'Nam Baby

I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I'm on a plane again. This time it's Vietnam and I'm grateful as always for the opportunity to travel. I have a lot of friends in Singapore that find it pretty easy to jump on the "it's boring" bandwagon (myself included).

It's times like these when I realise I'm an ungrateful idiot.

I'm travelling with a mate from work and the trip was booked at short notice for a very modest price. It's a public holiday in Singapore on Monday so it's a semi-extended trip, but that doesn't mean the travel has to. This week I'm off to Sydney to work I'm quite excited about returning there as my last two jaunts to Australia have been to Melbourne. It will be good to return to the spot where I forged my career, not to mention seeing all my wonderful friends.

I managed to update my vlog again, I'm up to my eigth entry, appropriately titled: "Marshwah travelling". Check it out if you like at: http://www.youtube.com/marshwah

I'd embed it within my blog, but I'm on a plane and find such coding difficult given the lack of Internet.

It's been quite a fun project and I've enjoyed having a laugh with it. It does shit-all traffic, even this blog bests it, which has been a bit of a blow to the ego given my threads on Inthemix used to inspire dozens of comments. But it's a new platform and I'll persevere - it's good to have projects on the go.

I've started another project as well that's a bit closer to home, but I'm keeping quiet about it for now, I think I'm going to give it a few weeks before I start advertising what it's about.

Gosh I love the Internet and what it lets you get up to.

Well it looks like we're landing earlier than I anticipated as there was a bit more I want to say, we'll see how we go on the brief trip back to Singapore.

The Inevitable Musings on the Way to Bali

I'm on a plane again, this time I'm headed to Bali.

So naturally it's time for a blog update. I was listening to a Ferry Corsten mix, Creamfields, and it opened with a song I can't quite identify without the Internet on standby. It's a bloody solid tune, Father, I think it's called.

Anyway, it opened with a some lyrics. They went something like this:

"Brother, and sister, tell me how you're feeling..."

Then it continues, the lyric that really resonated with me was a bit later, it went:

"...one million miles away from home, one million miles away from love..."

It got me thining, because this is how I felt last Saturday. Sitting at home, gaming on my beloved Xbox 360, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of homesickness. It was massive. I know it comes and goes, but this was an overpowering wave. I say wave now because it passed, but at the time it was all that I could think about. It was so strong that I found myself searching on realestate.com.au for apartments I could rent in Melbourne, and then it ebbed away.

I spoke to my sister a bit later, not about that, but the exchange put my mind at ease.

Wow. Where did it come from? Will it come again? Will I be ready for it? I've done some self-reflection since and spoken to my friends openly about it. What's been stewing in my head is two things, the first is that my reasons for being away from home are no longer the same as they once were. I left what I consider to be my home city for a media gig in Sydney. I needed to build up my credentials before I return, I told myself. And build is what I have done. I could walk into a media job in Melbourne now.

The second, more subconscious reason, is that it's the only place I've been in love. I'm not disputing that love can be found in many places, and there are cliches about it coming when you least look for it, but I'm getting kind of lonely doing my own thing. One thing that travelling to places like Tokyo and Pai have told me is that it would be amazing to have someone to share it with.

I've had dalliances, with both sexes, and as enjoyable as its been I'm kind of sick of short-term exchanges. In the gay world, there are guys that scour the sites specifying that they are after a LTR (long-term relationship) - I used to scoff at this. You don't simply state that you are looking for a long-term relationship, it happens naturally. Yet I can relate to how they're feeling now and share their sense of perspective to a degree.

This is no woe-betide-me tale. It's merely what has happened over the past few weeks.

Another thing that's been happening over the past few weeks is book progression. I'm editing what I've compiled thus far pen-and-paper-style. It will also help me with the structure, as I can rearrange pages and portions as I see fit. There's something soothing about doing this too.

That's my plane blog, I'm about to land and catch up with an old work colleague who also doubles as a great bloke, to say I'm looking forward to catching up is an understatement.

I'm going to leave you with a compliment that I received from a friend this week, that not only has me smiling, but had me nodding in agreeance about a succinct summation of my attitude:

"I like that you are always you, and don't give a damn about treading in people's toes or caring what people might think <3"

So I'm having a weepy blog entry about homesickness and being lonely. If you don't like it you can go fuck yourself.

