Bloggertone » Management » I am giving up “giving up” for Lent ….

I am giving up “giving up” for Lent ….

by Paul Mullan on February 19th, 2010
20 Comments



Lent began on the 17th February. This period of 40 days and 40 nights has always represented giving up and sacrifice for me. For years I gave up chocolate, sugar, alcohol and even inappropriate language :-) . This year I have set myself a different challenge. I feel there would be no better way to celebrate Lent than by giving up “giving up”. Not being able to “give up” or quit for 40 days and 40 nights will be a huge challenge as “giving up” is an easy choice. I class myself as a highly competitive individual and I don’t accept the word No to easy but I still have many examples in my life when I have given up or quit.

Life is tough, business is tough and in this marketplace job hunting is especially tough. Rejection, heartbreaking obstacles and the word NO have forced many individuals to veer from their path to success. The side of this road is littered with the rubble of broken dreams, great ideas and hope. The sad thing is that many of these individuals were within touching distance of their goals.

So how can I succeed where others have not? How am I going to achieve my goals when others tell me it is not possible? Here are some of my thoughts on persistence and rejecting rejection.

“Fall down seven times, get up eight times” – This Chinese proverb is one of my favourite quotes. There will be many falls along the way but it is important to pick yourself back up. When you have a set back or face an obstacle ask yourself the following questions. How can I get around this? What can I learn? What can I do differently? Or if all else fails – What would superman do? There are many great motivational  stories and examples of persistence that can help inspire you. Feeling beat then read these stories/examples to help get you back on the saddle.

“No is a word on the path to Yes” – You should expect to hear the word “No” but this should not deter you or stop you. Two great examples from my past inspire me. There was the impossible task or persuading my mother to let me go to teenage discos. There was also the impossible task of persuading my school principle to let to train/play for the U12 Gaelic team when I was 9. With both examples I received hundreds of “No’s” until guess what? I was throwing my moves at the teenage disco and starting out my competitive GAA career.

“Measure what you want, not what you don’t want” – Keeping records of positive success will help motive you to deliver more of the same. Record and review every positive success no matter how small. Celebrate every success not matter how small.

As with all challenges in life I have to see the sunny side. I have set myself a very difficult task and I will face the temptation to quit throughout the next 40 days and nights. Having said this I can give myself a boost with a chocolate/sugar fix, drown rejection with alcohol and run around town like Gordon Ramsey with things are not working out as planned….

Remember NEVER QUIT & NEVER GIVE UP …….

Comments and views welcome …..



Category: HR and recruitment, motivation

Tags: , , , ,

The Author: Paul Mullan

Paul Mullan is an experienced career and outplacement professional with 14 years experience working within careers, outplacement and recruitment in the UK & Ireland. He is a former owner of Eden Recruitment and founder of career firm Measurability in 2006. Paul has delivered outplacement programmes for many leading organisations and ran graduate career workshops for leading third level institutions. He has worked with many individuals helping them define and achieve career goals through creative approaches to personal marketing and job hunting. Paul integrates traditional strategies with new Web 2.0 strategies to deliver optimum results. He is known for his up to date, creative and friendly approach to delivering career solutions. Paul is a recognised career professional regularly commenting on career related topics in the national media. He has acted as Career Doctor with Irish Independent and he is currently an online career expert with RecruitIreland. http://www.measurability.ie

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  • http://www.channelship.ie/ Fred

    Very inspiring post Paul. Thanks for sharing!
    You’ve set yourself up with a great challenge! Not everybody is ready not to give up!
    Chocolate, sugar and alcohol though are the official fuel to avoid giving up ;-)

  • http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

    Well applied post Paul. You are absolutely right. Too many people are thrown by rejection and give up. If the market is really rejecting you (whatever the business), adapt slightly if needed based on market responses, but don’t throw in the towel!
    Your point on the celebration of success, no matter how small, is vital and should be considered by all.

  • http://www.channelship.ie/blog facundo

    Great post Paul, although it should’ve gone out on a Monday! I was wondering if that “giving up” sugar, inappropriate language and chocolate as a boy had to do with trying to persuade your mother to go to the discos :)

  • Elaine

    Thanks for this Paul, I think I might be a lazy sod (so what’s new?!) and just copy your Lenten sacrifice myself :-) Got a few job applications to put in during the next forty days, and I am now determined not to do the usual thing of telling myself “Oh, I probably wouldn’t have been shortlisted anyway” the day after the closing date :-)

  • Anonymous

    @Fred – Thanks for the comments. Those treats certainly can help you stay on course :-)

    @Barney – Adapting is important. If you can’t get over a hurdle then go around it. If you can’t go around it the just plough straight through it :-) . Find a way but never give up!!

