What a Year of Job Rejections Taught Me About Pitching Myself

Son

I've talked to you about failure before. At this moment you're a young lion. You can and will conquer the world. But failures are part of life. Look at me, I'm a failure. I've failed in all things that I have done. When you measure yourself against the best, you know how far you have to go. I posted a clip of a drummer. He's brilliant. I used to be a drummer in the school band. Compared to him I'm a failure. But I'm a lifelong devotee of percussion instruments. You guys got me a cd last birthday about the drums of India. Failure teaches you son. I've been made redundant twice. It's not fun. It wasn't even my fault but the companies were downsizing. So I was let go. And those were hugely beneficial. I've failed exams. I've failed activities. I've failed to reach 200 miles per day on the bike. I've failed to climb mountains. I've failed to spend more time with you. I've failed to reduce weight. But they all provide education son. Makes me know my limits. And whenever I found one element that was limiting, I found other way to challenge me. 

Hope for the best but if you ever are in a situation where you're looking for a job, you don't look at yourself as an applicant. You look for how you can make your boss successful son. That's the key thing. How to make your customer successful. How to make your company successful. These elements will help you get your next job. 

Anyway it was fascinating to read this. But there's one thing which the author doesn't mention. And that's the element of luck. Son, people create their own luck. By jumping at opportunities. Constantly being on the lookout for opportunities. Checking what's happening and what might happen. And take risks. If you can't take risks then you decay. 

Anyway. Fun times. Keep applying for the internships son. You should have applied to at least 5-10 by end of the week. Let me know if you need any help. 

Love

Baba

What a Year of Job Rejections Taught Me About Pitching Myself
https://hbr.org/2015/09/what-i-learned-from-a-year-of-job-rejections
(via Instapaper)

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