Following Up on a Nugget of Inspiration

I'm sitting on a plane headed to Thailand, and have just written what I intend to be a blog entry.

But I'm hungry, I wanted to write more, and here I am.

I have a lot on my mind at the moment, a lot bubbling up and I would like to capture it.

At the forefront of my mind, is a desire to succeed. I've got a destination in mind, and I know where I want to be in five years time, and I know where I want to be in ten years time. Beyond this, I don't think I have the foresight to envisage beyond that, but I will know before I get there.

I'm driven. That's a given. I'm not settling for mediocre and I want to achieve a lot in my time here. Every day progresses and I'm closer to achieving my goals. Each year passes and I reflect on the year before in wonder.

I'm on an upwards trajectory and am fortunate enough to be have been on this path for long enough now for reflection, this reflection sees appreciation, and this appreciation drives me to seek more. I'm a proud person, and I seek a hell of a lot to be proud of.

I'm starting a lot of this sentences with 'I'. That's because I have me on my mind. Nobody else is going to hand me what I want so I have to rely on myself to get there. Fortunately I have a skill set and the acumen to go there and continually self-improve.

Where's the destination? What do I want to achieve?

First things first, I have a book I want to publish. It has 54,000 words done and it's not enough. I want to finish it. I want it out there. I want to spread my message and have something I can be proud of. Why am I telling you this? I want to be accountable. Without documenting what I want it will only remain in my head, and all that lies in my head are dreams.

I'm going to wrap this entry up here. That's my first goal. I'm making this promise to myself: by the time I'm back on the plane, I'm going to have tangibly progressed towards my goal. 54,000 words down, and its not enough. I'm going to continue writing...

A Life-Changing Breakfast

Last Sunday I had a breakfast that might have changed my life.

I work at Google, and it was a brunch with some colleagues. I work at a brilliant company, and presumably the people I were having brunch with were brilliant people. I'm new to the company and while it's safe to assume these people were brilliant, it's not for this reason specifically that I had a life-changing breakfast.

It wasn't the food either. I'd opted for the big breakfast, and it was quite good, one of the best Western breakfasts I've had in Singapore. There was Chipolata sausage, poached eggs, toast, spinach, and even a dash of bolognese sauce. It was a touch unconventional, and I guess that's what made me label it Western.

It wasn't the coffee. Even though I was told this coffee was some of the best in Singapore, and it delivered on this promise and then some. It was a round, fat cup, and the liquid was warm, nourishing, and had just the right amount of edgy bite. No, it wasn't the coffee.

I did order another on the way out, and I guess this breakfast was the precursor to that life-changing moment.

Because across the road was a bookshop. Despite being an aspiring writer, I read very little of books. I read content and converse voraciously. But it's quite a rare occurrence to find me reading a book, I simply don't have the attention span.

But I was surrounded by presumably brilliant people and at their behest I entered the bookshop, it was called Books, Actually.

I purchased a book in there, but that's not what changed my life. It was the book that I picked up yet didn't buy.

It was called 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be'.

The book appealed to me because it was small, palatable, and once I started reading, I found myself nodding and agreeing. It wasn't just because the book was written by a guy in advertising. It helped, I work in advertising after all, but it was more because it was inspirational.

I decided then and there to purchase this book. This inspirational knowledge that would help me progress in life, but I was stopped.

By one of the brilliant people I was with. She said she had the book and would lend it to me, I thanked her, and the next day at work she handed it to me on loan.

Four days later, I'm sitting on a plane headed to Thailand, and feeling compelled to write this entry after reading the book. I wanted to record this moment in time, the day my life changed.

Watch this space.

Everything is Coming Up Marshall

2011 continues to deliver in ways I could never envisage.

The past week and a half has seen me return to Melbourne for one of my best friend's weddings, commence an epic trip to Japan, get immersed in one of the best weeks of my career, and see me return to Singapore positively beaming with a trip to Thailand on the cards for Thursday night.

I'm a very lucky person. A year ago I was at my housemate's birthday in Sydney seeing one of the gigs of my life and thinking life is good. It's continued to outstrip itself and challenge what it's like to be happy. Also a year ago, I wrote an entry stating My Bassline is Increasing. I reflected on what's gone down since my move to Sydney, and the simple things seem better than they were years ago.

