Frugally Green

We’re all different and that’s what makes life beautiful, right? Growing up, we all navigate different avenues, make different decisions that impact our lives, and draw different conclusions from the same information. The culmination of all these differences are what come to make us uniquely “us.”

This is largely related to the fact that everyone possesses their own unique learning profile, meaning that we are naturally inclined to learn better from specific types of inputs and are predisposed to perform better at certain tasks than others.

This is something that we all recognize intuitively, but have you ever considered that it might explain why you’ve got a knack for understanding and caring for the environment, but have thousands of dollars in credit card debt and can’t seem to dig yourself out?

8 ways to be a genius

There’s a gentleman by the name of Howard Gardner who understands this. From 1983 to present, he’s developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences to challenge the generally accepted measurements of intellect.

According to Gardner’s studies, there are 8 ways that a person can express the intelligence that they naturally possess. They are:

• Linguistically – People with linguistic intelligence have a natural affinity for reading, writing, speaking and listening. They’re often good at explaining and teaching.

• Logically – If you possess logical intelligence, you’re probably good with abstractions, numbers, and complex math.

• Spatially – Those with spatial intelligence usually have a talent for visualizing and manipulating objects and ideas. This is a common trait of the artistic.

• Bodily-kinesthetically – If you’re good with your hands or find that you learn the best by doing an activity, you probably have a strong kinesthetic intelligence.

• Musically – People with a strong sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, and tones usually have a great musical intelligence.

• Interpersonally – If you have interpersonal intelligence, you’re likely extroverted and can easily read others’ moods and temperaments. You probably work well in groups.

• Intrapersonally – People with a very strong sense of self and internal understanding have what’s called intrapersonal intelligence.

• Naturalistically – Those with naturalistic intelligence are highly aware of their environment, can understand how ecosystems work, and can be talented with communicating with animals.

Interesting list, no?

Now consider for a second the relevance of each of these intelligences to understanding how you and the natural world work versus, say, the manmade construct of money. I’m not insinuating that you have to be primarily a logical learner to understand money, but it sure would help, wouldn’t it?

What’s your learning profile?

So what are you supposed to do if you’re not naturally inclined to understand and appreciate the math behind the conventional rules of personal finance?

I suppose it would help to begin by understanding your learning profile. Most of us probably have at least an idea of how we learn best, but it might help to have an idea of our other supporting intelligences to help us gauge the best way to approach what feels like a complex topic.

There are a lot of tests out there that aim to give you a snapshot of your learning profile. I know because I spent all day finding and taking them.  I recommend this test from the Learning Disability Resource Community. I liked it the best for these reasons:

• At 80 questions, it felt very comprehensive.

• I felt the results were accurate.

• The questions were worded in ways that made it easy to select appropriate answers.

• No email address or other personally identifying information was required to get my results.

Speaking of results, here’s a snapshot of my learning profile:

As you can see, I’m highly musical and kinesthetic. Also, I’m not very interpersonal or naturalistic. It’s true, this stuff doesn’t come naturally to me.

On improvement

To this day, personal finance and money, when they’re taught at all, are still taught with very mathy overtones. This is a roadblock for most of us.

So what could a guy like me do if I wanted a better grasp of my personal finances? I would need to find a way to relate it to the musical and kinesthetic intelligences that I already possess.

When I developed my first budget, I started tracking how much money I was spending on CDs, records, and recording equipment.

As it turns out, it wasn’t all that much and I had other parts of my life that needed a lot more attention, but relating money to music was the first step I had to take to get my brain to even accept the fact that money management was now going to be a part of my life.

It’s what got me to say, “Hey, I can do this!” I couldn’t have begun to understand it any other way.

From there, I went to an all cash budgeting system and almost entirely stopped using my credit card. Taking the physical dollar bills out of my wallet and counting them out each time I bought something really played to my kinesthetic intelligence.

Removing the barriers to successful personal finance and working from basic concepts with my natural intelligences gave me the sense of understanding that made me want to keep improving.

Putting it all together

Today, I’m on an all-credit, fully-automated budget tracking system that works perfectly for me, but starting out with what made sense at the time is what it took to get here.

Money, budgets, and personal finance were scary words not that long ago. Music and handwork were comfortable and familiar.

The human mind is a complex organ with all kinds of built-in roadblocks. Learning to connect with yourself and your natural strengths will help you to address foreign ideas and concepts with less fear and hesitance.

What are your primary natural learning styles? How can you incorporate them to improve your understanding of personal finance?

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Light bulb image by Caveman 92223

How would it feel if you found out that you were wasting 80% of your time doing things that weren’t getting you any closer to your goals?  What if you learned that you could stop, or at least quit focusing on, 80% of the things you do on a day to day basis and still enjoy the same success you do today – still live the same life you’re living? What new and exciting challenges could you add to your life if 80% of the time you spent managing your money and your eco-footprint were simply gone?

