This week our Library Director brought Casey Neistat of NYC to Kansas City to talk to some of our staff and friends. It was great. Casey was great. His talk was great. Here is what I learned:
1. Not much happens if you do not take risks.
2. Know what your “bottom” is in terms of what you are willing to lose (or gain) by taking risks. e.g. if losing your job isn’t the END of the world to you, then some calculated risks might be worth it. Those risks are even easier to take if the guy (or woman) above you says to take those risks and that they have your back.
3. Somebody always has it worse than you do, in fact, you probably have it pretty darn good compared to many people. (I kind of live by this one and pretty much always have)
4. (Wait for it, this is the best one, the most important one…) SAY NO. Use your inner compass to say no when you should. All that running around only kills you and people really don’t respect you any more for it.
5. Being nice matters. Ok, I didn’t exactly learn that from Casey but I saw it in practice. Casey had posted his location at Fiorella’s Jack Stack in Kansas City and some filmmaker cats from back east just happened to be in the area for a BBQ fix (as they were shooting nearby) and they got to stop by our table and hang out with us for a bit. Nice guys, Todd Sklar and Alex Rennie. Funny too. You should check them out, if only because they are impressive. Not only for their humor and film making but for their ability to consume 13 different kinds of KC BBQ in one day.
It’s a reminder that networking only works if you are nice.
It was really nice to meet Casey. He was inspiring as well as a gracious guest.
So I hope to be able to take some risks, do some things differently, and of course, learn how to say no. Word.
Word indeed.
Connie Sonnenburg