The One-Week Job Project: One Man, One Year, 52 Jobs
Sean Aiken
Language: English
Pages: 320
ISBN: 0345508033
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
THE REMARKABLE AND INSPIRING TRUE STORY OF ONE GUY WHO TRANSFORMED HIS UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE INTO ACTION
A year and a half after he graduated from college, Sean Aiken found himself struggling to answer the question “What should I do with my life?” His mother suggested teaching. His older sister told him to apply for an entry-level corporate position. His father said, “It doesn’t matter what you do, just make sure it’s something you’re passionate about.” Taking his father’s advice to heart, Sean created the One-Week Job Project and launched himself on an epic journey to find his passion. His goal: to work fifty-two jobs in fifty-two weeks.
After the launch of his website, oneweekjob.com, the offers began pouring in. Sean’s first gig was—literally—jumping off a bridge, as a bungee operator in British Columbia. From there he traveled across Canada and the United States, reinventing himself as a firefighter, an aquarium host, a radio DJ, a martial arts instructor, an NHL mascot, and a snowshoe guide. During the course of his seven-day stints, from a Florida stock-trading floor to a cattle ranch in the wilds of Wyoming to a real estate office in Beverly Hills, Sean found time to make new friends and even fall in love. Whether choosing a spring fashion line, brewing beer, or milking a cow, Sean continued to ask himself and others about what success really means and how we find happiness—all while having the adventure of his life.
Inventive and empowering, witty and wise, The One-Week Job Project is a book that will give you the courage to follow your passion. Or, as Mark Twain said, “Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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oyster phase.” “Oyster phase?” “Yeah. The world’s my oyster.” She explained that a few years earlier her parents had divorced and how the event impacted her. All of a sudden, everything that she was brought up to know—her family, her home—all seemed false. “I didn’t understand how my entire world could crumble so quickly,” she said. “I became very resentful, and kinda started spiraling downhill. Until, after a couple of years, I hit rock bottom.” “What turned it around?” I asked. She
know what I’m sayin’. Let’s get this thing going!” I suspect taking a full course load and doing fifty-two jobs at the same time might be a bit much for one academic year … but hey, this was Wyclef after all. He headed downstairs. Ian and I were pumped about the footage. “Dude, that was huge. Quick, put a new tape in,” I said, just to make sure we wouldn’t accidentally tape over the footage. Meanwhile, we heard cheering downstairs. Ian popped in another tape, and we quickly went down to check
didn’t know what to do. What was I supposed to do? In the movies, they would have changed scenes at this point. I glanced at my mom, her superhuman powers gone. I walked over, held her in my arms, and cried hard but silently into her shoulder. My dad left the room. He came back minutes later, sat down on the couch behind me and Mom, and went back to reading his book. I’m not sure what I expected him to do. I continued to hold her for a long time. Eventually she pulled away. “Sean, have you
help. And I saw it again during my week at Nature’s Childcare. It reminded me that in many instances the best way to help ourselves is to focus on how we can help others. It can be any job, but the important thing is that we’re working toward something we feel is significant. And I learned that if we can relate whatever that job is to the bigger picture, we’ll be much happier. WEEK JOB: ASTRONOMER LOCATION: HILO, HAWAII EMPLOYER: UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY WAGE:
heart that what I’m doing matters. Back in the auditorium, I glance up at the clock—five minutes to go. Last year I would have been nervous about giving this presentation. I’m still nervous—not because I’m standing up and speaking in front of an entire school but because it’s so important to me that I make them understand what I didn’t. I want them to understand that they don’t need to have all the answers. That planning is good, but life can deal some unexpected surprises, both good and bad,
