How practising persistence can pay off
INEVER thought of myself as a writer. An artist, yes. A performer, kind of. A storyteller, for sure. Never a writer.
But I wanted to be a writer because I wanted to connect with people. I wanted a column in my local paper. So I did what anyone would do when getting started in this venture — I stalked the editor.
His name was (and is) Paul Berton, the editor-in-chief of this very newspaper, and I emailed him asking if I could write a column. I assured him that, even with no qualifications, I could add some valuable content to The Hamilton Spectator. I thought for sure my chances were pretty good.
I knew he must get a ton of email, but I assumed most of it was probably negative (being an editor can’t be an easy job!). I decided to send him the most positive email that he’d ever received — full of exclamation marks and smiley faces.
After a few months of not hearing back, I had almost given up. But one day in February 2012, I received an email from Paul asking me to meet him and another editor, Cheryl Stepan, to take a look at a new business publication that they were putting together. And that was the day I started my writing career.
Over the past five years, I’ve learned a lot about myself through writing this column and about practising persistence. I’ve found ways to navigate difficult entrepreneurial decisions and remembered to enjoy those moments of smooth sailing when everything is right in our business world.
A lesson I’ve learned about being persistent in business and personal relationships comes from the Kitestring Creative Branding Studio tag line: We understand humans. This speaks not only to how we make (what I think) are great advertisements and brands, but it’s a great reminder that behind every client interaction is a real-life human who is multifaceted and doing their best based on their motivations, past experiences and knowledge.
If the stars aren’t aligning in business that day, persistence can come from remembering that a bunch of flawed, emotional humans are running the show. Just keep trucking, keep communicating, and it’s all going to work out.
These acts of persistence have taken our business far — with our Moncton office now open and thriving, we get to learn and grow and practise this trait in a whole other province.
When you put yourself out there, whether in entrepreneurial hustling or putting your thoughts into print — you are going to connect with people and it won’t always be easy. But when times get tough I challenge you to be confident, be persistent and don’t be afraid to add a few smiley faces in your next email when you’re trying to get what you want.