Jul22nd
Under: Fun, Life Coaching, Undergraduate
Future Delivery is about productive gaming. The more hours you play a game, the more successful your real life would be. There is a whole industry called “Serious Gaming” (obviously coined by non-gamers, because real hardcore gamers would never let that pass) that is about using gaming in real world functions, such as educational games for kids. I personally believe there are some games, although a big inefficient use of addicted time, can develop an array of real world skill sets (like Starcraft and Utopia). However, many other games are just a brain mush, like addictinggames.com (don’t even click on the link!)
A recent article on Harvard Business Review, “Leaderships Online Labs” by Byron Reeves, Thomas W. Malone, and Tony O’Driscoll, talks about how virtual world games like World of Warcraft can develop real world leadership skills. They gathered hardcore virtual world players with over 50,000 hours of accumulated experience and observed their patterns. The article claims that virtual world leaders have similar functions to business world leaders, including “recruiting, assessing, motivating, rewarding, and retaining talented and culturally diverse team members; identifying and capitalizing on the organization’s competitive advantage; analyzing multiple streams of constantly changing and often incomplete data in order to make quick decisions that have wide-randing and sometimes long-lasting effects.” One key observation they had was that, the leader often switches between people swiftly, and that a good leader is not always determined from their abilities, but the work environment. This shows that, often times, instead of finding the greatest “leaders,” it is just as important to create an environment where they can lead effectively. I have seen superstars do sluggish work when the environment is not motivating. I have also seen very average people become superstars because of an environment that promotes great work. That is why company culture is so important.
While I advice folks to limit their game play time, when you do play games, keep 2 things in mind:
1. Make sure it is a game that can develop some useful skill sets in the real world, such as strategizing, coordinating people, and creative problem-solving, instead of constantly clicking B as fast as you can. Eye-hand coordination is not as useful here in real life.
2. Whenever you play a multi-player game, try to lead as often as possible. Constantly figure out new ways to become a more effective leader. Understand how the gaming culture is similar to the working culture, and try to adapt the gaming culture into your real life leadership style.
In FD, people do serious work, just like hardcore gamers who destroy their monitors when they get killed in a game of Counterstrike, but our language towards each other is very casual and game like. People joke around all the time and things go crazy, but at the end, it’s about beating the competitors and achieving your objectives.
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Jul17th
Under: Life Coaching tagged with: face fear, fear, taking action
One will never reach distant shores,
if he chooses to remain upon the dock,
In fear his little ship of dreams
may be dashed against the rocks.
– F. Bolen.
It was my sophomore of high school. I was a shy, short, generic looking white boy. My English teacher that year-a vivacious, red haired Ms. Robertson-had assigned the class a public speaking assignment. I was horrified. I wasn’t confident in myself, and I based my self esteem solely on the consensus of others. To make things worse, Arden Fitzgerald, my high school crush, was also in the class and would be watching my presentation. I remember being extremely fearful and anxious about the assignment, all the way up to the day of the presentations. My fear was so bad that I actually considered taking the grade hit and not giving my speech. Thank god I didn’t, because after the presentation something changed in my thought process. Long story short, the speech went almost as bad as could be expected. I stuttered, missed lines, and my nervousness bled through horribly. But after I was done, my fear had miraculously melted away. I sat back down in my chair, relaxed and calm. From that day forward, I started to participate in class discussion, went to dances, and got involved with sports.
Giving a speech was pretty much the most horrifying thing I could image- I would have literally rather taken a beating or any number of other awful alternatives. The fact that I did it, and it went badly, and it was o.k. caused a bit of a personal epiphany. It made me realize how much fear was holding my back. From that point on I started talking to girls, going to dances, participating in sports, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
I invite you to recognize a personal fear that’s holding you back and face it. Maybe it’s changing a career path, starting a business, having a difficult conversation, going for a difficult major, getting out of an abusive relationship, joining a group, or public speaking. Living a life around fear will ultimately keep a person comfortable but unsuccessful. It is difficult to build self confidence and new skills if one continues to take easy paths around fear. Whatever the fear may be that is holding you back, I challenge you to honestly acknowledge it, and face it. You will feel better about yourself afterwards, whatever the outcome. Take life seriously, but never yourself.