What a crock, right? That’s what I thought, at least at first, because that’s what comes to mind any time I hear anything earth shattering (I don’t necessarily recommend this life perspective, by the way).  But guess what?  It’s true, and it works – at least to some extent.  If you don’t believe me, and I wouldn’t expect you to since this post intro is already playing out like the first 30 seconds of every Sunday morning infomercial you’ve ever seen, just take it from some of the richest and most successful businessmen in the world, greatest leaders of all time, and various instances of math and science.  That’s right, math and science.

The Pareto Principle

Enter the Pareto principle. A long time ago, in a land far, far away (think Italy in the late 1800s) there was a gentleman by the name of Vilfredo Pareto who happened to notice that 80% of the wealth of Italy was owned by only 20% of its people. After further research, he found that the same balance applied across many countries and, cumulatively, the world.  Fast forward to the 1940s and we find a business management consultant by the name of Joseph Juran who, fascinated by Pareto’s findings, decided to apply it to his field, finding that 80% of the success of businesses comes from 20% of their efforts.

Juran found that many of his clients could experience substantial growth and success by reorganizing their priorities to focus more on the 20% of things they do that have the biggest impact on their bottom line.  Microsoft has reported that, when they release new software, they’re able to eliminate crashes 80% of the time by focusing only on the top 20% of the bugs that users report.  Many businesses today have learned that 80% of their income is produced by only 20% of their customers.  This is why they offer lavish incentives to their top clients; they know just how much they depend on them for continued success.

What’s in it for us?

If so many others have been able to find success by applying the Pareto principle to their situation, why the heck can’t we? In my mind, there’s no difference between what we’re doing and what the business world is doing.  We’re all trying to get the most bang for our buck and make the biggest change we can with the time and resources we have.  When I analyze everything I’m doing, its pretty easy to see where I’m making the biggest difference.

I know that by eating less meat, I am helping to make a huge dent in the conservation of the environment by reducing the amount of space needed to raise animals and reducing the number of them that are emitting methane into the air.  I also know that by winterizing my home (something I’ll be posting about soon since it’s starting to get cold) I can save a bunch of money on my energy bills since the furnace doesn’t have to work as hard to keep me warm. But these two things are only a small fraction of all the things I do on a daily basis.

In terms of personal finance, I’ve found that by spending just minutes a week using an online account aggregator (Mint.com), I have considerably more control over my money by being able to visualize where it’s all going on a regular basis.  This has been a huge benefit to me since spending countless hours trying to develop money saving systems for myself before turning to Mint proved relatively ineffective.  For me, the secret was in being able to easily see a snapshot of my finances at any given moment.

What about the left over 80%?

So, now I’ve whittled down my list of “really important and meaningful tasks” that deliver far more value than all the rest of the things I do and I’m going to spend way more time working on them.  But what am I supposed to do with this giant pile of waste that comprises the remaining 80%?

I guess this is the part of the infomercial where, just after becoming entirely sold and actually picking up the phone to order, you realize that there’s no way you can actually  get fit drinking beer and watching infomercials all day with your Mega Ab Buster 4000™  stuck to your gut while you lay on the couch.  But that’s a tad over-dramatic because the Pareto principle actually does work, you just don’t get to entirely throw out the rest of your commitments.

When you start to put this rule into action in your own life, you’ll find that you still have to do a bunch of the things that don’t have a significant impact on your success.  This is a reality of existing.  There will be at least a few things on that list, though) that you’ll notice you were spending way too much time on for how little you were getting out of them (this was a bit of an embarrassing revelation for me).

While implementing the 80/20 rule into your life could certainly eliminate a number of no-benefit tasks you were fixated on, the whole point is to reorganize your priorities. By focusing on the 20% of things that are really effective for you and your goals, you should start to see more success in your progress towards achieving them.  This makes dealing with the remaining  80% of the sometimes necessary busywork in your life a whole lot more bearable.

Final Thoughts

If you ever wondered before why you were working so hard but achieving so little, this might be at least part of the answer.  Hard work and determination are amazing characteristics, but if they’re aimed at the wrong targets, the wheels are just spinning. Put the rubber to the road by nailing down what’s really important. Exclude the rest until life forces you to deal with it.

What are you trying to achieve and what’s the 20% that you need to focus on?  What’s some of the background noise that seems to get in the way when you try to do this and how can you deal with it?

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Yesterday, I announced a survey for my readers. If you’re at all interested in shaping the future of Frugally Green and it’s content, please click through to yesterday’s post and give me your feedback by completing the survey.  I do a lot of talking around here, but your opinion is the most important.

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80/20 Rule Image by Sleepy Valley

I’d like to be able to say that when I was in college, environmental sustainability was just starting to take a foothold at universities around the country.  Honestly, though, I don’t know if that’s true.  The farther down the rabbit hole I go, the more I realize that the roots of the green movement started long before me.  While I’ve always pursued sustainability to some extent as a personal goal and aspiration, it wasn’t until very recently that I began to think of it in terms of a possible career path.

Apparently, I’m not the only one.  Colleges and universities around the country are now offering and expanding options to students looking to improve the world through environmental stewardship.  The Princeton Review now even keeps an honor roll of the most sustainable schools (so disappointed not to see my alma mater on there).

