2/04/2025
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Dillon Barr
I did a door to door sales internship when I was in college. Yeah, I’m one of those guys. FOR FIVE YEARS! Weird, I know. Some would even say foolish. I initially did it to get out of my home town and pay my way through college, but I stayed because it pushed me to get outside my comfort zone. The people were nice and…..yeah, I met this girl. Long story saved for another day, but she’s now my wife and we’ve been together for 12 years. I stayed to impress her and I got really good at the job.
Talking to people became fun, helping them with my products was a bonus, but a lot of time helping them with the joy and humor I’d bring was a compliment that never got old.
I knew the job wasn’t for everybody, so my least favorite part about it was recruiting others to go do it. To tell other college students about it I would go into classrooms (OF MEAN COLLEGE STUDENTS) and talk about my story and what the internship gave me and pass out a form for people to fill out if they were interested (yeah, a lot of Seymour Butts and Joe Mamas).
I was more comfortable about being vulnerable since doing the internship so I’d tell the story of what I liked and how I set goals for myself to gain the self confidence and courage needed to date the woman of my dreams doing it. I know, call me a hopeless romantic.
Anyway, there was this guy named Nick that ended up doing the internship. My good friend Christian was lucky enough to get his form from a class we spoke with. Nick excelled at the role, and had a fascination with entrepreneurship. He became a “top first year” and then a “top experienced dealer” and so on before going to another company and growing their sales division. He was originally from Russia and was adopted in the states and sales was a natural outlet for him. He made great money and helped a bunch of people in the process of his career.
Fast forward a few years after I finished the internship. I lived in Colorado and when Nick happened to be in town working. He came to visit me and my wife at my house. I was expecting him to try to sell or recruit me for something at first, but it was much much different. We were talking about his recent accomplishments at his role when he looked over to my wife and told her that she was kind of the reason for his journey and “success” for living his passion.
No, he wasn’t hitting on her. He said the reason he was good at what he did was because he had an outlet to consistently practice it, and the reason for that was being introduced to door to door sales, and the reason for that was because someone came into his class and had the balls to tell college students he met the love of his life through an internship that challenged him to grow and express himself.
I really don’t think we stop to understand the weight of a ripple effect. And furthermore, stop to understand in hindsight the power of vulnerably putting ourselves out there. Living our story is beauty in itelf, but having the gall to tell our story can change lives. And when we put ourselves out there we never know who we will find along way that can aid in our journey.
Now my vulnerability leaps from one set of books to another. From door to door educational books to a series of comics, novels, children’s books and more. Into a fantasy world that people can escape into to find themselves. To imagine, create, and express. I talk about it consistently on our social platforms. Sometimes for a few hundred views and a dozen or so likes, and sometimes for much much less. But I’ll continue to talk about this story and this world because, like getting outside my comfort zone years ago to impress a girl, I have no idea what it might lead to for people.
I’m just the Fool of Unfound Adventures, but this Fool found some talented individuals when it comes to bringing imagination to life through the creativity of both picture and word. And this Fool has seen the magic of what we can give the parents of this next generation. To help their kids escape into fantasy and create their own “Calling”. Fictitious at first, yes. But doesn’t all fiction stem from some deep seeded truth or belief we have within ourselves?
I’m foolish or vulnerable enough to ask those that believe in this message to follow us, and my hope is that they will be foolish enough to pass on the word of what we do to those that might need or want to hear it.
The question is: What are you foolish enough to pursue, and talk about, in your own life? Whether it’s to a an auditorium of college students or a dinner table with your family. What are you willing to try at and talk about courageously? Because we never know who is listening to us.
© 2023 unfound adventures
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Dillon Barr and Matt Emmorey grew up in southeast Michigan. As much as they love their home state, they were a flight risk. Dillon became pregnant with the ideas for Unfound Adventures in Kenya. They were adopted by Matt in Texas during the pandemic. The two fancy themselves good parents for Joan and the gang, but much of the childhood of this series was raised in virtual spaces, chairlifts, abandoned pools, high ropes courses, and a multitude of states.
AUSTIN, TEXAS
team@unfoundadventures.com
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