Instead of ignoring weaknesses, boldly take them on headfirst. The things we spend the least time doing are usually the ones that need the most attention. We hate doing what we aren’t good at; overcoming this disdain is key to enjoying all aspects of life.
Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile… initially scared me to death.
– Betty Bender.
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Jul13th
Under: Careers, Life Coaching tagged with: money, motivation, motivator
Once upon a time, there was an corn farmer who lived near a baseball field. On the weekends, the neighborhood boys would play baseball on the field. All the homeruns would fly into the farmer’s cornfield, and as the boys retrieved the ball they would damage the farmers crop.
At first the farmer yelled at the boys. The boys would simply run away and come back a few minutes later. The farmer tried everything you could imagine- he bought guard dogs, notified the police, and even tried calling the boys’ parents. Everything failed- the boys continued to play, and the farmers crops continued to be ruined.
Exhausted, the farmer eventually decided to stop these direct tactics. The farmer was a smart man, and eventually he came up with a plan. One hot afternoon while the boys were playing, he quietly approached them. As they began to run, he told them to wait, he merely wanted to offer them something. The boys cautiously approached the farmer:
“I just love seeing you boys play, it brings me back to when I was younger… tell you what, I’ll pay each of you $5 just to let me watch you all play for an hour.”
The boys suspiciously accepted, and after the farmer had made good on his word, were rather thrilled to be paid for playing. The farmer told the boys to come back tomorrow, and that he would pay them again. This continued for quite some time.
Eventually, some of the boys stopped coming, and after two weeks the farmer had completely rid himself of the boys.
One of my college professors, John Greathouse, opened his Entrepreneurship class by telling the students not to let money be the main reason to get into business, and never make earnings your primary goal. I can remember thinking that statement was a load of moral manure. That’s easy for him to say, I thought to myself. Greathouse is a retired chief executive who sits comfortably behind a successful VC firm. Of course he is going to say money isn’t important, he probably wipes with twenties. I was like the impatient twelve year old in karate class- I didn’t want to hear about social responsibility or turning the other cheek- when do we learn how to snap some necks!?
Learning that money isn’t an effective motivator is something I would have to learn on my own, the hard way. I grew up in a middle class household, and as far back as I can remember I always wanted what my rich friends’ families had. SUV’s, camcorders, big screen TV’s,plush carpets, and rich mahogany furniture. I felt secure with these lavish surroundings; I would even go as far as to say I resented my parents for not being rich. I went to a rich high school and it was the same story. Most of the kids were learning how to drive in BMWs. I was grateful for what I had, but I always wanted more.
In college my craving for material things was far from satiated. I felt that a the mark of a true man was his earning potential. I went into this summer with the same beliefs. I took a crappy sales job because of the potential for high earning based on commission. I did well my first weak, close to a thousand in commission-but I am hating life right now. I work 12-14 hour days, and I have no life outside of this job. I pushed myself hard because I wanted the money, but because I don’t even enjoy sales, my motivation is already tapering off. This week’s paycheck will be much slimmer, and I don’t see it going up in the near future. I can no longer mask the fact that I hate what I am doing- I have lost motivation, and it is energetically taxing trying to do something that feels forced.
It’s not that I think money isn’t important- it is. But you need to find something that you are good at and that you like, focus on doing that and the money will follow. I don’t care how much you are getting paid to do a job; you will never do it as well as someone who enjoys what they are doing.
In psychology this is know as intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is what you create- you want to make the most commission this week because of you, not because you need to prove anything to anyone, but because you love your job and you are good at what you do. Extrinsic motivation is something like money. It could also be your boss breathing down your throat or any number of external factors.
