15 Comments
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Paul E. Fitch's avatar

Amazing parking lot story, Dave! Talk about serendipity.

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Dave Kang's avatar

Thanks Paul. Yeah it was the craziest way I got a job. Call it coincidence, divine providence, luck, or serendipity, every time I recount that story it reminds me that almost anything is possible, and you never know who might unexpectedly show up in your life to help you. That's why I try to treat everyone with kindness, especially the unemployed, as a way of returning Erica's favor.

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My MAP Project's avatar

Love the Octopus concept. Here I was thinking there was something wrong with me because I couldn't focus on one thing, find 'purpose' or be a specialist. I like variety too much.

When and where will you be selling your life chart? Would be great PDF printable to share.

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Jūlija B's avatar

Hey, you mentioned Octopus phases, and that caught my attention. What are they? Have you written anything on the topic? As a multipassionate striving to figure out my own path, I'm really interested in how another Octopus person, as you call them (love the metaphor), might envision progress or organise their life.

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Dave Kang's avatar

Hi Jūlija,

Thanks for reading and glad to meet another multi passionate person! When I mentioned "Octopus phase" I was referring to the entire season of life I'm in right now, where I'm exploring my Octopus life and career. I do not have this era broken into "phases" per se, although I am learning some things along the way that I may eventually turn into a post, to help other octopus people figure out how to organize their octopus life and career. There is a downside to being an Octopus, namely that we can become too scattered/stretched, and never accomplish anything. So organizing your tentacles and figuring out how to deploy them is important.

If you haven't read my other Octopus related posts, you can start here which is about my Octopus Life in general when I first started down this path: https://open.substack.com/pub/davekang/p/my-life-as-an-octopus-a-generalist?r=tvag3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

And also this followup post talks more specifically about how I'm organizing my 8 "jobs" into an octopus-style portfolio career:

https://open.substack.com/pub/davekang/p/my-work-as-an-octopus-generalist-income-from-multiple-interests?r=tvag3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Hope those are helpful starter points, but I will keep your "phasing" question in mind, I need to think a bit more about that.

I saw you're a student and keeping busy with multiple projects, I subscribed to your Substack and would love to stay in touch!

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Caterina's avatar

Such a great story, Dave! I was so absorbed in it that I was surprised when I reached the end—a perfect example of the power of storytelling!

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Dave Kang's avatar

Thanks Caterina, yeah it was such an unusual way to find a job just when I needed it most

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Mia Ella Hirchberg's avatar

serendipitous timing! I was drafting a bio of my personal life using wikipedia as a template. really interesting to feel like I'm just starting my career, even with other stuff under my belt. open road ahead of me :)

love that story, thank you for sharing it really vividly!

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Dave Kang's avatar

Hi Mia, using Wikipedia as a life bio template is an interesting exercise. Just the facts, no fluff, written objectively. I might have to try this. Will you be posting that on Substack? I'd be interested in reading it.

Enjoy your youth while you have it, life goes by faster with each year that passes!

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Mia Ella Hirchberg's avatar

it's really interesting, yeah! so far it's an email draft, but maybe; i'll link a potential/hypothetical future post here :)

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Baird Brightman's avatar

Your life calendar is a time machine Dave. Good to see you affirming the benefits of "nostalgia". Here's my take on that interesting topic:

https://bairdbrightman.substack.com/p/nostalgia

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Dave Kang's avatar

Thanks Baird, every time I write something it seems you have a great article to complement it! I've never watched Mad Men, I heard it was a great show.

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Baird Brightman's avatar

Some people don't appreciate commenters attaching their own writing. They view it as "stealing" attention. I'm just trying to engage in a discussion of interesting issues, but if it annoys you please tell me and I'll knock it off!

And yes, Mad Men was terrific. Up there with The Sopranos and Breaking Bad in my faves list.

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Dave Kang's avatar

I don't mind, as your links are always relevant. I haven't seen the Sopranos or Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones either! I guess I don't watch much TV :)

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Baird Brightman's avatar

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige.

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