Response to "Freak Factor"

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Rendall's "Freak Factor" provides the audience with advice on how to embrace their inner-freak.  And by that I mean he tells us that our flaws, the things that make us freaks, are also what can make us successful if we take the right approach.  There were three specific suggestions on how to do this that stuck out to me:

Forget it: Don't try to fix your weakness
This piece of advice was not my favorite, but I still think it is interesting.  In many cases it is true.  If you have a physical flaw, or something that you were just born with that you consider a weakness then I agree that it is not worth the struggle.  That is just the way you are, and that is when you go on to the other steps about embracing it.  However there are some weaknesses that you can improve on.  For example, all throughout my life I was an athlete, and in high school I was really serious about field hockey.  I played the position of goalkeeper, which is one that requires quick implications of many different skills.  Every practice I would identify a weakness of mine and work on it all practice too improve my over all play.  I think this goes well into video production, because if my weakness is steadiness of the camera then I need to practice that.  If I have a motor skill issue with my hands that causes them to shake, that is obviously a flaw that I cannot fix so in that case it would be best to forget it.  So I both agree and disagree with this advice.

Focus: You can't choose both
What this piece of advice is saying is be really good at something instead of being kind of good at a lot of things.  He uses WalMart, K Mart and Target to create a very good example for what he means.  I really like this piece of advice.  I think that everything kind of boils down to this.  For example, going to college.  We pick a major, which should be what we think we are best at or at least a strength that we've chosen to focus on so that we have one area to market ourselves in.  It is not ignoring everything else, it is just an emphasis and I think that emphasis is important especially when it comes to business and getting jobs.  When I begin to look for internships and jobs, I am going to have to find what I am best at within my field and really play it up.  Saying that I am the best concert videographer in my class is way better than saying I am kind of talented at videography, editing, and directing.

Fit: Find the right spot
The comparison drawn in this piece of advice is the story of rudolph the red nose reindeer who had to find a place that was right for him and his bright red nose.  So instead of trying to hide or flaws or improve them, find a place where your flaw is a strength.  I really like this piece of advice because I think it sort of applies to my life.  I am very ambitious, and I like constant change.  Where I grew up in Delaware is one of the most static locations I know.  Most people who grow up there never leave, and stay in the same house their whole life.  With my personality I was obviously in the wrong place.  The world of media is every changing and will always keep me busy, so I found my fit within that world.  And for this reason I am now going to college in Ohio to pursue a career in media.

As far as my own strength and weaknesses, I still have a lot to explore. I do know that I am really good with people and organizing people, and with that I have good leadership skills.  Creatively I am really good at taking something, and turning it into something else.  Which brings me to my weakness, I am not that great of just coming up with an idea out of the blue.