If you’re headed off to college, back to school, or already enrolled, there are several things you can do to make sure you’re at the top of the pack when you graduate.  You may be interested to know that graduating suma cum laude is not on the list (though there’s nothing wrong with that).

Always take on interesting projects

This is one of the easiest ways to stand out from the crowd.  Most college students are just trying to get by, regurgitating the same facts and ideas that they’ve absorbed over the years.  By designing projects that truly interest you and challenge you to do your best work, you’ll stand out to your professors and even future employers, even if your conclusions aren’t revelations.  It’s easy to get it right when you’re repeating the same steps someone else has 100 times before.  It’s far more difficult and interesting to blaze your own trail.

People notice when you step outside of the box. For example,  while all your classmates are studying the effectiveness of a green roof, you could be researching the cost benefit of different types of green roofs across different types of climates.  An original idea can go a long way.

Make valuable connections

Never miss an opportunity to create a meaningful connection with someone.  The more you make the better.  These are the people that will inspire you to be the best you can be, force you to healthily challenge your beliefs, and provide you with connections to the people and companies that you want to work for.  Don’t limit yourself to classmates.  Connect with professors, department heads, club and organization leaders, and guest lecturers that you find interesting.

Since I graduated from high school, I’ve had five or so different jobs and have only ever submitted one resume and been to one interview.  I now work for one of the leading green contractors in the US and I never even had an interview.  I don’t say this to pat myself on the back, only to emphasize the power of the connections you can make with people. You simply never know where they’ll lead you.

Also, don’t be afraid to sever connections with the wrong people. These are the ones that bring you down and will try to hinder you in reaching your goals.  Sometimes, when we’re eager to make all the connections we can, a few bad ones slip in there.  Our first impressions aren’t always right!  Being able to recognize these poor connections  and, more importantly, end them will improve your odds of success exponentially. Furthermore, don’t make connections just to network. These kind of folks are sleazy.  Just be natural and do your best to connect with people that are interesting to you.

Seek out challenging internships

The best way to find the job you want right out of college is to get your foot in the door before you graduate.  Use the network you built above to do a little legwork for you.  Don’t settle for one internship, either.  Pursue many throughout the course of your academic career, and in different fields, even if your degree is very specialized.

I only completed one internship while in college and luckily ended up in a pretty good fit, but I still truly regret not making the effort to pursue more opportunities before tying the knot.  The only way to know what company will be the best fit for you will be to try many of them.

Besides, the more internships you’re able to complete, the better positioned you’ll be to accept a position with a company that is the best fit for you and with potential multiple offers on the table, you’ll be in a great place to negotiate your starting salary.

Stay on top of technology

This is just one of those things you need to do to be as valuable as possible to your future employer.  If this is something that comes naturally to you, then it will probably be easy.

It does not come naturally to me.  I seem to always be a generation or two behind whatever new and exciting technology is available to me.  You don’t need to know everything about the latest and greatest in every aspect of life.  You just need to be able to identify the areas of technology that are important to your field and focus on them.  This is easier to do if you’re passionate about what you’re studying!

The technology leaps in the green industry are staggering right now, but if you can navigate them and prove proficiency in the latest and greatest while all your classmates have given up and stuck to what they already know, you’ll have positioned yourself pretty well.

Start side projects

This has got to be the most important of all the things you can do to make sure you’re successful coming out of college.  If you find success here, there’s no need to even go looking for a job out of college.  You’ve already created one for yourself.

Start small and try all sorts of things.  Constantly be on the look for opportunities to use your knowledge and skills to provide people with something they want or need.  Fail all over the place. It doesn’t matter how many times something new doesn’t work out because you’ll learn something with each attempt and you’re still in college, so you’re allowed to fail (you’re allowed to fail out of college as well, it’s just more difficult to grant yourself permission).

What’s the worst that will happen? You’re future employer will be impressed by how self-motivated and creative you are? That doesn’t sound so bad.

Graduate early

No, you don’t have to give up the “college experience” to do this.  I wish I would have known that sooner.  I rationalize my choice to spend 5 years getting my degree to myself every day, but deep down, I know I could have had an even better experience and came out way ahead with more forethought and planning.  Don’t make the same mistake I did.

They say kids these days grow up too fast, but trust me, year five induces symptoms of acute senioritis.  This doesn’t even take into account all the costs associated with expanding your collegiate career by a year.  I’m sure you can think of something better to do with your money.

Final Thoughts

Basically, the best thing you can do to ensure your success is to love what you’re studying and what you’re doing.  When you love what you’re studying, practicing all of these tactics and becoming fully engaged with the world around you is easy.  It’s something you want to do, not something you have to.  How do you target what you love to do?  Well, that’s a topic for another post, but here’s one big hint – do the opposite of what everyone else thinks you should do.

Where are you at on the higher education spectrum – completed, in progress, going to attend, not going to attend?  What do you want to know about sustainable schools and education programs?  What are your career aspirations? How did you decide what to study?

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