In a study with second graders, the difference between internal and external motivation was documented. All the children in this particular class loved to paint- they did it everyday on a regular basis (internal motivation). The researchers then began to pay the children 1 quarter for every drawing they did. After a while, the children would only paint if they were paid, and even when they were the quality of the paintings deteriorated rapidly. The children appeared uninterested in drawing time, and eventually stopped drawing altogether, stating that 25 cents wasn’t enough. This was the point I was getting at with the parable in the beginning of this post- extrinsic motivation is no replacement for intrinsic motivation.
It’s true that money can buy happiness, but if the way you earn money is a struggle, you will never be happy- or rich for that matter. You cannot struggle your way to joy- the two states of being are inherently separate. Struggle and joy can not be fully appreciated at the same time- money and joy can, and struggle and money can. Most people fall into the latter category.
Focus on creating value, and doing what you love. The money will follow. If you do something well and enjoy it, you will excel past anyone who is in the field for monetary purposes- your intrinsic motivation is stronger than their monetary motivation, and as a result you will be better, work harder, and thus earn more from it.
Some times when you lean desperately towards something you push it away. If you are too eager to seal a deal, you often get a poor deal or no deal at all. If you try to hard and appear desperate for a girl, chances are she will be repelled as well. Money is the same way. If you are desperate for it, you often end up paying too much to get it.
I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven;
When I awoke I spent that on a necklace-
I told God I’d be back in second,
Man, it’s so hard not to act reckless…
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Jun28th
Under: Life Coaching, Networking, Undergraduate
Networking and building relationships with people is one of the most essential things one needs to do to become successful. When you want to contact someone and meet up(newly met professional or old friend), you want to find a common interest to make the meeting pleasant and enjoyable for both. Maybe you both like golf. Maybe you would both like to visit a museum. But what if you don’t know what that person likes? In that case, there is a pretty universal common interest: food. Statistics show that most people deal with some sort of food one time or another in their lives. It also happens that most people like food. So it’s pretty safe to invite this person to a good food place when you don’t know enough about him/her. If the food is good, timing is possible, and maybe you’ll be treating them (and it’s worth it), most people wouldn’t mind getting some food and talking to you.
When you are talking to a new professional, make sure you don’t put too much focus on his or her professional information and forget about the personal things in his/her life. It doesn’t matter if they’re highly successful people, they’re still people, and until you show that you care about them as real people instead of their titles, you will have a hard time building a true relationship.
In regards to conversations, if you know the person likes something that you don’t, do not lie and
pretend you like it. You’ll lose any sense of credibility very soon. You could reveal that you do not know much about that topic but is interested to learn about it. That’s a good way to have a good conversation on something without needing much knowledge to it. Most people like explaining and teaching things they are passionate about, as long as you can keep yourself from drooling. However, besides having an open mind to learn, being genuinely concerned about the other person often helps in being more interested towards subjects that he/she is passionate about.
If you know what makes people smile, your day will turn out much better.
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Jun09th
Under: Interview tagged with: interviewing, nervous
I have a big problem with companies or people who give job seekers very general information about interviewing. Yahoo Jobs writes about how the “Why Should I Hire You?” question can make or break your interview chances. This is true, but they don’t really do anything to prepare a nervous job seeker. They give general advice like “use the story approach” or “demonstrate your accomplishments.” If you are a nervous job seeker, does this advice ease your nerves? Most likely… No.
So I’m here to tell you how to really approach this question and score big points with your interviewer:
Overview
This question tests how you handle yourself under pressure, your level of self-confidence, and your ability to be clear, concise, and direct. Be calm and self-assured when you respond. Believe in what you say. Sometimes this question is the tipping point, and the interviewer will make a decision based on what you say. At other times the question is merely a way to test for additional characteristics. Either way, it is among the most important questions you can receive, so develop a strong response.
Key Points
- Talk directly about your strengths and how it will bring value to the company
- Stay cool, calm, and collected
- Differentiate yourself from your competitors
- Confidence is everything minus 1. Smile, be enthusiastic about yourself and passionate about working for the company
- Your answer should be about 2 minutes (You want to keep it short because you want to be clear and memorable about why your interviewer should choose you for the company
Approach
- Offer one concrete quality that can bring value to the firm
- Show how your strength is real and “stronger” than those of your competitors by describing a key example of how you used your strength
- Choose a quality that is unique and shows your personality. A few examples are ones that relate to work ethics, technical skills, or a real passion you have for the firm and its work.
