Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with enthusiasm. (Winston Churchill)
Would you recommend someone for a job if you were sure they would fail miserably?
Do you want to work with someone who is unable to deal with problems?
No one else does either.
On the other hand, it is fun working with someone who is trying to learn, who goes the extra mile on the job, and who wants to do what they have studied.
If you are excited by your possibilities, your friends will be also. That’s how you motivate your friends, be excited. For example:
We place a lot of programmers in new jobs. The ones who are so excited that they create programs in their spare time always find jobs. It doesn’t matter if they ever went to college. Their enthusiasm gets them jobs. They love programming. Employers love them. Everyone who knows them is going to bat for them. People they don’t know call them up to see if they can help them find a job. Their enthusiasm is contagious.
On the other hand are programmers who took courses in programming in college. They passed their courses. Programming doesn’t excite them. It’s just a job. If their college degree can’t get them a job in programming, they’ll never look at a computer again. For them there is nothing exciting. Their friends and contacts hear them complaining about the jobs they supposedly turned down. There is no way they are going to get a strong recommendation for a job. Sure enough, the job market stinks for them.
Motivate your friends. Find out what is exciting about the jobs you are applying for. Do the job for free for a charity. If you are a computer technician, go looking for broken computers and tear them apart. Put together a network in your basement. Offer to teach at your library or a nursing home. Salesperson? Do what my partner did, became a charity “hit woman”. Get the job of calling on businesses for donations. You will talk to a lot of leaders of industry. And guess what? If you do a good job, they’ll be impressed. Your friends, family and acquaintances will see what you are doing. They’ll tell other people.
Be excited. Do your job for free because you love it. Help others and demonstrate your love of your desired job. You will motivate your friends and mere acquaintances to help you.
Something To Do Today
Really evaluate how you have been acting. Are you a member of the “beef and whine club”? Find something you enjoy doing that is related to the job you want. Do it with enthusiasm for free.