{"id":550,"date":"2008-09-18T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2008-09-18T16:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/2008\/09\/18\/how-to-be-outstanding\/"},"modified":"2010-05-02T07:47:01","modified_gmt":"2010-05-02T14:47:01","slug":"how-to-be-outstanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2008\/09\/18\/how-to-be-outstanding\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be Outstanding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Simply Tina<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Gala
\nPhoto of Gala Darling<\/a>. One of the most outstanding people who I admire.<\/small><\/p>\n

“If you do what you love to do, then you won’t do it in an average way<\/em>.”
\n~ Angela Bassett<\/p>\n

Are you exceptional in your line of work? Do you love what you do? Perhaps that’s why you are or aren’t getting the results you want.<\/p>\n

People who consistently achieve outstanding results all have this in common: they are passionate<\/em> about what they do. It’s no longer work, but an active participation of joy and creativity.<\/p>\n

This article takes a deeper look into outstanding performance, and gives guidance as to how you can manifest outstanding results in your life.<\/p>\n

First, I’ll start with a slice from my own experience:<\/p>\n

Five years of my life was spent in University<\/a> getting a Math<\/a> and Computer Science degree so that I could get a high-tech job with guaranteed security<\/a>. School was tough and flew by quickly. After battling it out with other competitors chasing after the same jobs, I got what I wanted and landed in Seattle.<\/p>\n

Very soon after, I realized that I wasn’t that great at programming software, nor was I very interested in it. I got my job done, but I felt that I had to work extra hard just to keep up with my peers. I longed to fit-in with other engineers and felt like a sore thumb sticking out in the crowd. “One day, they’re gonna find out\u2026<\/em>” I used to tell myself during the first six months on the job.<\/p>\n

I knew better. I knew that I wasn’t average. I knew that my best was excellent. I pulled long hours, worked on weekends, was addicted to caffeine, and within a few month, I developed an immune system disorder called Psoriasis Rosea<\/a> from stress. It was the drive to be outstanding, in a position that wasn’t fit for me or my interests which brought me to this low point.<\/p>\n

My Story Continues \u2026<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Overtime, I recognized that I naturally gravitated towards designing graphical interfaces and that I naturally obsessed over the user’s experience while using software. I wanted to do that professionally, but lacked the education or experience. A roadblock had appeared before me. I had voiced my intentions to my manager and was told No<\/em>; again, another roadblock.<\/p>\n

I didn’t give up. I read books, took seminars, worked on personal design projects and brought my new found knowledge onto the job. I incorporated design and user experience considerations into everything I worked on as an engineer. I developed a small reputation among neighboring teams, and soon was unofficially offering my user-experience expertise to other teams within the company. Despite it not being my job, I did it anyway. I did so because it was what I loved doing, it came natural to me and I felt that I was exceptional at it.<\/p>\n

Over the next couple of years, I faced resistance and adversity surrounding my professional transition, but I clung to my clearly desired target<\/em>. Through persistence and never giving up hope for my dream job, two years later, I officially became a user-experience designer for amazon.com. Since then, I have never looked back with regret.<\/p>\n

Lessons from Following My Passion<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Here is a summary of lessons I’ve learned through this experience:<\/p>\n