Of course the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you—if you don’t play, you can’t win. (Robert Heinlein)
Games can be deadly serious
Chess, poker, basketball and football are just games. Some people study those games intently and never play themselves. Others study the games and get into the competitions, contemplating victory and risking defeat. Those who watch from comfortable chairs and never participate, can never know the struggle and thrill of victory, nor the cleansing scourge of defeat. The quiet careful critics will never grow a hundredth as much as the rankest loser grows.
Look at your job search like your favorite game or sport
That job or promotion you have applied for 5 or 10 times may really be out of reach for you. That doesn’t mean you should stop trying. At least you are in the game. You will never win if you quit the field of battle.
Out of work? Every job you apply for is a new game. Every time an employer calls you is a victory. The next game is the interview. Another game starts in the second interview. Negotiating your salary is another game. The day you start the job a new competition begins.
Look at it as a game. For a game you study techniques and practice them over and over. You also study the great winners and losers. If you want to be great, you also study the mediocre masses because you have to find out why they are merely mediocre. If you want to win, you have to know how to defeat each of your opponents. A coach is also essential. Your coach will be called a mentor, recruiter or friend. Find the most successful person you can and ask for them to give you advice on what you should learn, study and practice next. Practice, prepare and then execute. If you lose 20 times it won’t really kill you. Look at it as a game. The only thing that really kills you is giving up and leaving the game for good.
If there is a job or promotion you want but just can’t seem to win, make a game out of it. Play. Have some serious fun with it.
Something To Do Today
Make your job growth a game. How can you learn to play it at a Super Bowl level? Who can be your coach? Get back in the game. Play.
Out of work? Job hunting? Make it a game. Study. Keep trying.
————————–
Tomorrow: Before you know it
Later: Who is driving?