Hey, quick note before we get to the Q&A – I’ve launched a podcast!

Every Q&A (including this one) now comes with a podcast episode, where you can watch and listen to the guest yourself.

If you want to skip straight to the podcast, here’s the link: https://linktr.ee/ex.vicarious

Otherwise, back to the Q&A! (est. 7 minute read).

Remember my Q&A with Ryan Van, employee #1 of Earlywork?

He’s now one of the co-founders.

Wait how- 

I sat down with Ryan to explore just that, along with:

• new life perspectives gained from a trip to Amsterdam

• how to make your own passion & dream career vs “finding it”

• why chasing curiosities will make the right people appear in your life

This ep was the first of my new ex-vicarious segment – “Dreamaking in Public”.

(Think “Building in Public”, but not just with companies. It’s building your life toward your biggest dreams).

Every fortnight, you’ll hear from a dreamaker around their early 20s, who is building anything from:

• tech startups

• streaming services

•   branding agencies

• podcasts, & 

• stronger systems, habits and philosophies for life

BUT, they’ll be back on the show every few months so we can follow up on their progress, mindset shifts, setbacks and new goals.

If you’re on the journey turning your dreams into reality – or just looking to see how people similar to you are getting started…

This series is for you.

Watch and listen to my podcast with Ryan Van: https://linktr.ee/ex.vicarious

Or check out the Q&A first

Q&A

You’ve worked a lot of different roles like door-to-door sales, selling Sydney FC memberships, and all types of marketing, etc. What do you think has helped you land so many different roles in a relatively short amount of time, especially during uni?

“I will preface all of this advice by reflecting on my own personal position. I feel I’m pretty privileged from a career standpoint, where I was given time and space to find many of these things. For context, I’m an only child, and I’ve lived with both parents my whole life. I didn’t go to a private school, but I’ve never had to worry about money or work odd jobs to support my family, which I know many people have to do. That changes your mindset on how you approach your career.

For instance, there’s a trade-off when starting your career. You can either optimise for short-term income, which is good initially but not helpful long term, or for skills and experiences, which have long-term income benefits but don’t provide immediate returns. My biggest advice, considering my position of not needing to prioritise short-term income, is to take any job that aligns with your curiosity. Financially, my first three jobs were unpaid internships—two of them—and the other was a comms-only role because I’m terrible at sales. But I was in a fortunate position to do that for 6-12 months, and it set a strong foundation.

The only reason you get hired, at any level, is for your skills. So, how can you develop them before applying for your dream job?

There are two main ways: work as an unpaid intern somewhere part-time, being intentional with that experience (like I wouldn’t stay there for a year, like unpaid), and do side projects or different things that set you apart from others at university. Don’t be too picky or idealistic about your first job. It doesn’t have to be your everything, and realistically, your first job is most likely not the one that you’re going to stay at for 40 years. Once you get that first rung on the ladder, everything becomes a tonne easier as well.”

Since returning from Europe, is there anything that you’re thinking of implementing in your day to day life?

“When I was overseas, I stayed in the Netherlands with a friend who’s originally from there and lives there now. I met him two years ago while I was overseas, and stayed with him for a week. During that week, we rode bikes everywhere. Even for a short 10-minute walk, we’d take the bike, and it’s very normalised to ride bikes.

Something I’ve been implementing recently is riding more in my daily commute. Before, I used to just train on the bike, but I thought, why not stack that habit onto my existing routine? So for the last two weeks, I’ve been riding to my local train station, which would be a 25-minute walk. Now it’s a 5-10 minute ride, and I have a locker there. It’s a nice reset, a good change from my routine.

The culture in the Netherlands is different, but if I hadn’t had that break in my routine, I’d probably still be doing the same thing. From a quality-of-life standpoint, it’s great to be exploring.

Now I’m a lot more vigilant. Before, I used to think Sydney’s urban planning and infrastructure were bad for this kind of stuff, but after being overseas, I started looking up different routes. At home, I don’t need to do that; I just use the same ones I know. The last few weekends, I’ve been going on longer rides or runs on new routes, and there are so many cycleways and shared paths in Sydney I didn’t know about.

If you could capture the attention of every single person for thirty seconds, what would you say?

“I read this recent quote, I forget who it’s from, but it said being an adult isn’t moving out of home, buying a house, or starting a family. Being an adult is actually accepting and embracing the curiosity you have. Some people get to 50 and reflect, realising they didn’t do what makes them personally fulfilled.

So, I’d say, take the time, no matter your age, to reflect more on your past and on what gives you energy. Start making more decisions that aren’t based on society’s expectations or what your family wants, but on what you want, because it’s your life to live.”

Thanks for reading my Q&A with Ryan.

You can connect with Ryan here: 

• Shoot me a connection request on Linkedin! I’m on there way too much for my own good so you’ll likely get a reply.

You can check out Earlywork here:

• If you’d like more general info on what we do, check out our website

• If you’re currently job searching and want to learn more about software sales, come along to one of our free weekly online workshops about it.  

But if you want to experience the full podcast with Ryan, listen here: 

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhjsqMbhmcA&ab_channel=ex-vicariousbybraith

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/37QoACKb6q2QnVVPgmOK30?si=fbc4d5d46a2a4a6c

And as always,

Keep dreamaking.