.

   If you do all these things, maybe you, too, will have been childhood friends with Jake Black this whole time, and get to meet Orson Scott Card.

"TALENT CATALYSTS": DISCOVER YOUR PASSION

   I don't know. I didn't go to this one. From what Mala and Caroline talked about during the opening session, though, I've got a couple of things maybe?

1. Passion=calling. Not like a church calling, though. Like, a, calling. For life.
2. Job-- what you do. Career-- what you build. Calling-- what you live.

   And that's about it.