Burning Boy

Steve was coming home to California from Texas after 8 years in the Army and a couple deployments. He was in the habit of making good decisions. One of his best was to finish his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science while he was still in the service, leaving his GI Bill for a Masters Degree. Another good decision was to volunteer to do some mobile applications before he got out. Steve positioned himself well for the transition.

In his transition assistance class, the other members told him not to bother to go back to California because he would not find a Veteran-friendly employer or career coach in California. Steve took that as a dare and got online. His success story is a big LinkedIn success story. He found a Veteran-friendly career coach on LinkedIn and reached out, not knowing if they would help someone who wasn’t already local. They got to work while he was still on active duty. LinkedIn research connected him to appropriate groups and helped the coach make good connections for Steve.

By the time Steve was ready to use some of his leave to head to California and do some recon, he had four interviews set up for the kinds of jobs he wanted, not for the low-hanging fruit. He knew where his real value was and he knew exactly which weakness would come up in interviews. He didn’t have years of mobile apps development experience. He just had a couple projects and his degree. To balance that, time as a recruiter had allowed Steve to develop his interpersonal skills. Some software developers don’t have that as a strength. So, he was prepared to focus attention on his strengths – great customer-facing skills, a passion for the career, and a willingness to learn and learn fast.

The interviews helped him decide which direction would work best for him and his family. There were considerations about company size, industry, location, housing availability within budget, transportation. Considering all of the options, Steve focused his attention on the job that best fit his goals. He started that job while still on leave and receiving his last checks from the Army in a job market that seemed dismal and an area where Veterans think they won’t be welcomed.

Conclusion: Keeping your eye on the goal and making sure that you use clear, concise communication to market yourself as a product will make you rise to the top. Don’t let the naysayers discourage you. Identify your value and make the decision to use all the tools at your disposal so you can take a giant step toward success.

So you have tried something & you have failed. perhaps numerous times. You may have been told you have no talent, aren’t cut out for “this business” or are never going to “make it in this line of
work”.

Well don’t be discouraged. The following are tales of other individuals who were told the same thing or something similar & went on to be major successes! You might recognize a few:

The Vice President of Columbia told this actor that they was never going to make it in the business. The actor? – Harrison Ford

His first book was rejected by 12 publishing houses & sixteen agents. – John Grisham

Was told by his sister that they would amount to nothing & be a disgrace to himself & his relatives – Charles Darwin

Turned down by a recording company saying “We don’t like their sound & guitar music is on the way out” they were talking about the Beatles

Told by a music teacher “as a composer they is hopeless” – Beethoven

Was told that “he couldn’t sing at all” Enrico Caruso

Were told by Publishers that “anthologies didn’t sell” & the book was “too positive”

Fired from a newspaper because they “lacked imagination & had no original ideas” – Walt Disney

Told by a teacher they was “too dull to learn anything” Thomas Edison

Rejected a total of 140 times. The book? Chicken Soup for the Soul. It now has 65 different titles & has sold over 80 million copies all over the world.

Wasn’t able to speak until they was 4 years elderly & his teachers said they would “never amount to much” – Albert Einstein

Failed the sixth grade – Winston Churchill

Did poorly in school & failed at running the relatives farm – Isaac Newton

Was not allowed to wait on customers in the store they worked in because “he didn’t have sense” – F. W. Woolworth

Was cut from the high school basketball team, went home, locked himself in his room & cried – Michael Jordan