Judgment Draft: What Your Fantasy Football Picks Reveal About Your Life

I can gauge a lot from a person's appearance, handshake and top fantasy football pick.  Here's a quick guide to what someone's choice in the first round says about them.

Peyton Manning

A future Hall of Fame QB who produced the most fantasy points in the NFL last season and is always a sure bet to give players well above average numbers

You like name value.  Established brands in clothing, cars or electronics are always garner your purchase. Playing it safe means you'll seldom find a bargain, discover new restaurants or meet interesting people.  Nevertheless, taking the road most traveled still serves as your number one strategy for success.

• Job you'll have: Senior Account Executive at a company we've all heard of but aren't excited about.
• Who you'll marry: The high school/college steady who's held you down for years through good times and bad times.  You'll parent 2.5 kids plus a dog.

Johnny Manziel

The Heisman winning, polarizing QB may still have a lot to learn before dominating the pros

You know enough about sports to hold a short conversation without sounding clueless, but not enough to say anything meaningful beyond "did you see ______ yesterday.?" Facts like Johnny Manziel riding the bench indefinitely weren't mentioned in the 15 seconds you listened to sports talk during your morning commute. In most cases, you didn't actually see ______ do anything yesterday, the week before or ever.  Your desire to gain acceptance without doing a shred of the leg work will prove costly.

• Job you'll have: Hotel Guest Services Agent.  Your ability to fake real knowledge in a number of areas will make you master of front desk check-in small talk.
• Who you'll marry: The guy/girl you saw at the one party... well actually you just heard they were there... you eventually Facebook chatted... nobody really knows how you ended up together.

Giovanni Bernard

This second year RB  was a fan favorite on HBO's Hard Knocks and has the potential to breakout this season. Makes millions but drives a used mini-van, because irony is the best policy 

Everyone thinks you're the coolest guy in the room.  At least everyone else in the room who really knows what's new and cutting edge.  The term trendy is an insult to you. Something isn't trendy until everyone's doing it, and by then you've moved on.  Your thinking isn't common.  You're not trendy; you're next level.

• Job you'll have: You don't have a job; you have interests.  This doesn't earn you much money, but it's a good excuse for selling all of your possessions to live in one of those cost-saving mini-houses.
• Who you'll marry: The who doesn't matter as much as the how.  Anyone who agrees to a minimalist ceremony in an urban setting where everyone is barefoot and craft beer is served during the toast is a keeper.

Jimmy Graham

A TE who's offensive stats are normal for an elite player, but rank well above everyone else at his position

While most of us aim for the biggest prize, you think in more modest terms.  You just want to be better than the person next to you.  Big fish + small pond= happiness.

• Job you'll have: Co-host for a small market morning news show.  Nothing incredible on its own and you have contemporaries doing bigger things in tougher places.  But you know, it sure beats what most of your friends are doing.
• Who you'll marry: The guy/girl who wasn't the smartest or best looking in your freshmen class, but was head and shoulders above the other options in your English class.

Josh Gordon

A good WR who makes bad decisions

You know your stuff.  You learn from past mistakes and have successfully used them to plan out future  decisions.  You quickly consider all of your options before making a decision, always heading into  challenges well prepared.  This has put you on life's fast track: you skipped a grade, finished college in three years and got your masters in 9 months, and owned a home before you turned 25.  You finish everything ahead of your peers- including your draft prep.  Ready to win your office's keeper league and convinced that Josh Gordon is the next big thing after his monster 2013 season, you nab Gordon in a 3-for-1 deal shortly after the Super Bowl.  An idiot co-worker who rode Gordon last year's title expresses concern over his off the field issues.  The idiot was right- Gordon fails a drug test a week after your trade and could will miss the entire 2014 season. 

• Your job: Assistant to the Associate Vice Provost of Equity and Enrollment Ideas for Student Success at your alma mater.  It was the first job you were offered.
• Who you'll marry: The first person to like your next Facebook status.  Enjoy life with your 3rd grade teacher, weirdo. 

Hope you didn't take this seriously.  Happy football!

Am I There Yet? The Importance of Setbacks on the Road to Success

"It should have happened by now."

This, one of "5 Lies Every Twentysomething Needs to Stop Believing" according to Paul Angone, is the tragic phrase that's guided my life since graduation.  College taught me a lot of awesome skills and exposed me to new ideas.  One thing it failed at, and where it continues to fail today's students, is in indirectly teaching that if you follow a rubric, attain a tangible level of success and plan in far enough in advance it's easy to know exactly when you'll hit your goal. Graduation is just a checkmark on the gold paved road to success. 

In the real world, guarantees are replaced by a lot "maybes".  If you work hard, use your resources, and perform well... maybe you'll get that cool job.  Maybe you'll earn a raise.  Maybe you'll find a spouse.  Maybe your horrible boss will turn over a new leaf... or just retire. Maybe is a word that's true meaning comes full circle in life. As a child it's a kind hearted substitute for "no.  As an idealistic 18-22 year old, it becomes the great ray of hope  for eventual triumph.  When we enter the workforce, we revert back to childhood and figure out that in many cases, "maybe" turns out to mean "no."

