Blog - Page 2 of 3 - The Winding Road

Are You Jealous When Someone Succeeds and Happy When They Fail?

by Travis L. ScottNovember 4, 2019December 6, 2019

“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” – Colin R. Davis One thing that is certain is there is no map for your life. No one can tell you how to get from point A to point B when it comes to success and happiness. Everyone’s situation is different. Understanding that you can seek guidance from others but not a set of instructions on how to get to the place you seek to be can be liberating. The key is to take bits of other people’s ideas and use them …

You’re Going to Fail

by Travis L. ScottOctober 21, 2019October 22, 2019

If don’t fall. You’re probably not trying. Life is hard. You’re going to fall. You’re going to fail. How you respond is what matters most.

OKRs and Your Career

by Travis L. ScottOctober 14, 2019

Perhaps you’ve heard of OKRs – Objectives and Key Results. Maybe you’re lucky enough to work for a manager or company that has implemented them. If you haven’t, this article will provide more detail into what they are and how they can be a powerful tool for your career. What are OKRs? The concept of OKRs isn’t new. In fact, it has been around (at least formally) since the 1970s. It was developed and implemented at Intel by Dr. Andy Grove. As mentioned, OKR is an acronym for Objectives and Key Results. The objective is the what. The key …

Stop Being a Hustler

by Travis L. ScottOctober 1, 2019October 1, 2019

I’ve always hated the term “side hustle” but couldn’t quite figure out why. Now I know. I was reading one of Seth Godin’s recent blog posts and he said: “Want to change the mind of a hustler, show the money.” That’s why I hate that term. When I’ve engaged in projects outside of my “day job” in the past it has usually been about getting experience and learning. It hasn’t been about the money. It never will. That’s why I also hate the term “side gig”. Happiness has no price. When I take on a project I’m getting something more …

What I’m Reading (and listening to): September 2019

by Travis L. ScottSeptember 25, 2019September 25, 2019

As I mentioned in my most recent podcast – “Dream Jobs – The Reality” here are links to the books I mentioned that I’m currently reading and listening to: The Fortune Cookie Principle by Bernadette Jiwa Start with Why by Simon Sinek I also just finished the book Tribes by Seth Godin and highly recommend it to anyone who is currently a leader (or people manager) or who wants to be one. Tribes by Seth Godin

Critics are Irrelevant

by Travis L. ScottSeptember 16, 2019December 1, 2019

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash Nowadays, I mostly go for runs as a way to spark ideas. It’s amazing. When you can eliminate the distractions that constantly bombard you and just think, great things happen. In order for these ideas to come about, I usually have to listen to a podcast or audiobook about marketing. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks by Seth Godin and Bernadette Jiwa. I like their style and the way they think about marketing is different than how I thought about it before. Self Doubt During a recent morning run, I was …

You Only Have to Matter to One

by Travis L. ScottSeptember 4, 2019September 5, 2019

Photo by Matthew Bennett on Unsplash It’s About Who You Know When you’re looking for a new role it can be a discouraging process. You apply and apply to all of these roles you think you’re a perfect fit. Then it’s crickets. Nothing. The reality is you only need to matter to one company- and a lot of times just one person. The person that will be your manager or that person’s manager. Of course, it can vary. Larger companies have more layers, so naturally, their hiring process does as well. This is why building relationships with people over time …

The Dip is Real

by Travis L. ScottAugust 24, 2019September 5, 2019

Photo Credit: Emma Simpson Saturday, August 24, 2019 Missoula, MT- A funny thing happened this morning. I was running in the River City Roots 4-Mile Run and realized how similar it was to how life works – both personally and professionally. Like any project you start or new journey you begin, there was a lot of excitement at the starting line. I felt good. The weather was perfect for running- about 60 degrees and overcast. The gun went off and I took off. Probably way too fast. I was eager to get going. Did I mention that I felt really …

Forget About the Future

by Travis L. ScottAugust 22, 2019September 5, 2019

Lately, I’ve haven’t been able to get enough of Bernadette Jiwa’s marketing books. I just read “Marketing: A Love Story” and am now reading “difference”. If you are a fan of Seth Godin then you’ll automatically be a fan of Bernadette. I was going back through “Marketing: A Love Story” today and something caught my attention. It was her advice about focusing on the present instead of the future. It resonated with me because I think way too often about the future. Constantly, as a matter of fact. Some of my actions are future-driven instead of present-driven. That needs to …

What I Learned From One Day of Tracking My Time

by Travis L. ScottJuly 23, 2019September 5, 20192

Photo Credit: unsplash-logoRyan Stone Last week I proposed a 3-week plan to help with the information overload I was feeling. I proposed this via a blog post because I realized I’m probably not the only one that felt this way. The plan goes something like this: Week 1: Don’t change any habits, just track your time and activities Week 2: Purge all unnecessary information for 5 days. Week 3: Evaluate and create an information ingestion strategy Yesterday (July 22, 2019) was Day 1 of tracking my time and here’s what I learned: It’s more difficult to get distracted by the …