SUBTEXTwas good at it, I felt limited. I thought I was in a dead end.
But, you know, I had no experience outside of hospital administra-
tion. My first job was doing their PR work, and I worked my
way up the hospital hierarchy. The trouble was, I wanted something
else, a position with more responsibility and more power, and I
knew I couldn't get it there."
"What did you do?" someone asked.
"I picked the biggest corporation in my area, walked into the
president's office, and asked for a job as his assistant. I knew I
was taking a risk, but I also knew that if it paid off it would be
worth it."
"What happened?"
"He talked to me for a while, then, with a rather cold look,
said, 'You know, this job requires a tremendous amount of experi-
ence in corporate management plus an MBA.'
"Well, I think I was pretty cool myself when I answered, 'I
haven't got an MBA.' But you know, an hour later I had that
job!"
We were all silent for a moment, then Steve said, "I appreciate
the drama of the situation, but why did he hire you?"
"Self-confidence," Larry answered. "Aggressive self-confidence.
I told him I could do the job, and do it better than any other
applicant, and I convinced him because I had convinced myself.
It was a management job, and I was a great manager. My record
at the hospital showed that. I was willing to take a risk because
we both agreed that if I didn't work out in one month I'd be
out, but I really felt it was worth the risk." He was silent for a
moment, then he looked at Steve. "Do you honestly feel the risk
of trying to work at a job at your age, of testing yourself, is really
worth it?"