- Tailor your response to the firm and its industry
- Each firm and each industry values different characteristics, so share the ones that are relevant
- End with passion
- Be enthusiastic throughout your answer and end with passion for the company
- If you believe in your response, then the interviewer will believe in your response
Remember, the interviewer is only looking for two things:
- Can this person bring value to the firm?
- Can this person fit within the company culture?
If you can demonstrate these two qualities effectively, then the job is yours.
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May09th
Under: Careers, Experienced Hire, Life Coaching, Networking, Now What?, Undergraduate
Networking is tough, mainly because you are forced to cross through your comfort zone. Engaging and talking to strangers can be rather intimidating. However, the fear of reaching out is essentially based on illusions. In reality, there is really nothing that could be lost (assuming you don’t need to interact
with the person in the long run, in which reaching out isn’t necessary for that person anyway). You might feel stupid (you don’t have to) for a few minutes if you mess up, but if your networking was unsuccessful, always by definition, you will never interact with this person again anyway. Nothing is lost. Fear in this case is a dragon, lashing its claws and teeth at you, breathing flame that seems like it could fry up your nerves. However, it must be realized that you are invincible to the dragon. Knowing that the dragon cannot hurt you, you must forget the scary look of the dragon and go out and slay it. Rewards come for
those who try.
One way to realize the harmlessness of the dragon is to think in other peoples’ shoes. If you were at a professional event and someone approached you to ask some questions, what would you think? More often than not, you would smile, try to answer the question, and not think much about the other
person right? Sometimes you would even be a little anxious if you might not be able to answer the question, but very rarely would you think anything negative of that person.
Now you think of yourself as that person who approaches. When you approach someone and start talking confidently, that person is probably thinking what you would have thought if you were in his position: not
thinking much, maybe even a little nervous. Why should that be a little scary for you? Now you might think, “That person is a highly accomplished professional. I am not. Obviously due to his high position he will have a different mindset than I have. If I was CEO of a large firm, I wouldn’t be nervous or anything!”
That’s partially true. But you also must think; this CEO might not be so different from you. Imagine you continued your career, promotions after promotion over a few decades, and one day you become a high executive or CEO. Do you think if someone approaches you, you will really give them a hard time? Or would you still be rather content that people reassured your importance? These are people too, they cried during childhood, had crushes in high school, worked somewhere or another, and due to a lot of hard work and/or luck got to their position. That doesn’t make them untouchable or sacred. You smile
and approach them, and unless they are douche, they’ll be ok.
If that person is simply too busy to give you the warmest response in the world, so be it. You live your life, and he will live his. (I recommend you try again when you have the chance.)
You must not let the harmless dragon scare you away.
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May07th
Under: Interview, Uncategorized tagged with: 1st and 2nd year, internships, interviews
The most common path taken by students is an internship their 3rd year and then recruit for a full-time offer their 4th year. An internship your 3rd year DOES NOT put you ahead of the game; you are merely ON PAR with all of your peers. In order to get ahead of the game, you need to take internships your 1st and 2nd year as an undergraduate. This is the perfect opportunity to gain experience, learn what you like and don’t like, and find a career that you are passionate about.
Which bring us to the questions: “How do I get a competitive internship as a 1st or 2nd year?”
The obvious disadvantage to being a 1st or 2nd year is inexperience. You are competing against 3rd and 4th years (even MBA students at times) for a competitive internship and it is extremely hard to stand out. Well actually, being the young kid actually makes you stand out that much more. You will definitely get noticed for getting an interview and being so young. The hard thing to do is showing that you deserve the internship much more than your more experienced counterparts and that you WILL create much more value to the company than your competitors.
