elle:
Fashion Week Street Style
Check out our latest additions to the Paris Fashion Week street style gallery!
Photo: Courtney D’Alesio
The Gap Between Success and Failure is Smaller Than You Think
At times, it seems like we are destined to fail. The obstacles in between us and success are too big, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
But, that isn’t the case at all.
Many times, the reason why you didn’t get into that certain school or didn’t get that certain job is because you didn’t put forth enough effort. But, I’m not talking about the kind of effort it takes to run a marathon or swim the English Channel. I’m talking about tiny amounts of effort.
The world is full of average people putting forth average amounts of effort, and all it takes to stand out is a few extra minutes, or even a few extra seconds.
For example, let’s take two job candidates that are applying for the same position. Both have similar backgrounds and are equally qualified for the job.
Candidate 1 gets up that morning 15 minutes earlier than usual. He spends an extra minute or two shaving, lint rolls his suit on the way out the door, and stops by Starbucks to get his morning coffee. He arrives at the interview five minutes before he needed to arrive, so he finishes his coffee while he does a Google search on the company to see if there’s anything else he could use during the interview. Turns out that there was some breaking news early that morning about a new product that was rolling out. He then heads into the interview, tossing his coffee in the trash on the way in.
Candidate 2 gets up at his usual time. He showers and shaves, and then rushes out the door so that he has time to stop by Starbucks. He arrives at the interview just in time, and heads in. His suit has lint and dog hair all over it, but he hadn’t noticed. He also missed a spot shaving. He heads into the interview, coffee cup in hand.
Now, which candidate do you think will get that job?
Without a doubt Candidate 1 gets the job, and all it took was fifteen extra minutes of effort.
