Back in my corporate days, I avoided politics… But I wanted to climb that ladder. At Natural Organics I had a leap in mind: I wanted to move from copywriting in R&D to running Editorial for Energy Times magazine.
Before making the proposal, I met with the departing ET publisher to get his blessing. Boy was I in for a surprise! He sat me down and told me I would fail. I had no magazine experience. It’s a complicated job. I would need extensive training. Blah, blah, blah… the real kicker, I will never forget. He told me, “You know, if you get this job it could actually hurt your career.”
Since I was sill a bit green, this bizarro pep talk shook me up. But I persisted, became Executive Editor and persevered. Four months later, I completed the annual Energy Times Cancer Issue with Alec Baldwin as the feature interview. It was the biggest celebrity we’d ever landed. After the issue came out, the founder called me to tell me it was the single greatest Energy Times in its 17-year history.
Ultimately, I improved ET: Better content, lower operating costs, and, most importantly, superior promotion of nutritional supplements and natural health.
The Lesson: Go ahead. Tell me I won’t succeed. I dare you. Talent trumps experience every time. These days, the Natural Health Writer has both in spades.