You mentioned, you set goals and then you end up somewhere else. &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; And do you think that there's a plan that just leads you to where you are and if you work hard, you achieve? Or do you think that when you set a goal, that is the thing you probably will end up doing? I'm not sure if I frame that. &gt;&gt; Yeah, no, I understand what you're saying. Well, everybody's not gonna end up where they want to. Cuz ten people probably set the goal to be governor and all ten of us aren't gonna become governor. I think what you need to do is set your goals and then keep your options open as best you possibly can and do things that will direct you to get there. And then you've got the best chance of achieving that goal. You're not always gonna get what you want. I mean, that's just the way life is. I mean, I wanna be a professional basketball player when I was in junior high school. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] But I kinda went by the wayside, you know what I mean? &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; But you need to have in mind what you wanna do and just keep working towards that. And for folks like you, I would give the advice to just keep your options open and keep learning. You never stop learning until you die, you just don't. You're always learning something new about something you previously had. And you should seek out to learn more and to gain more knowledge and to understand better. And that I think you need to keep up with what's going on. I mean, you can't get too wrapped up and just watching TV and playing video games. You need to get out into the world and experience things. And you need to take part in the progress, in the building up of that as opposed to being something that's trying to be stagnant and stay where you are. Because if you stay where you are you, everybody else is passing you by. And you can't let everybody else pass you by. 

Set your goals and then keep your options open as best as possible. Not everyone can reach a certain goal sometimes because it's just not possible. For example, 10 people may have wanted to be governor but all 10 can't get elected. Do things that will direct you towards the goals you've set so that you give yourself the best chance of achieving that goal, but keep your options open because things change along the way.

I ran for State Senate twice and lost, which was disappointing. However, I persevered because I still wanted to serve the public, so I found a place that was a better fit for me to get started.

Governor

Goals

Hard Work

Support & Encouragement

Set Goals But Keep Your Options Open

My name is Richard Fletcher. My background I went to Monterey Peninsula College and PC for three years and then I transferred to Humboldt State University. I was a wildlife biology major there and started working for California State Parks two days after graduation. Being a seasonal interpreter at Humboldt Redwood State Park I did that for three seasons before they offered me a job here at Hearst Castle. I took that promotion and was educating people kind of interpreting Hearst Castle for about four years and then they offered me a guide to job, which is a supervisor job here. So now I oversee the guides at Hearst Castle. It's special for so many reasons it played such a dynamic role in California's history. So it's interesting socially for that reason. Now William Randolph Hearst, he's a collector, right? He loves collecting art, he's a builder. And he's also an entertainer. That's a huge passion. This really ties kind of all three of those passions together. You could play poker with the future Prime Minister of the UK, Winston Churchill. He's a guest here. He might be sitting there with the witty Irish author and playwright named George Bernard Shaw. They might be sitting with up and coming names in Hollywood like Cary Grant. You might be sitting with Charlie Chaplin. If you don't know what to say, to get his attention, maybe you're a little intimidated. Remember, this guy's a huge media mogul. He could make or break. Your career through his media empire. So what do you say to get attention? It's easy you ask him about his art collection. &gt;&gt; When you originally chosen major was this what you had intended to do? &gt;&gt; When I was a kid, I went to a Campfire program in a National Park and I had so much fun I just decided, you know what? That's what I wanna do. So when I was picking my major, I did have that in mind. Both my parents were teachers, so I think that rubbed off of me. I loved teaching people things. And interpreting is more than just teaching. You're also trying to inspire people. 

Get a seasonal job. It will help you learn how everything works in the State Parks system. I would also highly recommend taking any and all civil service exams that you can. You can't get a full time state job unless you are ranked on a hiring list! Look at https://jobs.ca.gov/CalHRPublic/Search/ExamSearch.aspx to find exams that you may be interested in taking. Every exam you pass is a door that will be open to you when you are looking for a job.

I took advantage of as many aid programs as possible. Don't be too proud to apply for programs like unemployment or food stamps. It will be a lot harder to get or keep a job if you don't have a place to live or if you can't afford to eat!

I was diagnosed with a learning disability when I was in grade school (terrible reading comprehension). I took advantage of all the programs they had to offer at school. I also learned how to work around my disability by learning in other ways.

Daily work is quite variable. I normally answer sick calls and replace employees in the morning. I then check employees in and ensure the tour operation is running smoothly throughout the day. After that, I work on ongoing assignments like planning and scheduling school and ADA tours. I also monitor and evaluate tour guide's tours. I mentor the guide staff and assist them with any problems. I analyze the tour program and address any issues in meetings. Lastly, I give tours to VIP guests.

