Here is a piece that I wrote awhile back but I wanted to share with you.

”As I lay here in bed, I am left wondering, why do we enable other people to dictate our lives? Why do the youth and the seasoned, allow people to decide for us what we can and can't do? Now I'm not talking laws and politics, what I am talking about though is people dictating our lives in the corporate arena?

I understand that there is leadership and direction for the company given by the CEO or CFO or the Board, but for hiring managers to say that someone, who is qualified for a position, didn't get the position simply because "in the interview, 'he went off on a tangent or two'" or because "it's an easier transition to hire from within even though they don't fully fit with the direction of the team, I just need someone in here now", is completely disrespectful and says more about the hiring managers mettle than it does about the candidates' abilities and drive. It takes a lot of courage to break from routine and entice change, so if a candidate is willing to put their neck out there and go for something they truly want, hiring managers, and the company as a whole, should be willing to show a little respect and stop being so politically correct and soft as to why they make the decisions they do.

I believe that there would be a better response from people in general, but specifically candidates, if people were straight-forward and honest, so long as they are respectful. If that respectfulness is perceived as patronization or anything similar, I believe people would rather be flat out lied to then talked down to. For me personally, after recently experiencing this "corporate softness" twice in the last 10 months, I will come back, stronger and better than ever. I will finish my college education. I will start my own business and treat my employees with the respect they deserve, because if they respect me enough to take chances with me and follow me down the road of entrepreneurship, than the least I could do is respect them enough to be straight-forward with them.

What this has really taught me though, is that to really make something for yourself, you have to go get it, by yourself, because only you can decide for you what you want to do professionally. Take risks, take chances that you wouldn't normally do, whether that's start a business or apply for that position you've wanted to for a year now but just don't know that your qualified enough, just do it. You're only young once, trust in yourself and your support system and trust your network. You can't achieve anything without taking that first step, physically and/or metaphorically.”