    @Facundo – I wasn’t that clever :-)

    @Elaine – If you are not in you can’t win – get those applications off immediately!! By the way you should consider placing the URL to your LI profile on any comments you make online. You never know your next job might come and find you and save you applying. Good luck with the job hunt.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    I have never given anything up for lent – out of pure defiance. But you’ve given me the idea to still use it as a timeline target – thanks :)
    This ties in with Pauls post (http://tinyurl.com/yaprcn3) of procrastination and not having faith in oneself (without even realising it).
    Its a great opportunity to take the Spring time, or the next 38 days and nights to do things out of your comfort zone – that’s my plan, one personal and one professional :)

  • Anonymous

    Been in Cavan all weekend – Thanks for the comments Elaine and hope you had a nice weekend.
    Paul

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Frederique, thanks for the great feedback and I’m delighted you are finding these useful.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    No problem, Thomas! Glad you found some of them useful. By the way, new round up out today: nhttp://tweakyourbiz.com/global/2011/03/05/10-more-links-you-may-have-missed-but-shouldn%E2%80%99t-4/

  • Philip O’Rourke

    Thanks Niall. It happens even in my present day life, where clients seldom, at first, reveal the true nature of there visit. 

  • http://twitter.com/supplyIE supplyIE

    Great post, we clearly must to find out the reason of his objection but sometimes we have to accept a ‘No’ and to go forth. Thanks very much for your post.

    Nicolas.

  • http://twitter.com/marketingdebbie TheMarketingShop.ie

    Hi Philip,

    Enjoyed the post. If you can’t close the sale it’s always worth finding out why, as worst case you’ll learn from it for the future.  Sometimes a client doesn’t exactly make it easy as although we don’t like to hear a no a lot of people don’t like to say no either – particularly if the reason relates to cost.

  • Philip O’Rourke

    Many thanks for your kind comments and response. While it is true that everybody wants the best possible price they can get, it is also true that, if they are a real potential buyer, they will also want what represents the best possible investment. This is something that need to be established at the earliest stages.

    Whether the answer is ‘No’ or ‘I’ll give you a call sometime’ it still leaves the job unfinished.  I have seen salespeople breath a sigh of relief to hear ‘No’ rather than deal with the stress of closing. Needless to say, they weren’t any of mine :-)

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Great first Bloggertone post Philip – well done!
    I love your formula, and concur 100%, and don’t often do it myself.

    And your comment below to Nicholas hits the nail on the head for me:
    “When all possible efforts plus one more have been exhausted…”

    The plus one :)

  • Philip O’Rourke

    Many thanks, Elaine. Personally, if the product is fit for purpose, I will always buy from a professional who will stay the course. As long as the potential client has a pulse, a need and the resources to cover it – the game isn’t over :-)

  • http://twitter.com/#!/antonmccarthy Anton McCarthy

    Hi Philip, great post! I think your article is probably especially valuable and insightful for Irish-based readers – we may have a propensity to not want to appear too ‘pushy’, at the risk of ‘scaring someone off’. When really, as you say, the prospect just wants that full reassurance that they are making the right call in sealing the deal. Nice tips.

  • http://www.appointmentsetting.com/ simonswills

    Preparing a sales presentation is not something that can be done on a fly. Often in a complicated sales, you would need information from various divisions within your own organization to take the value your product/service can offer, to response the objections/concerns of the client, and to determine reliability to your sales presentation.

  • Philip O’Rourke

    I concur Simon.I have seen many fail because the one presenting had not completed the fact and product discoveries beforehand. 

  • Philip O’Rourke

    Many thanks for you kind remarks, Anton. It is true what you say. .It is far to often that salespeople fail to gain the respect of a potential client because of timidity. A lack of courage on the part of the salesperson does not inspire trust in the client.

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    I assume that sometimes a repeated “no” would have to be accepted, and the loop closed without a sale ? :) But in principle, I agree with the formula.
    Welcome to Bloggertone Philip!
    ~ Helen

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