There are a lot of counterintuitive ideas out in the world. (It is sometimes called “out of the box thinking.”) What may not be fully recognized is that The FENG, our little circle of friends, is based on quite a few radical ideas, and amazingly they all work.

The earliest premise of our organization was that sharing job leads was a good idea. Not well accepted at the time, but for most of our members today it is so ingrained in our makeup that when someone claims not to understand why we do it, we have almost forgotten what the explanations are. (How could anyone not understand the wisdom of it all?)

Our resume review committee headed up by Lew Bader and Cheri Phillips is another example of our counterintuitive thinking and how it works to your benefit. Your typical resume reviewer gets one or two resumes each month to go through and make better. You might be surprised how much time the members of this hard working committee spend with the opus of those they don’t know. (Again, I am no longer surprised because I have been hearing the stories and seeing the thank you notes for so long, I just accept this as the natural order of the universe.)

What do you think the resume reviewer gets out of his/her efforts? Well, they certainly make a new friend. They certainly further the ideals of The FENG and our mutual help society. But, they also become better writers and probably get lots of new ideas for not only their own resumes, but also just about everything else they write.

I am always asked how I can come up with a new idea every night for the evening editorial. In the beginning it WAS hard. However, any skill you practice a lot you get better at. My ability to write in an interesting manner on the spur of the moment has improved with practice.

(By the way, if you want to volunteer for this committee, just drop a copy of your resume to Lew Bader and Cheri Phillips at [email protected]. Like Tom Sawyer, they don’t let just anyone whitewash Aunt Polly’s fence.)

Running chapters and special interest groups is another area that at first blush may seem like a lot of work to no purpose, but again, you would be wrong. I have watched with great pride from afar the valiant efforts of those who provide leadership to The FENG, and I can tell from reading between the lines how rewarding these remarkable individuals find what they are doing. That pride can’t help but flow into their professional lives in many other ways as well.

Life is really a game of multilevel chess. There are wheels within wheels, and then there are wheels within wheels. There doesn’t have to be an immediate financial reward for everything we do for there to be a financial reward at some time in our lives that appears at first to be unrelated.

Like I said, a lot of what we do is counterintuitive.

If you have only scratched the surface of The FENG, I would encourage you to dig deep within yourself and see how else you can get involved. It doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Even those who diligently call new members or who watch the “Members in Need of Assistance” column for ways to help know what I am talking about.

I like to say that The FENG is the only thing that is too good to be true, but actually is.

And, the best part is that you can help us make it even better. I don’t need to actually make a specific suggestion because I know that as you experience what we are all about, that you will think of something.

Remember, every day and in every way, it all starts with you!

Regards, Matt