I had an anonymous commenter ask in that entry:

Is it that you are more contented, or is it that you have just realised that over time your life can infinitely be more advantageous and that taking advantage of all opportunities that are present to you at any stage of your life actually adds to your personal satisfaction and well being?

I never bothered to answer the question, as at the time I couldn't distinguish the difference between being more contented and having more opportunities. I thought it was a given that with more opportunities comes more contentment.

Fuck that. You make your opportunities, and they're in abundance if you look hard enough. And if you can't see any you make them.

I think the point my anonymous commentator was making was that your ability to realise this over time increases. This year has seen more change amongst my friends than almost any other. One has decided to traverse the world based on a feeling, another quit their job to take up study again, another became a tattooist after years of professional artistry.

Is it because things have finally come good or because they're out there making the most of what they've got?

If the question is rhetorical to you I think you get it, and if it's not then I won't wish you good luck, because you'll never get it if that's what you're relying on.

I Feel Dirty Already

I feel dirty already.

I ate my words. After denouncing the beast two and a half months ago, I caved and returned to Facebook. It was an interesting journey being without it. I think the time spent off it was time spent well, and definitely gave me some perspective about living overseas and the challenges of staying in touch.

What did I learn?

Other social media is out there

I embraced the other social media that's out there, and it was fun. I found myself checking my LinkedIn a lot more and reaching out to build connections on there. My Twitter usage went through the roof!

The Marshwah Project saw more videos made. And that elephant in the room, Google+ continued to see some thought out updates from myself. My point being, that while losing Facebook may seem like cutting your hand off, the void can be filled.

For instant gratification, Facebook is streets ahead

I readily identify myself as a social media whore, and ever since commencing blogging in 2001, one of the key elements to enjoying it was the responses. People love engagement and conversation and I'm no different. Despite having the other social media out there, there is something about being able to make a post and have five people comment inanely on it almost instantaneously. I don't think it's simply due to sheer volume of people Facebook has either. I think it's more to do with the user experience. A similar (but not quite) amount of gratification could be gained from my time on Inthemix. But not quite.

You can set the trend, but it's pretty lonely

I bravely set out to do something only a few of my friends already had, and I enjoyed the experience and stand by it, but there's something to be said for going with the majority. Call it herd-mentality, but I don't believe in biting your own ear off for principle's sake and will happily concede defeat. I'm overseas, in another country, and have spent the longest time away from friends and family I ever have in my life, the time away was good - but I'd love to reconnect.

---

So I'm back, and when I say dirty, I'm more like a pig in mud.

How I Got a Career in Media (and not Advertising): Some Lessons

Yesterday, a friend of mine shared a link with me of an enterprising young man that is applying for a role with Google. It's very clever, the guy, Matthew Epstein, applies basic marketing principles upon a well-known subject, himself.

Like the Old Spice campaign the year before, Matthew didn't do anything ground-breaking. He just utilised existing channels with a single, over-arching premise that was cohesive on all touch points. Whether or not Matthew will get a job at Google is yet to be determined, but I have no doubts that he will go on to succeed, a quick look at the web metrics in his blog is proof enough of that.

Another advertising/media/advertising whiz is Zac Martin, whose blog Pigs Don't Fly advocates the 'Move Fast and Break Things' approach coined by web behemoth Facebook. His advice is about building something is sound, and I couldn't endorse it enough.

When I started this blog over a year ago, I mentioned my reasons for doing so, referring to an article that Blogs are the new CV. I basically acknowledged the need to start marketing myself a bit better, and as I said then, I am writing a fucking book after all.

Things for me continue to get better and better, and I thought it was time to impart some of my own advice about how to make it in the marketing industry, in the only way I know how: by telling a story.

****

By 2006, I'd decided I wanted to get into the media and advertising game. I'd temped at an agency called Starcom and basically enjoyed my time there, and set my mind to getting in. I even wrote about it in my OpenDiary (beware of the shirt).

The first thing people will tell you about getting into media and advertising, is that it’s fucking difficult. Ironically, once you’re in, the first thing people will tell you about media and advertising, is that it’s hard to find good people.

I believed I was good and set my heart to it. What struck me as a golden opportunity was Advertising Federation of Australia's Graduate Program. It had a stringent selection process, but I went to the information session with my Mum and believed I was up to the task.

