Think about that appointment that’s on your schedule for tomorrow. The inspection that’s been on there for the past five days. You know, the one with the big, nasty house that you’ve been dreading. Yeah, that’s the one.
What if, instead of being that P.O.S. house, that appointment was the final interview for a really great job. A job that’s really close to your house. A job with an up and coming company you’ve long admitted, with great pay and outstanding benefits. A job for which you’ve been in the interview pipeline for the past six months and stand a great chance of getting.
Would you get there early?
Would you be clean shaven and dressed professionally?
Would you be prepared, having done your “homework” before arriving?
Would you be on your best behavior?
Why do we think it’s acceptable to act less professionally when we are heading to a job that we really would rather not do than when heading to that all-important job interview?
How much better would that job go if we put on our best face, our happy-to-just-be-working outlook, our most professional demeanor, instead of our “damn, another piece of shit, again” persona?
Why not show up on that job with the same enthusiasm you would bring when you’re asking for some great reward? You never know when the (seemingly) most menial personal interaction will lead to something so much more.
“The difference between what happens to me and what I want to occur is measured only by my actions.”
Don’t simply attempt to look at a difficult situation a different way, trying to trick yourself into having an optimistic outlook. Do everything in your power to pursue a positive outcome and turn a trying situation to your advantage. The end result is almost always a function of the baggage (or lack-thereof) that you bring to the table.
Always try to bring your A-game. You never know what will come about from the daily random situations that you find yourself in.
Who knows, it may just turn out that you really are on that job interview.
This post is based on a blog post written by Seth Godin. For more info on Seth, visit http://seths.blog
I welcome all feedback (both positive and negative) on this post. Please take a moment to leave a comment below. Thank you!
Please Share with Friends!
I thoroughly enjoy creating these posts for you, the reader. Please take a moment to comment, letting me know what you think about the topic, and passing along any of your knowledge to our community. Please feel free to get in touch with me, letting me know if you have any specific topics that you would like to see covered on the site. And please feel free to share this content with your friends. The more people that we can help in their careers, the better!
Thanks, Joe