On this session of Origin Story, I speak with Nadia Harris of Remote Work Advocate. We chat about emerging issues like location bias, the viability of hybrid offices, and how young professionals can build relationships during COVID. Surprisingly, we also touch on workplaces where in-person work may be most appropriate!

Find Nadia on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you liked this session, also make sure to check out Nomad to Entrepreneur with Omar Mo.

A dramatic accident. Remaking a life in Canada. Coming back to the U.S. Putting himself through college. These are all parts of Lee Gaul's story.

In this Origin Story session, I speak with Lee, advertising professional, about how he worked through a challenging adolescence, supporting himself through his teenage years, and navigated university admissions without his parents.

Some topics covered:

• Recovering from trauma
• Reparenting
• Navigating disadvantaged circumstances
• Applying for college without parental help
• Succeeding in the advertising industry

Nobody has a perfect childhood. Everyone has a different story and background.

What you're born into does not have to be your fate. You make your future.

If you like this session, watch "Growing Up First Generation" with Jesse Meza.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/NeverGoingBacktoOffice

The overhead costs of keeping an office open, and the pain of a commute and daycare for working parents makes ditching the office an obvious choice. 

What does the future of the office look like? The home office. Co-working spaces. "Hot desks". "3-2-2 Work Weeks". Regional workforces.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/greatdispersal

The "3 R's" (restaurant, brick-and-mortar retail, and commercial real estate) industries have taken a tremendous hit: As of September 2020, 100,000 restaurants had closed since the start of corona. 

Chain retail stores shuttered 520 store units in Manhattan alone. It is estimated that global office vacancies will not return to their pre-virus levels until 2025. 

What will happen to cities?

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/benefits-of-volunteer-work

What are the actual benefits of being a volunteer? It broadens your network and takes your focus off work. It teaches you new skills and builds your sense of purpose.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/new-graduates-get-a-job

You're selling you. 

New graduates need to think about your job search like running your own business. 

Build a good "client" prospect list. Do your research. Make diligent and regular follow-ups.

In an era where competition is fierce - it matters how new graduates constructively use rejections.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/MissYourCommute

Do you really miss your commute? The status quo says "people miss the office environment", but data often points to the opposite, that "workers prefer a hybrid office model". Research has also shown that workers are more productive when working remotely, with most managers agreeing to the same.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/Domestic-Gap-Year

2021 is a "gap year" of opportunity! 

Most companies will allow you to remote work while still making money. 

But how do you plan for it?

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://adamanthonysmith.wpcomstaging.com/2021/03/25/nomadland-old-age-and-the-american-dream/

Here is a large group of past-retirement adults. They roam around the United States working seasonal jobs for different reasons. Some do it for pleasure. However, many do it as a necessity. This is due to the lack of the social safety net that was seemingly certain when they were kids.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/IgnoringMidwest

When you think of the Midwest, it probably conjures up familiar images. Wide open fields. Little population. Few jobs. Low diversity.

That may be true of some parts, but that's largely not representative of the cities.

The region hosts refugee programs and international students from around the world. For instance, Minnesota and Wisconsin play host to large Muslim and Hmong communities. It has some of the top universities in the country: Northwestern, Notre Dame, and the Big 10 (University of Chicago, Purdue University, Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin - Madison)

Why are we not investing in the Midwest?

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/first-generation-professional

What does it feel like to be a first generation professional? 

In this session I had a chat with Jesse Meza, my 212NYC mentee, 4A's MAIP recipient, and current UCLA MBA Candidate.

We went deep, covering hard topics like imposter syndrome, code switching, even survivor's guilt.

Some favorite themes:

- You need to dream bigger than your environment.

- Invest in your friends, family, network. Check in regularly. They'll save you when you need a lifeline.

- Humble yourself and others will humble themselves to you.

- Forgiveness is the path to freedom.

- Train the voice in your head to sound like the person you want to become.

- Blisscipline. Bliss = Discipline.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bit.ly/reasons-to-leave-the-city

Being in a big city isn't for everyone. Some love it, and will continue to. The biggest development of the past year is that now you have a CHOICE.

Services like AirBnB, Vrbo, HomeAway and other companies were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. 

However, they've seen a surge in rural bookings. AirBnB's remote area listings earned $200 Million in June 2020, a 25% increase from the previous year.