So the objectives inside the interview room are always the same:
- Show that you can create great and unique value for the company
- Show that you can fit in and contribute to the company culture
As an inexperienced 1st or 2nd year, your unfair advantages are your Energy/Enthusiasm and Confidence.
Energy/Enthusiam
Showing high energy in the interview room means that you are highly motivated and are very enthusiastic to work for the company. Say that you are ready to do what it takes to work for the company and bring value to the company. A lot of entry-level work is grunt work anyways, which means that you can do it just as well as any 4th year can. Tell the interviewer that you’re enthusiastic and ready to make copies, make binders, do data entry, but that you’re more than capable of doing high-level work. Relate to your previous experiences in organizations and how you were able start new initiative, create new programs, or establish more efficient processes for your organization. Another very important skill is adaptability and the ability to learn quickly. Describe experiences with organizations where you had to quickly adapt to new environments and learn how to do things very quickly.
Do your company research! Know everything that is going on in the company and any big events that have happened. Showing that you have done your in-depth research on the company (and even on the interviewer if you know his or her name beforehand) shows that you are passionate to work for the company.
Confidence
This is the X-factor. Some people sound and feel impressive with their first impression. As a first year, you will have to feel impressive from the moment you shake the interviewers hand. There are many intangibles and subtle body movements that demonstrate high confidence:
- Talk through the person: Most people talk to the person. This means that your voice reaches the person and stops. Speaking with confidence means that you are speaking with power. To speak with power, you need to speak through the person instead of just at the person. When you’re talking to your interviewer, imagine that he or she is sitting 2 feet further back. Don’t yell at the interviewer, just project your voice through them. Doing this means you will talk with power and feel more confident.
- Talk smoothly. Get rid of all your “ummms” and “likes”. Get rid of pauses in your speech. A confident person not only has high quality things to say, but is able to choose his or her words carefully and relate them perfectly to you. This of course takes practice. Ask a friend to stop you every time you say an “um”, a “like”, or if you pause for too long in your speech.
- Lower your tone of voice. Speaking with a lower tone of voice gives you more power and more authority when you speak.
As a 1st or 2nd year, you need to join as many groups and organizations as possible and take leadership positions. Now go out there and start leading teams!
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May02nd
Under: Careers, Now What?, Workplace tagged with: majors
I have two theories about choosing a major. My first theory is that you should choose a major that is very relevant to the career you want to pursue. So for example, if you want to go into investment banking or accounting, then Business Economics w/ an Accounting minor is very relevant. If you want to get into management consulting, then any major would work (do take note though, management consulting firms love engineer majors).
My second theory is that you should choose a major that you love. I personally love philosophy and psychology, that’s why I dropped my accounting minor and did the philosophy minor instead. And you know what? I did so much better in my philosophy classes than in my Econ or Accounting classes.
If you are entering the corporate world however, you will have to play by their rules. They are looking for specific types of majors, specific types of personalities, and specific types of people who will fit in their company and play their role.
Now you have two options:
- You can give in to “the man” and take a major that you don’t LOVE so that you can get a career that you think you want
- You can “stick it to the man” and take a major that you are truly passionate about.
In the end, I believe life is about happiness. When you’re an undergraduate, join every possible organization so that you can figure out what it is that you love to do and you get exposed to as many people as possible. If they don’t have the organization you’re looking for in school, then start one. That’s what I did. Internships are perfect to find out what you want to do with your life as a career. Take as many internships as possible as an undergrad in as many different industries as possible so that you can compare each one and so that you find out which one is best for you.
So in my humble opinion, “stick it to the man” and choose a major that you are passionate about. Also important to note is that you can definitely get a consulting position with a psychology background. Just show that you have a high GPA, great experience, and a bomb interview and you’ll get the offer. So please, don’t just take a major because you think you have to.
I am in the entrepreneurial world, specifically in the high-tech industry. My business partner Yu-kai Chou and I debate all the time about what major would be perfect for the industry that we are in. We have different opinions, but here is my conclusion:
If you’re looking to start your own company (in the Web 2.0 industry), then I feel the ideal major would be a double major in Computer Science and Psychology. Why you ask?…
Programmers are in HUGE demand. There are so many business minds out there and few amazing programmers. So by the law of supply and demand (I guess I did learn something in Economics), programmers get paid more than business people (and I’m talking about non-executive positions).