Guide II Supervisor

You are going nowhere in life and wasting your time.

Experience

Becoming A Guide At Hearst Castle

When you originally chose your major, was this what you, had intended to do? &gt;&gt; When I was a kid, I went to a camp fire program in a national park. And I had so much fun I just decided, you know what? That's what I wanna do. So, when I was picking my major, I did have that in mind. Both my parents were teachers, so I think that rubbed off on me, I loved teaching people things. And interpreting is more than just teaching, you're also trying to help inspire people. &gt;&gt; You said you were an interpreter at a state park? &gt;&gt; Yeah, Humboldt Redwoods State Park. &gt;&gt; Yeah, and then you came here. And I think it might be a little different than that? What made you change over here? &gt;&gt; Well, a few different things. One, it's always nice to change up things every once in a while. I loved being in the Redwoods. The office here, though, I mean, look at my office view. So and then on top of that, it was just trying to work my way up in the state park system. Being a seasonal interpreter was a lot of fun. I gave nature walks, and I led camp fire programs. But it was a seasonal job. And so this job has more security. At the same time, Hearst Castle gets anywhere from 600,000 to 800,000 visitors a year. And so, when you wanna be an interpreter, and kind of bridge the gap between the park and a visitor. Where better to do it than at Hearst Castle, where you get half a million people a year? 

Passion

Why I Decided To Pursue Interpreting For National Parks

Becoming an interpreter, what were the steps, or what were the things you have to get certified to get up there? &gt;&gt; Yeah, oo be a seasonal, it's really easy. All you have to do is apply. But if you want a more permanent position, or a full-time position that would include the retirement and the benefits, you have to take a civil service exam. Once you take the exam, you get ranked on a list and then people can hire off of that list. I would recommend take as many those exams as you can, the more exams you take and pass the more doors are open for you. You could become a tour guide, you could become an interpreter, you become a specialist which sometimes do they have people that are specializing interpretation. So It does help. Definitely, do your homework when you're applying for the job. If you're gonna be doing an interpreter job, for example, down here at the coast. Definitely look up the environment, look up what's going on, look at what the programs are about. All that type of stuff really helps because it is gonna be competitive. A lot of the times there's one position open but there might be 17 people applying for it. And don't just get discouraged if you don't get it there's always going to be more interpreter jobs. 

How To Become An Interpreter For National Parks

When I turned 40, I kinda went through a little midlife crisis, because, I when they woke up and I realized that all the goals I had set for myself, I had accomplished them. And then I was, now what do I do? [LAUGH] Supposedly, I'm only at the midpoint of my life. And for all these years, like everything I ever did, every decision I made was always working towards those goals. And then, when you find yourself having met all of them, like there's something shocking that happens, you know? Where you're like, my god, I ran out of goals. [LAUGHTER] &gt;&gt; Now what? Now, what am I working towards? So then, at 40, I had to come up with a new list of things that I needed to work towards. 

Have a plan! School can be a cocoon of comfort, but you have to remember that you will one day emerge from that cocoon out into the world. Having a plan will help you on path while you are getting started. Start networking as early as you can and making those connections that could lead to exciting opportunities. Volunteer and intern as much as you!

After graduating from college, I struggled to find work, so I became a middle school teacher. This helped me pay for my student loans while I tried to become a writer. It took almost 4 years before I was able to became a full-time published writer.

My parents came to the U.S. when I was very young, leaving me and my siblings behind in Mexico. I was finally able to immigrate when I was 10 years old and entered the country undocumented.

Having my parents leave me at such a young age caused a lot of feelings of being unwanted. Being undocumented, I had to deal with being perceived as being a criminal and not belonging. It was a very traumatizing experience.

It was a struggle switching from speaking Spanish to speaking English. Being bilingual was never encouraged or celebrated. Learning English caused a sense of alienation from my parents and pieces of my culture. As an adult, I'm trying to reclaim it.

I was the first person in my family to go to college and to graduate. My father only completed 3rd grade and my mother only completed 6th grade, so going to college has always been a priority for me, but I didn't really have any guidance.

There are different components to my day as a writer. There is the physical act of writing, but then there is also the promotional aspect of it that involves a lot of traveling and speaking at events, etc. Every week is different for me.