The first hurdle was a set of seemingly boring questions:

1. Why do you want a career in advertising?
2. Which brand do you most admire and why?
3. What is your favourite advertising campaign and why?
4. What is the most challenging thing you have done? Why was it challenging?
5. List 10 things to do before you’re 30.
6. If we asked someone who knows you well to describe you, what would they say about you?
7. If you couldn’t get into advertising, what would you do?

If you're interested, you can read my answers to these questions here.

Lesson #1: Be interesting.

I passed the first hurdle, the second hurdle, was much more daunting. It was a day-long workshop where you'd meet the agencies involved, brainstorm and work within groups, and then pitch to the agencies themselves. We weren't armed with much information, other than there was a no PowerPoint policy. Fortunately, we'd been given the names of the agencies involved. They included George Patterson Y&R, Clemenger BBDO, Grey and Magnum Opus.

My friend Sean knew a guy that worked in advertising and offered me his phone number, I seized it with both hands and picked this guy's brain. I asked all the burning questions and then some. The knowledge this guy had was tremendous. I shared my plan for the pitch, he added some words of advice and we were away.

Lesson #2: Know someone and lean on them.

The day came and went. I blew it out of the water. I'd handcrafted a folio for each agency that had their logo emblazoned on the cover. The start of the folio had a letter, addressing them in the only style I knew how: "Marshy" style.

The letter read like this:

Dear Representative,

My name is Luke 'Marshy' Marshall and I'm here today to bring my life to life. Here is a booklet which will highlight the key points of my presentation, with my contact details on the back page. Feel free to keep it, it may be worth something one day, I'll be signing autographs at the commencement of the proceedings. Before I go into the main thrust of this presentation, I'll provide you with some facts:

* I'm from country Traralgon, but don't let that hold you back

* I like to cook 2-minute noodles for longer than 2 minutes

* I have a very unhealthy obsession with dance music

and,

* I'm deadly serious about my desire to get into the advertising industry.

I'm extremely versatile, and have done jobs ranging from data entry operator to DJ, and as crazy as it sounds I believe all my past professions have prepared me for an advertising career. As such, I've chosen to bring my 'working' life to life, with convincing reasons as to why they have prepared me for advertising. So without further ado, flick over your pages please...

But that was just the opening, over the pages included "slides" of what I had accomplished in my career thus far:

Accompanying the presentation were props, as a paperboy, I flung a paper across the room to show I delivered the message, as a sports journalism intern I pulled out a footy to prove my point, as a bartender, I whipped out a bottle of Baileys and poured them all shots (except the pregnant lady, sorry about that one).

The pitch couldn't have gone better.

Lesson #3: Go hell for leather.

But this wasn't a fairy tale, through the AFA I secured a meeting with one of the agencies, that was postponed and postponed, until finally I met with the director to be told there was no room for an intern and that I'd been mistaken. I was gutted.

To my detriment, I'd never followed up and had taken no for an answer.

For the next year I applied for roles in Melbourne. The thing about the city I love is that there weren't that many entry-level roles for the likes of me, and when I did get through to the interview process I never managed to get over the line.

The progress was like this:

1) Find ideal job;

2) Get excited and apply;

3) Reach interview;

4) Crash and burn like a drunken pilot; and

5) Get depressed by another knockback.

It was early 2008, and I was contemplating moving to Sydney to achieve my dream.

Lesson #4: Be ready to adapt.

Acknowledging this reality crystallised something inside of me, and I went for an interview with a media agency in Melbourne, called Zenith Optimedia. I had a bit more tenacity this time, and got through to a final interview with one of the partners.

He hinted at giving the role to the other candidate and that was enough for me. I put it on the line, I said I rarely get an opportunity to pick the brains of the media elite and what were my chances of finding employment if I moved to Sydney.

"I'll get back to you," I'll always remember him saying. I never imagined hearing back from him.

So imagine my surprise as I picked up a call from an unknown number as I was plugging away as a data entry operator for an insurance company. It was the partner, they had a role in Sydney and he asked how quickly I could move - I told him two weeks. FUCK YES.

Lesson 4: NEVER stop chasing your dreams.

****

And the dream has continued. I'm sitting in a penthouse apartment in Singapore, about to pursue another new opportunity.

It's exciting and terrifying and I would never have anticipated this while I was knocking on doors in Melbourne and recovering from my time in Perth.

If you're thinking about doing something about your career, do it. You don't need a fancy video, but you do need to tell a story, and that's the only way I know how.