Business development is crucial for every company. With a Social Psychology background, you truly understand the psyche of your target marketing and are able to market your product or service to them more effectively. There are so many subtle factors that affect the subconscious mind that psychology teaches you.
So, I feel the ideal person in my industry is a CS/Psychology double major person with a great business sense. He or she is able to drive the overall business of the company, and is able to communicate very well with the programming team. The person would not necessarily be coding, but he or she understands the programming languages so that he or she can effectively lead the programming team.
Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts on what your ideal major would be.
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May01st
Under: Interview, Personal Branding, Uncategorized tagged with: honesty, just be yourself
I just read a blog post by Mark entitled How Much of Yourself Should You Really Be? Mark seems like a great guy, but I must completely disagree with all the points and statements that he makes on his blog post.
I have so many friends right now that are stuck in a job that they hate. Do you know what the number one culprit of this is? The reason they are stuck in this position is because they were not true to themselves. Before you go off and immerse yourself in the interview hunt, take a long moment to reflect upon yourself and find out what it is that you truly love to do. It is very cliche to say (Yu-kai know I hate the word), but find out what you are passionate about.
The interview is not only a place to show off your best qualities, but it is also the place to find out if you really want to work for this company. Mark goes a little extreme and says to talk about yourself positively “even [at] the cost of slight dishonesty.” Now, I don’t have to be a complete saint to tell you that there is something fundamentally wrong about lying during an interview setting about your skills and qualities. I can understand if you advise someone to exaggerate your stories and interview answers, but to be dishonest is just plain wrong.
For those of you who will soon be interviewing next Fall for a full-time offer or if you’re interviewing for job positions right now, do what the cliche tells you to do and just be yourself. I have been interviewing students night and day for my marketing team position, and the people who stand out the most are the students who drop their guard, are honest with me when they don’t know something, and show eagerness and a passion for the job position.
A few questions will arise from this, and I will do my best to answer them:
- What if all I did at my previous job experience is grunt work? Shouldn’t I exaggerate a lot and say how I led the project, met with clients, and raised revenues for the company?
- If your previous work experience was all grunt work, then it shows that you are able to pay your dues and do whatever it takes to get the job done. If all you did was file papers, then demonstrate how you were the greatest paper filer in all of the world. If your organized filings helped secure a multi-million dollar client, then you can definitely explain how your efforts greatly contributed to the business development. However, never completely lie about your skillsets or make up things about your position.
- I just really want a job. Shouldn’t I do whatever it takes to secure myself some kind of revenue?
- It is difficult to help students get a job when they have no experience, no leadership positions, and a low GPA. I will provide you with as much advise and guidance as possible, but in the end, you just don’t deserve to get a prestige job if you haven’t worked hard for it. If you have no experience, then you need to find a company that will give you low pay but A LOT of hands on experience. Do not just add things to your resume and lie during your interview. If you haven’t worked hard for it and cannot be honest with yourself and the interviewer, then you do not deserve the job position. Also, you will not last in the company because if you’re not qualified for it, they will eventually figure it out sooner or later
I could go on and on about things people could bring up to argue against being yourself; however, I would love to hear back from you.
In the end, being honest with yourself and others is always the best policy. This applies to everything including jobs, relationships, school, friends, and life.
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May01st
Under: Experienced Hire, Life Coaching, Networking, Now What?, Personal Branding, Undergraduate
Networking, or building relationships rather, is one of the most important concepts in becoming successful. Nothing can be done on your own, and the stronger your connections are, the more resourceful you are, and ultimately, the “luckier” you become. Here we will share the core concepts of good networking.
