Blog: Finding your "white hot"

I was returning textbooks in the BYU Bookstore when I met a brand new freshman, who talked to me the entire way through the line about her choices for majors and minors. Like many other freshmen, she was interested in many things—and completely confused which to pursue. She named about six majors, stopping only because it was her turn in line.


You might think you’re safe from this confusion (after all, you have a career and the title to prove it) but I’ve talked to several employees during my AmFam internship this summer who aren’t too different from that freshman. Some would like to try something new but don’t know what or how, and others have made it to their current position only after trying several alternatives.


I’ve realized that it all comes down to finding your “white hot.” This is the hottest part of the fire, and finding yours means you’ll accomplish significantly more high quality work. Think about it: how much more would you get done each day if you loved your work so much you couldn’t wait to get started?


While each person may have a different path to finding their “white hot,” I learned a few things this summer that college students and professionals can do to come a little closer to the heat:




1. Find out about yourself—and then play to your strengths. In college, they have career advisement counselors. At AmFam, they have a Career Engagement and Agility Course. You don’t need to be a confused freshman to find out what makes you tick. Taking classes like this—or even the Meyers-Briggs test—is the first step in finding who you really are and where you can make the biggest difference.


2. Always seek out new opportunities. Don’t dismiss opportunities that at first glance, don’t fit into your ideal. Before attending BYU, I thought business was nothing but accounting and I almost didn’t take the internship at AmFam. Growing horizontally enriches everything, and can open up doors you never even knew existed.


3. Think outside the box. Students are always inventing ways to get work done with minimal efforts (study groups, anyone?) but you don’t need to wake up at noon to work smarter, not harder. Want some ideas? Read Seth Godin’s blog!


4. Never stop learning! Learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom and it doesn’t end when you graduate or receive that big promotion. By taking every chance you have to learn, you’ll be that much more valuable—and have more to contribute.


5. Be willing to give it 200%. Even though this doesn’t make sense mathematically, when you give it your all and then some, amazing things can happen—including inspiring the people around you.


6. Pay attention to things (and people) around you. We’ve all heard it before: networking is so important. I was once told: get to know what people love and then love what they love—then they will love you. Listen to others, and then do the small things to build and keep relationships. Think of each thing as a stone in the wall: it doesn’t look like much close up, but step back and you’ll see something magnificent.




I say, find your “white hot”! Whether your desk is a cubicle with dual monitors and spreadsheets or the kitchen table next to some instant ramen, you stand to gain so much by searching for the heat.



**This blog was published on the American Family Insurance internal corporate blog, "Cube With A View".

Feature Story: Carl Bloch Exhibit

Carole Smith drives from Draper to Provo every week to volunteer, taking tickets and directing people into a panorama film room. Upon entering, images of the Demark countryside, the inside of a cathedral leading up to the altar, and beautiful paintings of Christ flash across the screen. Then, a phrase lingers: “These paintings have traveled here, across time, and across the world. Now you are a part of their story.” 

“I love the art,” Smith said. “That’s why I’m here.” 

Smith is a volunteer at the Museum of Art, which is currently offering visitors a chance to see “Carl Bloch: The Master’s Hand.” This exhibit is open through May and showcases a collection of the artist’s work, including five altar pieces and various other religious, historical, and secular pieces that were gathered from churches and establishments in Sweden and Denmark. 

Some exhibit patrons carried iPads around with them, an additional tour feature, while others simply pondered the rooms of colorful paintings. Two young girls knelt on the ground with their arms around each other, pointing at a collection from Christ’s life. Many of the patrons were visibly moved.

This was the case for Carol Bonnett and Judy Mortenson, Utah residents and longtime friends. Sitting in front of Bloch’s painting depicting Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mortenson wiped away tears and put her arm around Bonnett. 

“I feel a reverence being here,” Mortenson said. 

Mortenson said that the painting contrasted the hardness of the world with the light of the Savior and showed the tenderness of Christ’s love. “He didn’t know it would be so hard,” Mortenson said, “but he did it anyway.”

Bonnett said it there was trouble in securing the paintings for the exhibit, causing them to almost not arrive. “It’s really a miracle that they’re here,” she said. 

Outside of the exhibit, Smith enjoys asking patrons about their experience. “I haven’t run into anyone that didn’t love it,” Smith said.

When asked about her weekly drive, Smith said, “you have to fuel your passions.”

**This story was written for a BYU media writing class the Winter 2011 semester.

Website Content: TRUE Travel Spa

During the Fall 2010 semester, a team of five entrepreneur students at LDS Business College created a mobile spa business for a class project. TRUE Travel Spa made over $1,000 that semester and I submitted an executive summary that won 2nd place in the 2010 Opportunity Quest Business Competition. After the semester ended, I and four new students continued by developing a business plan that placed us in the top 30 in the 2011 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge.

Although the business is no longer running, I learned many valuable lessons during this experience. To see our website design, please go to http://truetravelspa.com.

Although I did not design the website, I wrote the content and worked with the designer to develop our layout.

Newsletter: Mobility Newsletter Template

**This newsletter template was created for the American Family Field Mobility Team in July 2011.

Website Content: Android Battery Savers

Please click here to view a website article written about Android phone battery savers.



**This article was published on the American Family Field Mobility Website in December 2011. 

Advertisement: KitchenAid

Please click here to see an advertisement created for KitchenAid mixers.



**This advertisement was created for a BYU media writing class Fall 2011 semester.

Newsletter Article: Social Media: A Changing Landscape in Sales Business Technology

Social Media: A Changing Landscape in Sales Business Technology

Social media has changed the way we do everything. We go to social media outlets to listen to music, make recommendations, buy things, learn socially and connect with co-workers and friends. The consumer world is busy and growing on social media—so how do we help the field arrive there as well?

Sales Business Technology supports several initiatives that increase field involvement and understanding in a world that can move very quickly—and sometimes, can seem very confusing.


Social Media Website


We’re partnering with Digital Marketing, Communications and Human Resources to provide the field a centralized source for internal and external social media resources


This website will bring field members to various company tools (such as the Digital Marketing Toolkit and Cube with a View) along with explaining what social media is—and why it’s valuable to them. Website content will provide education and resources from a corporate perspective and will allow members to see success stories and tips from agents, ASMs and other field members.

We’re currently gathering field feedback and will present the concept during FMC on September 19. We look forward to this website fostering understanding and excitement about field social media use.

Mobility Initiatives on Social Media

With the field becoming increasingly mobile, our Mobility team is supporting the field not only through the Field Mobility website, but through a few social media outlets as well.

Mobility’s Twitter account (@MobileField) is a way to get out news of recent mobile developments such as new devices, apps and other interesting stories. This Twitter account is following not only corporate members and leaders but field members as well.

The FieldMobility Yammer Group is a private group on Twitter for members of the field to talk about their devices, ask questions and get feedback. This group fosters an environment of field members helping one another with minimal corporate involvement and has grown exponentially in its membership within the last two months.


Along with the FieldMobility Yammer Group, SBT—along with many other districts and corporate departments—has a private group on Yammer. These groups allow teams to collaborate and share news with one another in a way that is convenient and fast.


Social media is becoming an increasing focus in SBT as we support the field in understanding and using these resources. Instead of being confusing and overwhelming, social media can ultimately transfer face-to-face successes to a much larger sphere of influence.






**This newsletter article was published in the American Family Insurance TechConnect Newsletter.