How much of your success would attribute to you and how much comes down to who you know?
Dream Big, Dream Often
How much of your success would attribute to you and how much comes down to who you know?
Good question. In the case of success as it relates to my career, I wouldn’t be where I am today without other people/mentors helping me along the way. On two separate occasions in my almost 35 year tenure, I got the job because of who I knew. In both cases, I worked my butt off to prove I deserved to be there and deserved the promotion (as much as anyone can “deserve” anything). Knowing the person got me the job but I had to work to keep it and to excel at it.
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Often we put in the work, but we also need others.
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I may have gotten the job because I knew someone, but once there, I worked my butt off to get to the top. I think a lot of times it’s who you know. So I make it my business to know those people.
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It is 100% about connecting with the right people. Without that you get nowhere. But it also takes hard work to warrant any upward movement.
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Nothing I’ve ever accomplished has anything to do with who I’ve known. I suppose teachers and parents have influenced me, and taught me the particulars of life and my career choice. Still had to work my ass off though. I’ve never been handed squat, because I’m so-and-so’s nephew or anything like that, no.
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You don’t think that knowing people in a professional setting benefits and aids advancing?
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Well, I’m my field, there’s room for advancement in administration, like facility rehab director, regional rehab manager, and so on. I have zero interest in management. I love my patients and working with them daily. I didn’t pick this career to be behind a desk, looking st spreadsheets, or getting yelled at by the middle Mgmt one rung higher than me. I got my degree, I got certified and licensed, renew my license yearly, and work as a staff OT. Didn’t need to know anybody to do any of that. Now, do I learn from Co workers? Sure. Do I network in order to hear about potential job openings or opportunities? Sure. Do I need to “know” someone to do any of that? Nope.
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But in order for their to be a new opportunity, someone has to make that opportunity available. That is never up to you.
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True. But, if there’s a job opening, I may hear about it, but I still have to put in a resume, interview, and get hired based on my own merits, not because of who I know.
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I have no idea how to sort those two things out with regard to success or, for that matter, failure, or just muddling through somewhere between.
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I think it’s a combo. You have to work hard, but you also have to know the right people
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It seems like I always have to prove myself with my work ethic or skills. I know people that can supposedly help me but it’s really only once in a great while that they’ll actually help me with something like getting a job. People are all talk usually. It’s sometimes hard to take them seriously so I rarely do. Lol. Sometimes they will do me a favor but not all of the time.
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I have found that knowing the right people in a job is essential.
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I hear it helps but I don’t really know from personal experience. Well I take that back…sort of. A friend helped me once or twice. It was a restaurant job.
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That counts.
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50% to me and 50% to who I don’t know.
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What do you mean by “who I don’t know”?
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🦋 Once upon a time…and not so long ago, I would have said 90 – 100% came down to me.
Now, it’s just plain too difficult. I learn to seek out others who want to assist and are able to achieve things I can’t do anymore.
This has often made me feel guilty but when you see how others can help just by doing what they do well and allow them to do what they do best, so I can conscentrate on other things that matter most, such as family then I feel more affective in what I can do.
Perhaps one day I will be able to say, 60/40% 50/50% or even 40/60% where I will be comfortable with others and me working together to attribute to my success.
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I agree with you. I think the honest answer is 50/50. You must work hard to be prepared when someone presents an opportunity.
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I can’t take any credit for any of my success. I owe all to God for every good and perfect gift.
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Ok. But you are still required to take action to take advantage of opportunities. God can send the boat in a flood, but if you don’t get on the boat you might still drown.
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True enough, but it still goes back to God because He’s the One Who’s given me the ability to think and make decisions, in addition to being able to walk to the boat so I do not drown.
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I guess.
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My success in life has been achieved by my own hard work. I have always been independant .
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So you have never benefited by a connection with another person?
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I cannot say that connection with other people has been a benefit to my success in life.
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I have struggled most of my life with being bullied and put down and being told that I would never amount to anything and don’t waste your time trying. I have proved them wrong.
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None in that sense. I’ve always done my own thing my own way as far as jobs are concerned.
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You’ve never had anyone help you?
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I would say that where I am at this time, most of it is down to my mental health problems. The fact I am stubborn, so most has been down to me. But I would say that I have had help along the way, but again I wouldn’t of gotten that help, if I didn’t have mental health problems.
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