Rocky Balboa
Looking Back at a Season in Hell
March 04, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks a milestone for me. One year ago today, I entered the digital universe by creating my own web site and blog. What I once considered a season in hell because of an apocalyptic economy seems profitable in retrospect. Not financially -- two freelance consulting jobs throughout the year. And I’m still looking for a job or projects. But it was profitable in a Rocky Balboa way. In Rocky Balboa, the title character tells his son:
But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody!
Keep moving forward, indeed.
The questions most often asked of me concerning my web site and blog -- How did I do it? Why did I do it?
Simple. I got laid off from my job as a legal conference producer in November 2008. Rebranding myself seemed to be necessary, if not vital. So, I went through my resume to strongly consider the value that I bring to an employer.
At first, the jobs on my resume seemed disparate -- attorney, gubernatorial campaign’s deputy press secretary, television news writer and producer, freelance magazine article writer, media commentator, legal conference producer. I soon realized the common thread is my passion -- writing.
Ok, I identified my passion. I have the skills and experience to adapt my writing to an employer’s or client’s format. But the worst economy since the Great Depression of the 1930’s gave no hint of loosening up during the holiday season.
I faced factual and anecdotal data concerning an apocalyptic economy. Phone calls to friends, contacts, and former colleagues remained unanswered. Watching CNBC gave no hint of daylight in the gloom and doom. Layoffs, fear, and cutbacks were the watchwords of 2009.
I found inspiration in the movie Any Given Sunday when Miami Sharks Head Coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) gives the big speech before the big football game.
We’re in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.
I climbed my first inch out of hell by attending the pilot program for Shelly Palmer’s Get Digital seminar at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. I learned the importance of becoming digital savvy, owning a Blackberry, and rebranding myself in a fiercely competitive economy steeped largely in digital technology.
Get Digital inspired me to go further on a digital journey. I took a 2-hour web site design course for novices at Tekserve, an authorized Macintosh/Apple computer retailer and repairer located on 23rd Street in Manhattan. After the course, I bought the RapidWeaver web site design program. Being technologically challenged, I forced myself to read the manual again...and again...and again. Within two weeks, I learned how to design my own web sites and blogs.
I attended the International Trademark Association Annual Meeting in Seattle where I met a law firm marketer. A couple of weeks after the conference, he hired me to write the copy for one of his clients, a prominent law firm based in Mexico City.
I also met an editor from the Latin American intellectual property magazine Marcasur. She requested that I write an article about my passion -- writing. My article Your Writing Is Your Trademark appeared in the July - September 2009 issue. I’m also moderating a writing workshop at the INTA Annual Meeting in May 2010.
I lobbied the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal for a regular column focusing on important deals, people, and events from historical and legal perspectives. Result: Krell’s Korner was born. The first column was published in the Fall-Winter 2009 issue. It concerned the deal between ABC and Walt Disney that allowed the animator to build Disneyland.
In November, a former colleague hired me to conduct legal and historical research concerning one of his company’s well-known entertainment characters. The research culminated in a massive report that left no stone unturned concerning the character’s business and legal history.
I attended the New York State Bar Association’s Annual Conference where a panel discussion concerning the new economy persuaded me to further my rebranding as a communications expert. Result: The Writing Guy™ communications was born.
I reconnected with a friend who hired me to consult on a trademark issue for one of her clients, a designer of games and applications for the iPhone.
I lobbied my alma mater, Villanova Law School, to host my CLE legal writing workshop for alumni. Stop Writing Like A Lawyer!™
will take place on April 7th.
Throughout, I wrote more than 70 blog entries about writing and communications. I created a second web site called Our Television Heritage™that houses my blog and articles regarding television history.
Last night, the last night of my first year as a digital savvy attorney/writer/blogger, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the City Bar Association of New York -- Using Your Law Degree for Something Other Than Practicing Law: Exploring Non-Legal Roles Within Law Firms. The panelists believe that the economy is showing signs of loosening regarding hiring law firm marketers with legal backgrounds and outside writing consultants.
