Oh, What A Day

889 1024 Ellen Ensher
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Alexis Straiten

Oh, What A Day in teaching, education, and mentoring - Ellen Ensher

What does a day in the life look like for a future event planner? For one, there is not a typical day, there is Monday to sometimes Sunday of unpredictability.  Every day is a new adventure waiting for you to take the reins and begin that day fresh and new or sometimes a bit tired and stressed. In my ideal world, my day would start off with breakfast in bed brought to me by my personal chef with a hard copy of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. If only, my dreams could come true. In reality, my generation, which are millennials, is constantly moving meaning breakfast will need to be to go and I will be reading the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times on my phone. The Wall Street Journal will give me a sense of the stock market and help me become aware of how my clients and their competitors are doing financially. The New York Times will help me stay up to date on current events happening in the world. While in college, I had the opportunity to be given course material that helped me learn more about world events. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal will be two resources that can help build my knowledge and understanding of the world around me.

As I enter the office I will be bombarded by people from with things that I need to get done. I will be making three mental list, things to get done: now, before lunch and before I leave for home, then write everything down as I sit at my desk. As I continue to make my checklist, of things to get done, I log onto LinkedIn and see what my network is doing and gain diverse insights in the event world from the Event Managers and Event Planning & Event Management – the 1st Group for Event Professionals.

The more the day winds down I begin to finish projects and work on designs for current and future events. The first place I look for inspiration is the Hospitality Design Network. When I am unable to get my inspiration from the objects and people around me, I look at Hospitality Design Network. I discover new trends as well as unique and entertaining venues I could rent.

Closing up for the day and making my way back home, I sit down with a hot cup of tea crack open a book my mentor had given me when I graduated, “Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It” by Peggy Klaus. In an age where most people are unable to find the line between selling your best self and downplaying yourself Peggy Klaus helps readers to find that line, step over it and win over every person they meet without seeming as though they are bragging. By reading this book, I hope to build my personal brand, show my qualities without appearing as though I am bragging.

Every day is a new adventure, something that requires focus and determination to get the job done but a love and passion for the work you do because of the stress that comes with it. In college, there are things that keep us in tune with the world around us. There are professors that share their knowledge of past wars they were in or a certain period in history they have spent their life studying and want you to love it as much as they do. There are books you read that your professors share with you to help grow your knowledge that follow the course syllabus.

But, what happens when you leave college? You no longer have those professors giving you course readings or telling you stories about war and the stock market. You use what your years of college education gave you, and see what suits you as a professional. Find your favorite newspapers or journals, maybe go old school and read the hard copies (always better with a hard copy). Find your “reader’s digest”, maybe it is about hospitality, or maybe finance or architecture.  In the end the most important thing you can do is build your personal brand. Find a book, article, or journal that helps you build your character and increase your skill level so that you feel better about yourself and appear more confident when approaching others.