September 19, 2022 | Building Your Digital Marketing Career

Make Work an Adventure

By Mark Whitman

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

Adventure is based on Attitude

Our recruiting team has backpacked through the wilderness, swam with sharks, and competed in Mixed Martial Arts competitions around the world. While these activities are awesome, we don’t believe adventure is based on activity. We believe adventure is based on attitude. We also believe our work day is better when we apply that attitude to our everyday work life. According to Helen Keller, life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Follow these five tips to make work an adventure:

1. Be Adaptable

In order to make work an adventure, be adaptable. Adventurers are ready for anything. In order to be adaptable, roll with the punches, deal with unforeseen outcomes, and ride the waves of change. If you remain flexible and open, then you will be able to thrive in any environment. You’ll also be able to thrive with any combination of team members. You’ll be able to handle any stress or challenges that come your way and transform them into productive energy.

2. Be Creative

In order to make work an adventure, be creative. Adventurers don’t draw within the lines! Adventurers with the biggest successes are those who think creatively and thus forge their own way. Of course, using established practices and guidelines as a foundation is a great starting point. Beyond that, it can be incredibly invigorating to go above and beyond and shake things up by doing things outside the norm.

3. Be Collaborative

In order to make work an adventure, be collaborative. Adventurers often make their discoveries with the help of a team. For this reason, embrace your teammates and identify each of their strengths. Then, think of ways that these strengths can work together so that you can blaze those trails together. Don’t be afraid to reach out to teammates for help and advice. Success is not a solo game.

4. Be Driven

In order to make work an adventure, be driven. Adventurers keep their eyes on a prize. Notice I didn’t say the prize. It’s important to realize that, while we may begin with a clearly defined goal, circumstances and priorities shift along the way. As a result, our ultimate goals may shift as well. You may start down the path of adventure and discover that your team is capable of more than you imagined. In that case, don’t be afraid to move those goal posts further down. Shoot for the stars! You and your team might go farther than you ever imagined possible.

5. Be Indomitable

In order to make work an adventure, be indomitable. Adventurers are bold, courageous and persistent! Getting knocked down isn’t a bad thing, as long as you get back up. There will always be challenges. Face them with an indomitable attitude and your odds of success will increase drastically. Babe Ruth said, “You just can’t beat a person who doesn’t give up.” Commit to being indomitable through those challenges. This will make your teammates more confident and increase your momentum. As a result, the probability of your success will increase as well.

Final Thoughts

These are the five core principles we strive to live out in our everyday adventures as we endeavor to build cohesive and exceptional teams in the digital first world. We hope they bring some value to your everyday endeavors as well. Do you have some adventure principles of your own? We would love to hear about them! Check out our Thought Leadership articles to learn more, or contact us to discuss your toughest hiring challenges.

Written by Mark Whitman

Mark Whitman is the founder of TeamBuilder Search. Mark’s mission is to help clients recruit the top five percent of digital marketing executives, taking great satisfaction in helping clients out-recruit their competition. In the process of fulfilling his mission, he takes great care to help digital marketing leaders elevate their careers. People say Mark owns a recruiting and staffing company. He says he owns a life improvement company. To learn more about Mark visit our Leadership page.