I certainly hope so.
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks a milestone for me. One year ago today, I entered the digital universe by creating my own web site and blog. What I once considered a season in hell because of an apocalyptic economy seems profitable in retrospect. Not financially -- two freelance consulting jobs throughout the year. And I’m still looking for a job or projects. But it was profitable in a Rocky Balboa way. In Rocky Balboa, the title character tells his son:
But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody!
Keep moving forward, indeed.
The questions most often asked of me concerning my web site and blog -- How did I do it? Why did I do it?
Simple. I got laid off from my job as a legal conference producer in November 2008. Rebranding myself seemed to be necessary, if not vital. So, I went through my resume to strongly consider the value that I bring to an employer.
At first, the jobs on my resume seemed disparate -- attorney, gubernatorial campaign’s deputy press secretary, television news writer and producer, freelance magazine article writer, media commentator, legal conference producer. I soon realized the common thread is my passion -- writing.
Ok, I identified my passion. I have the skills and experience to adapt my writing to an employer’s or client’s format. But the worst economy since the Great Depression of the 1930’s gave no hint of loosening up during the holiday season.
I faced factual and anecdotal data concerning an apocalyptic economy. Phone calls to friends, contacts, and former colleagues remained unanswered. Watching CNBC gave no hint of daylight in the gloom and doom. Layoffs, fear, and cutbacks were the watchwords of 2009.
I found inspiration in the movie Any Given Sunday when Miami Sharks Head Coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) gives the big speech before the big football game.
We’re in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.
I climbed my first inch out of hell by attending the pilot program for Shelly Palmer’s Get Digital seminar at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. I learned the importance of becoming digital savvy, owning a Blackberry, and rebranding myself in a fiercely competitive economy steeped largely in digital technology.
Get Digital inspired me to go further on a digital journey. I took a 2-hour web site design course for novices at Tekserve, an authorized Macintosh/Apple computer retailer and repairer located on 23rd Street in Manhattan. After the course, I bought the RapidWeaver web site design program. Being technologically challenged, I forced myself to read the manual again...and again...and again. Within two weeks, I learned how to design my own web sites and blogs.
I attended the International Trademark Association Annual Meeting in Seattle where I met a law firm marketer. A couple of weeks after the conference, he hired me to write the copy for one of his clients, a prominent law firm based in Mexico City.
I also met an editor from the Latin American intellectual property magazine Marcasur. She requested that I write an article about my passion -- writing. My article Your Writing Is Your Trademark appeared in the July - September 2009 issue. I’m also moderating a writing workshop at the INTA Annual Meeting in May 2010.
I lobbied the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal for a regular column focusing on important deals, people, and events from historical and legal perspectives. Result: Krell’s Korner was born. The first column was published in the Fall-Winter 2009 issue. It concerned the deal between ABC and Walt Disney that allowed the animator to build Disneyland.
In November, a former colleague hired me to conduct legal and historical research concerning one of his company’s well-known entertainment characters. The research culminated in a massive report that left no stone unturned concerning the character’s business and legal history.
I attended the New York State Bar Association’s Annual Conference where a panel discussion concerning the new economy persuaded me to further my rebranding as a communications expert. Result: The Writing Guy™ communications was born.
I reconnected with a friend who hired me to consult on a trademark issue for one of her clients, a designer of games and applications for the iPhone.
I lobbied my alma mater, Villanova Law School, to host my CLE legal writing workshop for alumni. Stop Writing Like A Lawyer!™
will take place on April 7th.
Throughout, I wrote more than 70 blog entries about writing and communications. I created a second web site called Our Television Heritage™that houses my blog and articles regarding television history.
Last night, the last night of my first year as a digital savvy attorney/writer/blogger, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the City Bar Association of New York -- Using Your Law Degree for Something Other Than Practicing Law: Exploring Non-Legal Roles Within Law Firms. The panelists believe that the economy is showing signs of loosening regarding hiring law firm marketers with legal backgrounds and outside writing consultants.
I certainly hope so.