Home » Entrepreneurship, Travel, Young Professionals

Keeping Up With The Joneses

25 June 2010 5 Comments

You can’t throw a virtual stone online without finding a Young Professional blog about location independence or quitting your job tomorrow or traveling the world or “following your passion.”

I’d like to go on record saying there is NOTHING wrong with having these dreams and aspirations (ok…maybe the passion one…cause seriously passion is possibly the most over-rated word on young professional blogs…how about execution and conviction and action folks?!)  There is, however, something SERIOUSLY wrong with constantly measuring yourself against the yardstick that is all the cool stuff other people are doing.  Cause no matter how cool you might be, when you begin comparing yourself to the status quo of a group of people, you’ll realize that you are horribly deficient.

Which is part of the reason I was immediately intrigued by the social network that Colin Wright, Andi Norris and Ashley Ambirge contacted me about this spring.  Way Below Status Quo seems to me to be the solution that all ridiculously ambitious but far too busy young entrepreneurs and professionals have been looking for in local networking events that end up being a big booze cruise on the harbor (don’t get me wrong, though…who isn’t in favor of a booze cruise on the harbor.)

Photo Credit – Way Below Status Quo

So why would I join YET ANOTHER network of young professionals wherein most of the other ones are just glorified popularity contests of who knows who and what the popular status quo buzz-topics are?

  • The phrase that first pulled me in on this is that they were looking for individuals with “unabashed, spunky ambition.”  Seriously, who doesn’t want to be on board with a group that’s member s have THIS personality trait?!
  • The network focuses on connections not only on the site but offline through after-hours meetings, brainstorming sessions, support and (in my mind) a bit of ass kicking (in the non-creepy E-Harmony way…)
  • They believe that the world’s most powerful business “weapon” lies within the people (not some social media “How To” list or silver bullet marketing scheme or entrepreneurship “formula.”)
  • It encourages people to not just hang out and drink frosty beverages with folks they already know for two hours – it’s about challenging yourself and meeting new folks and (again) that ass kicking thing – folks who will either Go Big or Go Home.
  • Their backing/mission statement is: “Everyone might not know one another yet, but they will soon, because they’re all seeking one common thing: A meaningful existence that’s backed by their values, their ideas & their hard work. Because they matter. And in some shape or form, they want their work to matter, too.”

I’m pretty excited to see how many people there are like this in Greater Portland.  To form our own little brilliant group of young professionals lurking so far below the status quo that they’ll never see us coming.  A posse of people who are desperate to ACT on their CONVICTION and EXECUTE their plans for a future…not just wax poetic on their passions and what ifs.  Folks who are willing to put in the long hours and hard work and spunky ambition that a necessary to make a difference in their lives.

And yes…we’ll all train to be ninjas.  That’s just a given.

Are you an unconventional thinker who is looking for an unconventional organization to grow and learn and develop and flourish and and AND in?

Then I hope I’ll see you at the Kick Off Event to Way Below Status Quo on Monday, July 5th at 5:30 PM on the Rooftop Deck of Brian Boru’s (weather permitting, of course…)

Remember, it’s one thing to think this is kinda cool and maybe kinda try to make time.

It’s another to be part of the revolution.

To Register – To Tweet – To Facebook – To Email

To spread the word so we get an AWESOME core of people starting this movement in Greater Portland.

Will you be part of the revolution?

Did you know I have a private newsletter that goes out ONLY to subscribers? It offers stories of travel adventures, writing brilliance, links to great content around the internet and other crazy shaningans.


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  • Kristina

    Thank you for saying it. I became annoyed with some social networking sites and stopped paying attention to them because I didn’t feel like it was offering me any value. it was just trying to gather friends/followers/whatever. Even blogging lost its appeal for me when i started hearing about how there needs to be a certain number of posts per week and on these days and put it on a schedule and yadda yadda. I’m sorry…creativity and the inspiration to write shows up when it feels like it. I can’t force inspiration. Maybe i’ll see if this site has a DC option. I’ve been unable to connect with people in DC and that makes me sad.

    And I totally want to train to be a ninja. Sign me up. :) Great post, Elisa.
    Kristina´s last [type] ..Good Morning, Good Morning

    • http://www.opheliaswebb.com Elisa

      I’ve discovered that it’s kind of social networks, period. If there isn’t a stong force at the top pushing people to be their best and challenging them to not settle and motivating them to work towards their dreams then it just becomes Period 7 homeroom and, let’s face it, most of us all too easily fall into the trap of the school bell.

      I agree on the blogging, everyone seems to have a “magic silver bullet” to get the most readers and followers and whatnot to your site. How about do something well, do it consistently, build relationships and connections and kick a lot of ass in everything that you do? Seems to be an excellent formula to me.

      And yes, I’m *sure* they have a branch in DC, you should DEFINITELY check it out!

  • http://econapps.com Cameron Plommer

    Elisa,

    As the organizer of the Seattle WBSQ event I’m pretty pumped up about the roadtrip. And I hope to keep the group going here in Seattle after the event and have monthly meet ups.

    I think this is a great opportunity for people that are ambitious but might not have the experience or knowledge to back up all that ambition (that’s me). And that’s where meeting with people with different skill sets and experiences can really help out.

    I’ve also written about the dangers of comparing yourself to other people as well. It’s really easy to get caught up by what other people are accomplishing and not do anything great your self.
    Cameron Plommer´s last [type] ..New Post on Untemplater

    • http://www.opheliaswebb.com Elisa

      Cam – Hey! It’s great to see you here! That’s awesome that you are organizing WBSQ Seattle, I’m of the same opinion with organizing then trying to keep the group going.

      You are right, it’s so important to meet people with all these different skill sets and ideas and form real and ambitious connections that will help you grow and bring your stuff to the next level. I love the networking events I currently attend, but in reality they are opportunities to catch up with people I already know and make shallow plans for the future that rarely come to fruition. I’m excited for WBSQ, I hope it’s something totally different!

      And yes, exactly…when you get so caught up in what everyone else is doing you kind of lose track of what you set out to accomplish in the first place!

  • http://doniree.com Doniree

    Hey! They’re coming to Boulder too! :) I’m looking forward to welcoming them out here – have fun!
    Doniree´s last [type] ..TILT – Things I Love Thursday