Make Bold Proposals

A friend in college believed that there should be no limit to what he attempted to achieve, so at the age of 23, he applied to be president of a major university. Even though this was a ridiculous undertaking, he took pleasure in crafting the best possible pitch letter... and it was a very good pitch.

The same year, he decided to call the CEO of a large investment bank and ask him for career advice. He got through to the CEO and also got useful advice.

Most people self-edit themselves. They fail without even trying and would not even think of writing to Forbes magazine and suggesting they accept a guest article. They would not call The Today Show to pitch themselves as a guest.

I got my first big promotion by writing a job description and giving it to my boss’s boss’s boss. He—and his boss—ultimately wrote the recommendations that got me into business school, where I met the mother of my three children.

If I hadn’t been bold then, nearly everyone dear to me in the world might not be part of my life today.