Author

Continue To Set Goals For Yourself

&gt;&gt; Having grown up in a really poor place, gave me a lot of stamina, and a lot of motivation to push through those difficult moments because, I would always tell myself that if I didn't like my life now, I needed to do something to make sure. That in the future, my life would be exactly how I wanted it to be. I would tell myself I have to get out of this situation, because otherwise I'm always gonna be stuck here and I'm always gonna be unhappy. And I managed to like make every single dream come true, like everything. First I wanted to get a college degree, because nobody in my family had one. My father only went to the third grade and my mother only went to sixth grade. So a college degree was like number one on my list. I also wanted to be a professional writer. But before I was a writer, I was a middle school teacher. When I transferred to UC Santa Cruz, I double majored in film and video and creative writing. But when I graduated and I was in Los Angeles trying to get a job in those two fields that I had studied, I didn't really have a lot of luck in terms of finding paid work. And I ended up becoming a middle school teacher, just because the school district had a teacher shortage and they were giving out emergency credentials to anybody who had a bachelors degree. So I didn't study to be a teacher. I just became one because that was the job that presented itself to me, while I was still trying to find a way to get into film or get into writing. And it took me about three to almost four years to finally get published as a writer. My agents and my book to 27 publishers, and 26 rejected it. And then finally number 27, two years. [LAUGH] And from that experience, I learned that you just need to hold on to that one, yes. You could get hundreds and hundreds of no's, but all you need is one yes. It was a dream of mine to be able to turn my passion into a career and to make a living telling stories. So I managed to accomplish that. 

Perseverance

Having Perseverance As An Immigrant

What advice could you give to us going through community college and going on in life? [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; Yeah, don't stay too long in the community college. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; You go in there and you focus on what you're there for. And take the classes that you need to take, and then you have to move on and go to the next place that you need to be at. I feel that, yeah, sometimes when you get too comfortable and you're in your comfort zone, sometimes you just wanna stay there. With community college what's beautiful about it is that it really does feel like this small community that you feel protected, you feel supported, there's this resources and sometimes it's hard to leave it, leave that comfort zone. But it's important for you to focus on your long term plan, and make sure that you just do what you need to do and keep moving forward. 

Education

Don't Get To Comfortable In Community College

How do you keep yourself motivated to stay on track and not, I guess give up? &gt;&gt; That's really tough honestly. And I get all emotional about it because there's so much to do in this world, right? But also you got to have balance, right? Because you have three, I count three lives. So you got your private life, right, which is your friends, your family, your home. And you have your public life, which is all of your civic engagements, your community volunteering, your committees that your on or your boards, things like that, or public meetings that you go to. And then you have your professional life and for me, my stuff kinda goes hand in hand. It's really different, right? But for other folks, whether you'd be working retail or in a bank or what not, your professional life is day to day, nine to five. But you have no public life. And you have no sense of fulfillment, right? Go volunteer at your kids' school or go do something at a church or do whatever. But you need to have those three lives. But when one is out of whack, it affects everything else. So balance is crucial. And I'm married now, right? &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; So I make sure that I have dinner or breakfast with my wife. If I'm in meetings at night or at a homework club meeting or soccer, whatever it may be, so it's definitely important. 

Volunteer and connect with others. Building relationships is crucial to moving social justice issues forward or building programs with other non-profits.

My family were migrant farmworkers so we didn't have a lot of money. I grew up in migrant camps and later lived in rural, low-income areas.

There was a lot of violence and gang activity in my neighborhood growing up. I got jumped a lot. In high school, I lost a lot of friends to this same violence and drug problems.

I struggled in high school, but I was determined to be the first in my family to graduate from a regular high school and go to college.

My parents are both immigrants from Mexico that worked as migrant farm workers. I grew up living in migrant farm labor camps.

Spanish was my first language and when I started going to school I struggled with learning English and was made fun of a lot. I didn't have anybody in my family who could help me. I felt like I had to lose my Spanish in order to fit in.

I get to create and carry out Friends’ equity and inclusivity strategies to connect underserved community members to California State Parks. As the Community Outreach Director, my main focus is equity and accessibility for non-traditional park users. Recently, I helped create a Kids2Parks program where we pay for school field trips for Title 1 schools. I also serve in volunteer capacities including co-chairing a Youth Violence Prevention Taskforce and serve on the board for two health centers.

Goals

Set Goals But Keep Your Options Open

Set Goals But Keep Your Options Open

Steve Sisolak

289 videos on Goals: