SMART life


Into the Wild


A fantastical account of real events from a journey into nature that took an unexpected turn


By Niki Trosky Z


ahira was perched on the dock, watching the sun set over a choppy lake. Her feet were resting on a stepping stool and she had a


fire lit in front of her. She was on day one of her four-day isolation. She had declared a personal time out from being


a mom, a wife, a teacher and a daughter. She spent the day napping and lounging, nap-


ping and lounging. In her eyes and in her heart it had been time well spent. She had nothing on her agenda and it was creating an expansive space of relaxation in her body. She felt grateful for such a beautiful view. While in a deep state of nothingness, Zahira


heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. She turned to see a beautiful female deer coming out of the woods. The deer was so close to Zahira that it almost brushed her arm as it walked past her. Zahira’s heart skipped a beat as she watched this eloquent creature move swiftly down the rocky ledge and into the lake. “Wow,” Zahira whispered. She was feeling quite


stunned by this magical encounter. She had seen many deer in her life, but none had come so close to touching her. Te deer had not even glanced at Zahira or her


bonfire. It seemed pointedly focused. It didn’t even take time to stop and drink the shallow water; it moved swiftly along the rocky beach until it was swimming. “Wow,” Zahira repeated again. She felt quite


lucky to be witnessing such a beautiful and rare moment. Her state of awe however quickly turned into a state of bewilderment. Te deer showed no signs of slowing down or turning back. “Wha?” Zahira gasped out loud to no one. Tere was no destination imaginable for the


deer. Tere was no sign of land on the horizon. There was nothing that could explain its ac- tions. Te deer travelled so far that it eventually drowned. It did not even put up a fight. It simply sunk as a white bird circled over its head. Zahira was watching from the shore line with


absolute bewilderment in her heart. She felt help- less. Tere was nothing she could do to help it. She wasn’t even sure it wanted help. It appeared the deer had been on a sacrificial mission. “What the f***?!” she said out loud more than


once. “Holy s***.” She had no one to witness this with her. She


had no one to talk to about it. She paused to feel the immediate environment. Was there a sign of something disturbing in the air? Would the for- est feel rattled? Would the air feel sad? Would the creatures of the night be equally confused? All she could sense was a great sense of calm and


peace. Tere were no traces of this deer in the air. Its life had completely vanished with the waves. Te forest was still singing in the twilight. Te air was starting to sparkle with the first few stars to make an appearance. Everything was in equilibrium. It helped Zahira


find her own sense of peace. She spent the rest of the weekend honouring


herself. She sunk into a graceful and child-like state of being. She found her own rhythm and flow. Her intuition was activated into a powerful state of abundance. She felt like she had won the lottery. When she came home, she immediately re-


searched the deer as a totem animal. Tere were three common words that spread through every reading. Grace, intuition, and abundance. She felt a gentle shock wave move through her


heart. Tese qualities had been gifted to Zahira. Perhaps they were gifts from her deer friend. Per- haps the death in one graceful creature gave birth to abundance in another. Zahira’s heart takes comfort in knowing that


this deer had no fear in its own death. Its transi- tion into the non-physical was clear and powerful. She gives thanks that she was able to bear wit-


ness to such a rare and beautiful passing. She is touched that the deer came so close to touching her. She was on its direct path and now its death has forever touched her own life.


16 SMART TAB


Get online to share the good (and learn the bad) about your company image


F


or the last few months I’ve talked about the tactics that a job seeker will use in finding a job through online means.


Tis time, I’m going to flip the coin and address the


other side – the employer. Tere’s a steep reality for HR reps for companies;


whether you’re using a recruiter or simply doing hires on your own, a potential candidate is going to do as much as they can to learn about your company, and if you think they’re going to stop at your website and be satisfied, think again. Te reality is that with today’s


Socially Smart Jon Waldman


web, there are so many avenues for potential employees to learn about your company. Your corpo- rate website will start to tell the tale – it will show the amazing projects you’ve done, commu- nicate out your message of the wonderful working environment you have and how your customers are thankful for your work – but there’s also the step beyond that has to be accounted for. Some of these outlets that must be considered are:


Ratings websites – Gen Yers in particular will recall


websites like ratemyteacher.com and how we would talk anonymously about everyone from the high school principal to our sociology professors. Te same type of site exists for most industries, especially those that are B2C (Business to Consumer). These range from familiar sites like those for tourism (tripadvisor.ca) to those for renovation and construction (ratetrades.ca). Te best tactic in watching these sites is to register your company so you receive alerts when a review comes in and address concerns accordingly. Social media – First and foremost: do you have a Face-


book page? Are you paying attention to it? If you’re not, you should start. Reviews and comments can be coming not only from customers (satisfied or dissatisfied), but also from employees (current or past). Te next step is addressing concerns that come up.


Simply pulling the wool over an issue doesn’t do the job – if a complaint is registered via social media, don’t simply delete it, lest the offended party take to other streams, ones that you may not be privy to. Google Alerts – Setting up alerts for your company


name (and a couple of your execs) is an easy way to learn about what’s being said about you in the news and in fresh website content. Tis can include blogs, where an ex-employee may


rattle off about the good or bad your company does. Sure, the posts may not be the most well thought-out for the individual’s own job future, but their raw frustration will surface – and with the potential to go viral, as we’ve seen with some complaints, they can do harm to your company’s hiring image. Of course, these tactics will only take you so far. Te


key to projecting the image of being the type of com- pany that people actively want to work for is to foster that sense of community within your workspace. Tis can come in several forms, ranging from community activities you engage in together or simple office favours like recognizing birthdays or celebrating company achievements. Remember that salary and benefits alone do not


make for an attractive workspace. Tink about what makes your company unique and what brings you and your employees together, and sell that hard for the next job that you’re advertising for. Te right candidate will come through the door if they know the good about your company. Jon Waldman is a marketing strategist with Cohesive


Marketing. To learn more about the services the company offers, call 204-992-6400 or visit www.cohesive.ca.


Facing off with the blank page Tips to get you through the grind of essay writing


By Gabrielle Glancy


must not be spoken), I would have been interpreting CT scans and performing brain surgery. Tat was the life I was headed for: I


I


was a pre-med English/Biology double major, devouring romantic poetry and going through the motions of a course in neuroscience – all because of that which shall not be named! Face-to-face, day after day with the


blank page, I was at my wit’s end. Then, one day, I discovered what I


want to teach you. What I discovered, crumpled paper


after crumpled paper, is that the best way to deal with the chaos of the writing process is to embrace it. In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, “You must have chaos within to give birth to a dancing star.” Chaos within is a given. Te mind works in mysterious – and


non-linear – ways, which is why starting to write an essay with the introduction, even if the introduction actually comes first in the essay, is a recipe for that which shall not be named. If you don’t start with an introduction,


“where do you start?” you might ask. My answer: in the middle. Anywhere.


Anywhere but the introduction, unless you already have a very clear sense of where you want to go and how you plan to get there – which is rarely the case, especially when a topic is complex. In fact, I would advise you to write


your introduction last. I would also advise you not to worry about the order of ideas until you get all your ideas out in the worry-free zone of Te Free Write. After you do that, you can climb into


your hammock, sip on your mint julep and map out your route (most people call this step making an outline). I never, or almost never, make an outline first, as I


www.smartcareers.ca


f, unlike Harry Potter, I had not found the power to vanquish the Dark Lord of Writer’s Bl**k (whose name


never, or almost never, write an intro- duction first. Tis is because, as Flannery O’Connor


is reputed to have said, “I don’t know what I think until I see what I say.” Here are the steps I would take when


writing an essay – a personal, college essay; an analytical essay; or any kind of essay: Clarify the question. In the case of the


college essay, I would identify a signifi- cant moment in your life in which you went into an experience one person, and came out slightly, or more than slightly, changed. In an analytical essay, I would put the prompt in my own words so that I am sure I understand what is being asked. Jot down first ideas. This is a very


important, often overlooked step. As soon as you know what question is be- ing asked, you will automatically start thinking of answers. Write these down. Tey may be, and often are, the seeds of some very important ideas. Ticken the plot. By this I mean, go


back to the text(s) from which you are working. Refresh your memory. Collect pithy quotes. In an analytical essay, you can either


write a one-sentence working thesis – what you think you may be trying to prove in your essay, or, you can move to the single most important step in the process… The Free Write. In this step, you


write everything that comes to mind on your subject in a focused stream-of- consciousness. Exhaust your topic. Pull all the rabbits out of the hat. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or order of ideas. Just write, write, write. But write in full sentences. Find your thesis. Once you have a Free


Write, you have something to work with. Go back to your Free Write and see if you can figure out what it is you are really trying to say. It is often at this point that I come up with a thesis. Make an outline. Write a rough outline


based on where you want to go with what you want to say. It can be very rough:


Start here, go there, then talk about thus and such. Drop and Lift pieces of your Free Write


into the “slots” you have mapped out in your outline. Fill in the holes. You will most likely


need to stich these pieces together, create transitions, and provide con- nections. Read, re-read, read again and revise.


You may have to sweep through your essay many times to make sure you get it right. Read it aloud. If you’re bored, your reader will surely be asleep. Edit out or strengthen passages that are weak. Phone a friend. Once you’re confident


your essay is as strong as it can be, it’s a good idea to get another pair of eyes to take a look at it. At the very least, proof- read it yourself. And then, proofread it again. In a college, or personal essay, you are


trying to tell a story that illustrates and embodies who you are. Tat’s a little dif- ferent from what I have outlined above. Nonetheless, you still have to get it all out in Te Free Write and then go back to see what you’ve said. You might want to take a look at Te Art of the College Essay for a more detailed explanation of what you do in the case of the college essay. But, as I said, the same basic principles apply. No matter what you have to write,


however, by writing first and organizing later, you will outsmart the demon of that which shall not be named. Te journey of writing your essay will be a much happier and more productive one, all the way around. Independent college counsellor and


former admissions director, Gabrielle Glancy, is a college process guru who has taken thousands of students success- fully and relatively painlessly through the process of applying and getting into the college of their dreams. Glancy is founder and director of New Vision Learning, series editor of Best College Essays, an avid college process blogger and author of the new book, Te Art of the College Essay. For more information, visit newvisionlearning.org.


August 2014


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20