Networking starts with the Self
In order to network, you must be worth networking with. Networking goes both ways. You’re not only trying to enrich your life through your friends and contacts, you are trying to do the same for these people too. Knowing a million people is useless if they all think lowly of you. These are the six Core Values that must be acquired to truly network well. Without these core values, networking will just be an empty action that means very little, like playing only the notes in music and ignoring the rhythm, dynamics, tone and feelings.
The 6 Cores of Networking are:
Integrity
Sincerity
Optimism
Confidence
Initiative
Persistence
While some people might think, “these are things people are born with! I know I lack that, but I can’t do anything about it!” The truth is that we have more control of ourselves than most people think. All it takes is attitude and a constant will to be better. You can’t change yourself immediately, but you can’t become a great musician overnight either. It takes good attitude to change your attitude.
Integrity
Integrity is different from acting ethical and making people think that you are a good person. That’s one of the byproducts of this core value. Instead of having people think you are a great person, BE A GREAT PERSON. Integrity is about your decisions if you didn’t have to worry about consequences. The idea is to simply have pride in your life for who you are. Be liable not only to others but also to yourself. In the long run, people will know how you are, and if they regard you as a person of integrity, you have achieved a high level of networking. Even if people never find out, which is unlikely if you do things correctly, you know you can walk this world with your head lifted high. There’s nothing shady in you.
Sincerity
In terms of actual Networking, this could be the most important core characteristic. The basic principle about networking is to stop just thinking about your own benefits. Care about others! Try to help them as much as possible. Don’t be phony. Try to find the part of yourself that derives joy when you see others achieve success, especially when you know it’s because of your help. Don’t think about returns. Think about win-win and relationships.
Optimism
No one likes to see others sad and grumpy all the time (unless they are sick-minded themselves). Being optimistic means you can be a source of motivation that people draw hope from. It is a vital force thatkeeps yourself productive too. How can you accomplish much if most of your time you are
coping with your sadness? Finally, optimism is necessary considering the cold turndowns you will experience while learning the craft of Networking.
Confidence
When you are optimistic, it is easy to be confident. When I say confident, I don’t mean thinking yourself superior than everyone else. That’s arrogance. Confidence is to know that you are valuable because of who you are, instead of what you CAN do. A confident person not only sees all the good things in him/herself, but also sees all the good things in others. He/she knows clearly that everyone does at least one thing that he/she completely sucks at, if not dozens more. Confidence is important because when people don’t know you, they can only rely on what you portray to them. How you view yourself is often projected to others. If you think you are insignificant, you will act that way. If you act like you are insignificant, then others will view you as insignificant. Remember the principle that “No other human being is too good for you” and everyone has a reason to think you are important if you give him/her one. You must lead others in believing in yourself. I often tell people I mentor: confidence is everything minus one. Like n-1, it is not everything, but it is everything minus one.
Initiative
Nothing will happen if nothing starts. Unless you are truly successful already, people won’t come to you. You have to go to people. Successful professionals are great people to know (assuming a sincere attitude towards them), and if you are the only person trying to know them, you are ahead of the game already. Taking initiative means you have to overcome your comfort zone. You must be adventurous and be willing to explore out of your bubble. At the end of the day, nothing bad will happen. If you express your respect for someone and admiration (if truthful) of what he/she has done, even if he/she does not reply, at worse you made someone feel good about him/herself. Without seeking, you won’t find.
Persistence
This is probably the most difficult out of all the disciplines.Persistency means never giving up. If someone ignores your email, send another one (after some time so you don’t seem desperate). What happens in life is that good things that seem unavailable will open up for the guy who goes the extra mile, and who still seeks after being turned down. Now the hard part is to find the clear line between being persistence and being an egocentric bastard. If people say no and you keep pushing until they feel they must say yes, that is obviously horrendous behavior. You won’t go far with that, as people will start to hide from your sight when they see you. However, the chances are, if someone didn’t reply to your email, it’s because even though
they felt positive about it, they didn’t have the time to reply. Think about how long it takes for you to reply to some of your friends. Good things come to you if you show enough determination
None of this can be built overnight, but neither does your network. Start slowly towards the ideal goal, and a few years later when you look back, you would have built an empire without noticing it.
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