With back-to-school photos clogging up Facebook feeds nationwide, it is indeed official. Summer is over. For each of us here at Kolbeco, the past few months have been eventful – vacations, home purchases, creative projects, poor eating habits and long distance races peppered our summer months. But all of these adventures had one thing in common – we learned something.

So being the good students we are, we took to our college ruled notebooks, paused and put together what we learned this summer. Enjoy.

Lauren Kolbe

This summer I learned to celebrate authenticity, and those who are comfortable showing up exactly as who they are, without trying to hide anything or pretend to be someone they’re not, even if it causes embarrassment, stress or heartache at times.

I also learned that if your access to one passion is unavailable for a period of time, it’s fun to explore and find other things to make you happy.

And finally, I learned that in every Seinfeld episode, there are still quotes and conversations I’ve missed, even after hundreds of times watching them. And that it still makes me laugh, which makes people look at me funny when I’m watching in a public place, but I’m OK with that. (see bullet point 1)

Angela Haarmann

On a trip to Washington, D.C. I learned not to gamble with the bus drop off times! After missing the correct bus and having to sit and wait for the next one, I learned this is a mistake I hope to avoid in the future.

I discovered a new website pet peeve… the “Page Not Found” error. I was doing some online shopping, looking to spend money on a site, but kept hitting dead links. In the end, I kept my money and was frustrated with the website. But it was an important lesson in missed opportunities.

I also learned that one of the worst things you can do is over analyze a situation. At some point you need to truly trust your gut and go for it.

Jeremy Nulik

Both legendary coach John Wooden and President Harry Truman are credited with saying, “It is amazing what can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.” Or some permutation of that. I loathe clichéd sayings. Mostly because you can usually find a clichéd saying to refute it. I never thought, however, that a saying like this would apply to marketing – wherein you would think that the point of your efforts is to walk away with the credit. You market to get attention so people buy what you are selling. The thing I learned this summer, however, is no one needs what you are selling. What they need is to be inspired. They need something bigger than the sum total of your product or service. This really showed up as true in our TV Liberation Bus Tour this summer. Through partnerships with OCA-Asian Pacific Advocates, the National Association of Broadcasters and local broadcast affiliates, Antennas Direct, our client was able to plan, promote, execute and evangelize a technology giveaway with three days notice. Because the story was about something bigger – more Asian Pacific Americans receiving in-language programming and a meaningful window to their community – we were able to fully actualize sales and PR benefits. Again – when no one is in it to get the credit, it is amazing what you can achieve.

Erica Skrivan

I learned this summer that Jeremy Nulik was right about something. Which is a really scary thought, and very hard for me to admit. I’m pretty competitive. And like to be right as often as possible. Jeremy has been telling me for months that Spotify was better than Pandora. Well, not wanting to be wrong, I continued to tell him I prefer Pandora and didn’t want to switch to Spotify. After breaking down and finally setting up a Spotify account, I realized it kicked Pandora’s ass and I don’t know how I lived without it. That’s a bit dramatic, but it is pretty accurate to how I feel.

Scott Kolbe

I learned this summer that when developing events you have to believe in the outcome and what you are trying to achieve. When there are so many things out of your control such as weather and competing events. You have to focus on delivering a great event and staying focused on what you can control.

Erin Celuch

There are three main things I learned this summer. Firstly, I don’t miss fast food as much as I thought I did. Secondly, Mermaids do exist – ask my mom . And finally, asking for help doesn’t mean you failed – it means you will succeed.

photo credit: George via photopin (license)