I can work hard to escape the mundane life I feel trapped in, yet still have no assurances of when or even if I'll find a way to break through.  This is the biggest punch in the gut I've gotten since entering the workforce.  After a recent setback, I wondered what the point of even trying was.  After another email wishing me the best of luck in my future endeavors, I got down on my knees, bowed my head to pray and said "Okay, God.  I understand.  I guess this is the best I'm ever going to get." I don't know anyone who's ever been left at the altar once, yet I feel like I can empathize with someone who's been jilted ten times.  

We can't plan out every step of our lives.  Frustrating as it is to accept, we won't always (or maybe even ever) get exactly what we want at the precise moment we want it.  The "if this, then that" principle works great in an Excel spreadsheet, but life isn't a batch of numbers with precise calculations and probabilities. 

College allowed me to thrive in an idealistic setting.  I knew that if I studied hard, when graduation rolled around I'd get rewarded with a degree.  But when I reflect on those years, it's the process of getting to graduation that I remember most.  Scavenging for loose dollars to order chinese with other broke friends, studying hours just to pass an exam, spending hours on a project only to find out (the hard way) why hitting save is so important; it was the struggle that made the payoff worth it.  Instantly receiving what I was working for without the long nights and failures would have rendered graduation meaningless. The degree itself means nothing-- it's framed piece of overpriced paper.  It's the work behind getting it that means the most.  It reminds me that I can get knocked down, yet still manage to get up enough times to see my goals come to fruition.  

When we set out to accomplish a dream, struggles along the way will throw us around and tear us down before we rise above the challenges to emerge victorious.  Growing frustrated because it hasn't happened yet only robs you of the growth and maturation that come along the way.  Don't worry about when the finish will come-- get through everything now to ensure that it will. 

The Perks of Living Young and Broke

Living Single didn't look like this.

Just like many people my age, I enjoy sports.  Having long given up on the dream of playing professionally, my sports high comes from watching games rather than playing them.  Here's where living the young (i.e. financially challenged) post-college life is really not letting Bryan be Bryan.

Sports are on cable.  Cable is expensive.  Jobs that you get shortly after college typically don't allow for much flexibility when it comes to these luxuries.  So I've made several sacrifices, most of which are negatively impacting Sallie Mae more than me, in order to get my baseball, football and basketball fix.  But it's still. not. enough.  This season's HBO's Hard Knocks features my Atlanta Falcons and my already stretched budget can't afford the extra charge for premium channels.  So while the rest of Georgia blissfully watches the birds' grunt, hit and curse their way through training camp, I'm forced to find other options for Tuesday night time killing.

Most 20-somethings are faced with giving up a pleasure because of the newly found constraints of adulthood, many of which come from just not having the disposable income we were used to in high school and college.  This, on the surface, is a bad thing.  However, there are always ways to turn time away from cable/ dining out/ shopping into productive activity that could change your life for the better.  Here are a few good options to choose:

Exercise

This doesn't require an expensive gym membership.  At 23, I trained to run my first 10k using running shoes and gym clothes already in my closet.  The only money I spent came during the race registration, months after started prepping at local parks and scenic streets throughout town.  By this time, I had already reached my fitness goals and was in much better shape whether I was going to run the race or not.

Read... a book!

...from the library! That big building I never wanted to visit after undergrad became broke 20-something heaven for me once I discovered all the free reading I could do.  Amazon isn't necessary when you not only have your choice of books, but also movies to pick from without paying a cent.

Experiential building

This is one of those fancy phrases that the thousands of dollars I spent on college helped me come up with.  It really just means "do new stuff."  There are organizations that, just like you, don't have much extra money to spend.  Utilize them for volunteer opportunities that can give you a great way to kill dead time, build up your resume for the job you really want and -most importantly- help others.

Cook at home

You have to eat.  Do it while saving money and building skills that will impress your future spouse.  

I've learned that your 20s aren't going to provide peak earning years, that doesn't mean they don't offer great value.

Your Business Card is Worthless: Why No Job Can Ever Define You

It's cool that even in 2014, business cards are still useful.  We can find out a lot about someone- their name, what they do, how to contact them- on a piece of scrap paper about half the size of a baseball card.  They're given out quickly after we meet someone we think is worth knowing or keeping touch with.  In an age where most information is obtained digitally, business cards have refused to die with the rest of hard copy.  They're amazing- a gateway to our future, that gives us info on the present, all on a medium that speaks to the past.

That last paragraph is literary exaggeration.  Business cards don't really tell us much at all.  They're cliff notes to our jobs which, despite cultural obsession with finding the "right" one, aren't even meant to tell our entire story.  At worst, jobs merely provide money.  At best, they are a tool for us to accomplish what we're really here for- hammers used to build the structures that house relationships that make life worth going through. No matter the salary, location or function, even a good job can't show someone who you truly are.

