| As a teen and in my early 20s I was a pretty skeptical / negative dude. I probably would be on team "not worth it, don't bother" when it comes to cold email. I was also kinda bad in school (not really trying and not doing well) and so on. Buddy who worked outsourced tech support with me while he took school seriously and I did not graduated (while I did not) and got a job. They had a referral bonus at his company and he convinced to "just apply". I hadn't graduated and really wasn't making much progress or very impressive, but I did it just for the interview experience. I got the job, the guy who hired me later said "you seemed honest". My whole tech career took off from there, good money, I got lucky and worked with good people. Later after age 40 after a layoff I decided to try a coding bootcamp when folks were downplaying those programs. Some rando small company took a chance on me and didn't pay much but it was a job and I took a chance on them. Nearly 10 years later I'm happy with my work, doing good financially, all because I took a couple shots. The local university has a coach who is big on "failure is progress" and other cute slogans, and in my collage years I would have been cynical brushed it off as "just words". But it was also just words when the guy told "just apply". I watch that coach's team and there are kids out there failing, I think they're some of the bravest guys. They daring to bust their ass year round and maybe just fail in front of tens of thousands people. I wouldn't have done it at their age, but they're taking their shot. It took me a long time to understand the value (and low cost) of taking a shot, and what "just words" really represents. |