فصل 12

• CAN-DO

Being proactive really means two things. First, you take responsibility for your life. Second, you have a “can-do” attitude. Can-do is very different from “no-can-do.” Just take a peek.

CAN - DO PEOPLE

Take initiative to make it happen

NO - CAN - DO PEOPLE

Wait for something to happen to them

CAN - DO PEOPLE

Think about problems and barriers

NO - CAN - DO PEOPLE

Think about solutions and options

CAN - DO PEOPLE

Act

NO - CAN - DO PEOPLE

Are acted upon

If you think can-do, and you’re creative and persistent, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. During college, I remember being told that to fulfill my language requirement, I would “have to” take a class that I had no interest in and was meaningless to me. Instead of taking this class, however, I decided to create my own. So I put together a list of books I would read and the assignments I would do and found a teacher to sponsor me. I then went to the dean of the school and presented my case. He bought into my idea and I completed my language requirement by taking my self-built course.

American aviator Elinor Smith once said, “It has long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” It’s so true. To reach your goals in life, you must seize the initiative. If you’re feeling bad about not being asked out on dates, don’t just sit around and sulk, do something about it. Find ways to meet people. Be friendly and try smiling a lot. Ask them out. They may not know how great you are.

Don’t wait for that perfect job to fall in your lap, go after it. Send out your résumé, network, volunteer to work for free.

If you’re at a store and need assistance, don’t wait for the salesperson to find you, you find them.

Some people mistake can-do for being pushy, aggressive, or obnoxious. Wrong. Can-do is courageous, persistent, and smart. Others think can-do people stretch the rules and make their own laws. Not so. Can-do thinkers are creative, enterprising, and extremely resourceful.

Pia, a work associate of mine, shared the following story. Although it took place a long time ago, the principle of can-do is the same: I was a young journalist in a big city in Europe, working full-time as a reporter for United Press International. I was inexperienced and always nervous that I wouldn’t be able to live up to the expectations of a tough and much older male press crew. The Beatles were coming to town, and to my amazement I was appointed to cover their stay. (My editor didn’t know how big they were.) They were the hottest thing in Europe in those days. Girls fainted by the hundreds just by their presence, and here I was going to cover their press conference.

The press conference was exciting and I was elated to be there, but I realized that everyone would have the same story—I needed something more, something meaty, something that really would make front page. I just couldn’t waste this opportunity. One by one, all the experienced reporters went back to their papers to report and the Beatles went up to their rooms. I stayed behind. I’ve got to figure out a way to get to these guys, I thought. And there’s no time to lose.

I walked to the hotel lobby, picked up the house phone, and dialed the penthouse. I guessed they would be staying there. Their manager answered. “This is Pia Jensen from United Press International. I would like to come talk to the Beatles,” I said confidently. (What did I have to lose?) To my amazement he said, “Come on up.”

Trembling and feeling like I had hit the jackpot, I entered the elevator and went up to the royal suites of the hotel. I was led into an area as big as an entire floor—and here they all sat, Ringo, Paul, John, and George. I gulped down my nervousness and inexperience and tried to act like a world-class reporter.

I spent the next two hours laughing, listening, talking, writing, and having the best time of my life. They treated me royally and gave me all the attention in the world!

My story was splashed on the front page of the leading newspaper in the country the next morning. And my more extended interviews with each of the Beatles appeared as a feature in most of the newspapers of the world within the next few days. When the Rolling Stones came to town after that—guess who they sent? Me, a young, female, inexperienced reporter. I used the same approach with them and it worked again. I soon realized what I could accomplish by being pleasantly persistent. A pattern was set in my mind, and I was convinced anything was possible. With this approach, I usually got the best story, and my news career took on a new dimension.

George Bernard Shaw, the English playwright, knew all about can-do. Listen to how he said it: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” Pay attention to how Denise was able to create the circumstances she wanted: I know it’s strange for a teenager to want to work in a library, but I really wanted that job—more than I had ever wanted anything, but they weren’t hiring. I would go to the library every day and read, hang out with my friends, and just get away from home—what better place to work than someplace I already hung out at? Although I didn’t have a job there, I got to know the office staff, and I volunteered for special events and pretty soon I was one of the regulars. It paid off. When they finally had an opening, I was their first choice, and I found one of the best jobs I ever had.