Getting a job.

When I was a young kid in the business I was very shy.

I suppose my shyness had to do with my insecurities.

I wasn't sure if I was very good at coming up with ads.

I wasn't sure if my portfolio was very good, or was good enough.

I wasn't sure if I had any worth as a human being.

All that made it nearly impossible for me to call the people I was hoping would give me a job.

How could someone so unworthy possible ask for the favor of being hired.

I had dug such a big psychological ditch for myself that I was virtually paralyzed.

This was a problem I had to teach myself to overcome.

So here's what I did.

I wrote a list of every compliment I ever got about my work.

From teachers. From peers. From people in the industry.

I slowly came to realize that my insecurities were unfounded.

I was seeing myself in ways other people weren't seeing me.

In other words, a lot of my own personal shit was just in my head.

Then I had to overcome my hesitancy about asking for a favor.

(Something I'm still not good at.)

It came to me that with all the good things people had said about me,
I wasn't asking a prospective employee for a favor. I was trying to do him one.

That is, hiring me would be my favor to him.

Because where else could he get someone who could do all the things I could do?

Once I learned all this, my life became easier.

I overcame my shyness.

I learned to keep my insecurities in their place.

I became much more assertive when it came to making calls.

Getting a job is never easy.

But you can make it easier on yourself.