Something that very few people realize is the most important aspect in any of our success, regardless of whom we may be, is our ability to be resourceful. Being resourceful is an incredible skill and something that really separates the extraordinary people out there from the average. In fact, if you can be resourceful, you can do and achieve just about anything.
I rarely remember my dreams, but for some reason, I have a vivid memory about a dream I had last evening. When I was young, I used to go to an asphalt tar plant called Goddard Coatings, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to purchase various materials for my asphalt work. I dreamed I was going back right now, some 15 years after my last visit to the asphalt plant. Back then, Goddard Coatings was a family owned business and in addition to selling asphalt coatings, occasionally they would sell various types of equipment. In the dream, I was going back there and discovered they had no business because the economy in Detroit is so slow at the moment. In addition, I discovered they had some equipment for sale at very good prices.
While I won’t get too far into this dream, the idea the entire dream represented to me was that now is a time of opportunity. I thought about the fact that the asphalt coatings business might be available for sale now at a good price. I thought about how I could purchase equipment at a good price. I thought about how I could figure out how to gain market share in the asphalt business during a very slow time in Detroit. I enjoyed this dream and thinking about it right now makes me quite excited.
Now, I’m dreaming on a very basic level. What I’m trying to show you is that there are reasons to get excited right now. When bad things are happening in the economy and change is occurring, you can do very well and you can achieve all of these things through the power of resourcefulness. Your ability to be resourceful is among the greatest gifts that you have. The more resourceful you are, the better you can do at anything and everything out there.
The people who have historically achieved the most in every single industry and are American icons of sorts, are the captains of various industries who figured out how to be resourceful. For example, Henry Ford figured out how to make cars faster and cheaper using an assembly line. Sam Walton figured out how to bring large stores to small towns. Steve Jobs figured out how to sell MP3s to people using iPods. Cars existed before Henry Ford came along. Large stores existed before Sam Walton came along. All any of these people did was look at the existing way things were done and improved upon them. If you are able to be resourceful and take what you already know and improve upon this, then you can accomplish really extraordinary things.
One of the funniest examples of resourcefulness is the practice many publishers have of changing the titles of various books. A book can be sitting on a shelf not selling a single copy, and then the publisher decides to suddenly change the title and “BOOM” the book becomes a best seller. This is a phenomenon I’ve heard about for years, and it’s something that works.
What does any of this mean for your career and life? What this means is that you need to learn to use your resources and everything around you for your maximum benefit. Far, far too many people fail to take advantage of their existing resources and, instead, sit around feeling as if they cannot do things in a certain way or achieve what they want to achieve due to various limitations. This is what I would term “deficit based thinking” and deficit based thinking isn’t something that is in your best interest to continually do. Many people spend their lives and all of their time thinking about the things that are wrong, and what they don’t have, instead of what is right and the things they do have. When you start concentrating on your resources and what you have at your disposal, the world changes and what is available to help you reach your goals makes a large fundamental change as well.
Regardless of the economy, there are always going to be businesses which are doing well. Everything seems to move in cycles. If you are interested in working in a thriving industry, at any point in time there are an incredible number of businesses that are thriving. In addition, at different points in time, there are geographic areas which are always doing well. Geographic areas, hot industries, and so forth are examples of resources that you have available to you on a macro sense.
On a micro sense, there are countless resources you can take advantage of to assist you in reaching whatever goals you are seeking to reach in your career. If you are looking for a job, these resources are incredibly widespread and and something you need to really take advantage of.
Getting a really good job is something that can be compared in some respects to playing the lottery. All you need is to hit once, and you can be a winner. You can win it all by one pick of the draw. However, in order to win the lottery, you need to increase your odds. If your life is depending on winning the lottery tomorrow and you were told that unless you won you would die the next day, you would likely go out and get every cent you could together, borrow all of the money you could from everyone you know, and take every resource you could to purchase as many lottery tickets as possible. You might even consult someone (an expert) about which numbers were most likely to come up that day. In short, you would do everything within your power you could to increase your odds.
In order to be as resourceful as possible in your job search, you also need to do everything within your power to increase your odds. You need to give yourself the best chance possible of getting a job and, in order to do this, the most important thing you can do for yourself is be as resourceful as possible.
- You need to find everyone out there who can help you.
- You need to call people you have worked with in the past.
- You need to call people you’ve interviewed with in the past.
- You need to apply to as many jobs as possible.
- You need to make your résumé as good as possible.
- You need to make your appearance as good as possible for interviews.
- You need to follow up after interviews.
- You need to learn how to interview as well as you can.
- You need to learn to write the best cover letters possible.
- You need to be as geographically flexible as possible.
- You need to market yourself as different things to different people.
If you go out there and think about people who are achieving the most in the world, most of them had the ability to be resourceful. You too need to do everything within your power to be resourceful in your job search, life, and career. Be resourceful.
THE LESSON
Resourcefulness can make you better at everything you do, and separates the truly extraordinary people from the general herd. Do everything within your power to be resourceful in your job search, life, and career to give yourself the best possible chance of achieving your goals, and learn how to employ the resources currently at your disposal for maximum impact.
About Harrison Barnes
Harrison Barnes is the Founder of BCG Attorney Search and a successful legal recruiter himself. Harrison is extremely committed to and passionate about the profession of legal placement. His firm BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys. BCG Attorney Search works with attorneys to dramatically improve their careers by leaving no stone unturned in a search and bringing out the very best in them. Harrison has placed the leaders of the nation’s top law firms, and countless associates who have gone on to lead the nation’s top law firms. There are very few firms Harrison has not made placements with. Harrison’s writings about attorney careers and placements attract millions of reads each year. He coaches and consults with law firms about how to dramatically improve their recruiting and retention efforts. His company LawCrossing has been ranked on the Inc. 500 twice. For more information, please visit Harrison Barnes’ bio.
About BCG Attorney Search
BCG Attorney Search matches attorneys and law firms with unparalleled expertise and drive that gets results. Known globally for its success in locating and placing attorneys in law firms of all sizes, BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys in law firms in thousands of different law firms around the country. Unlike other legal placement firms, BCG Attorney Search brings massive resources of over 150 employees to its placement efforts locating positions and opportunities that its competitors simply cannot. Every legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search is a former successful attorney who attended a top law school, worked in top law firms and brought massive drive and commitment to their work. BCG Attorney Search legal recruiters take your legal career seriously and understand attorneys. For more information, please visit www.BCGSearch.com.