I prayed for understanding of this abstract idea, and found that my father embodies it well.   My dad invented "life hacks" before I ever saw a single internet meme.  When I didn't have access to university counseling services, he was the best confidant in town- available 24/7 and ready to listen to incessant complaining for forever.  The man who always stood tall as guardian of his household was also an expert peacemaker, quelling even the worst of battles I had with my sister- the greatest rival I'll ever know.  When I thought 18 years of this had bled him dry of every nurturing bone in his body,  I'd come home for holiday breaks to see my dad do these same things for my younger cousins.  The man was helping out other people's kids, too!  Amazing.  And none of it had anything to do with his job.

Here's one of the best lessons my dad has taught me: the person you are is not directly tied to where you work.  Sure, I think his best character traits are appreciated by a lot of people he works with: he's resourceful, caring, and helps those in need.  But that's just who he is, and it's who he would be no matter what he did for a living.  His legacy isn't based on career accomplishments, but what he's done to help others.

This isn't meant as an indictment against ambition.  This is a warning against finding your whole identity in a job.  Until recently, I tried to grade my life based on where my talents placed me professionally.  It's a selfish way of thinking that's, ironically, self-destructive.  Even if you reach the pinnacle of your professional goals, there's always difficult co-workers, a lack of appreciation and the potential for burnout that come along with having any job (just ask every living U.S. President).  Our identities rest in what we can do relationally: giving, encouraging, teaching, serving, etc.  Jobs provide places where we can go to share those gifts and an audience to share them with.  They are only a part of our life story; an epic with an infinite word count that a business card could never contain.

Fatigue, indeed: The Cure For a Hopeless Job Search

I have a love/hate deal going on with indeed.com.  It's a complicated matter.  Indeed is valuable tool until you realize the entire planet is using for the same reason you are- to get the heck out of your miserable job and start an awesome new career.  If the "one search. all jobs." tool worked like a Coke machine, we'd all dance in the streets.  Just tap the screen for the one you like, and boom- out of your drab office and into the place where God really wants you to work.

Unfortunately, we all know applying for jobs isn't that easy.  It takes effort to sort through each listing, ruling out prospective gigs because they're not in the right city or don't come with a good salary, until you finally stumble upon the good stuff. Once you find the few that feel right, you take time to submit a resume, cover letter (which I find redundant.  Does anyone ever say that they don't want a job at your company because they're inexperienced, lazy and unavailable to talk to?) and whatever else they need to see that you're the right hire.

In most cases, this work bears no fruit.  You don't get hired and wonder whether anyone even glanced at the materials you spent hours perfecting.  Maybe someone does and actually invites you to visit for an interview (what?!).  You then get to burn valuable sick time spending an entire day in uncomfortable clothes answering the same five questions to eight groups of people whose titles and job descriptions seem to vary to the point of absurdity... and you don't get the job.  Neither of these scenarios is very fun.

Here's how you deal with getting worn down from the disappointment of a lack of success in the job hunt:

Take heart
When the search is going slow or an interview goes wrong, we start to feel that getting over the hump and landing a new job is impossible.  Whether you love or hate your current employer, remember this: someone thought enough of you to make an offer.   Even if you're unemployed, at some point in your life someone has shown that you were worthy of merit: graduating high school, getting admitted to college, getting a date, etc.  It's likely that good times will come around again.

Job offers are based in opinion
There's no way that someone without a medical degree would receive a job offer at a reputable hospital; there are minimum requirements that you'll have to meet for consideration of any job.  However, once you've met the basics and land an interview, all facts go out the window.  Search committees are then focused on you- your personality, what you wear, even how long you talk.  This means that every job offer you do or don't receive comes down to opinions.  As we all should know, humans are fickle.  The slightest gesture could instantly change an employers opinion of you for the better or worse.  Sometimes it's obvious; other times it's not.  There's no point in stressing or devaluing your self-image over it.  Inevitably, someone has to lose out after a pool of interviews are conducted.  When other qualified candidates are in the running, getting selected is sometimes out of our hands. The outcome is a crapshoot.  The best way to beat the volatile nature of this process leads into the next point.

Keep playing or you'll never win
You've succeeded before and realize that sometimes receiving a job offer is a roll of the dice.  The only way to absolutely ensure that not a single company ever gives you the call you've waited on is to not bother applying at all.  My mind is frequently polluted with the "what's the point, it'll never work" voice.  This is a flat out lie.  The facts remain that someone is getting hired for the job you submitted to.  That means someone who could've ruled themselves out in the beginning by allowing discouragement to creep in eventually won out.  Go in knowing that there's a chance this might not end with you putting in notice at your current job, but that the only way it will is if you try.

Enjoy life along the way
Life is short.  Finding meaningful work is important, but a job search that usually takes considerable shouldn't receive all of your energy.  Go hangout with friends and family.  Take a break to watch movie.  Play video games.  Don't let the job search rule your life.  The best way to deal with where you are is to find contentment.  I think finding activities you enjoy is one of the best ways to deal with the present while enduring the wait for the future.