Thursday’s Thought: Get Those Creative Juices Flowing!

I have met many job seekers during my career, and the one thing that still amazes me is their reluctance to do (or try) something outside-of-the-box. We need to bring back the "kid in us" and not worry about what someone is going to think about us. When we were kids, we seldom "asked for permission", or waited for someone to "invite us" to climb on top of the garage and leap into the in-ground pool from 20 feet above. Now I admit, I probably shouldn't have done some of those crazy things, but I also feel that I have been rewarded for taking chances in my life. For example, I could have played for the Atlanta Braves (if I chose to skip college), I appeared on the Wheel of Fortune television show, I traveled to all states by the age of 16, hung out with Walter Payton and Don Cheadle, and even some more exciting things that shouldn't be shared in a public forum :) However, no one held my hand and dragged me to do all of those things. I had to take the initiative, and I had to take some chances. For example, I showed up to a professional baseball team tryout that was intended for "invitees only". However, I acted like I belonged there and walked onto the field with my mitt, wit, talent, speed and charm. I proved my skill as a baseball player that day, and I was always "invited" back to every other tryout for the next 4 years.
The bottom line is that when most of us turned into an adult, we lost the creative, care-free side that we had when we were kids. We now "care" about what others would think if they knew I did blankety-blank, or saw me attempt to do blankety-blank. And with it, went the out-of-the-box thinking. I guarantee you that no one is going to "check your job search homework", and penalize you if you don't do it. They are also not going to send out the "that is a crazy idea" police and arrest you if you attempt something that all of your competitors are not doing. So, get out there and make a fool of yourself. It's a ruff economy and the old way of getting a job has about as likely of a chance as the Cubs winning a World Series. Hmmm, I wonder how many readers just "unsubscribed" to my blog. Oh well, here's to taking chances!