Do you remember the story of the "Little Engine That Could"? Imagine my surprise when my Star-Wars-loving, DS Nintendo-toting son, brought that book home with a gleam of excitement in his eyes, declaring this was a great story. That little blue engine accepted the assignment and determinedly pulled the toys over the hill to the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain.
Do you also remember the clown and the toys? They displayed as much perseverance and persistence as the little blue engine. They knew where they wanted to go and exactly why they wanted to get there. They were polite and direct in their requests. (They sound like good job seekers, don't they?)
They were rejected by a shiny new passenger engine, a freight engine, and old tired engine. These passer-bys snubbed the desperate, kind toys with the words "I won't pull the likes of you."
This story is as much about the selfishness of those other engines as it is about the success of the little engine that could.
We all are faced with the opportunity to help others. How often do we take the time to make a difference?
"I think I can"....."I surely think I can"....."I definitely know I can"....
These are the lines of the job seeker on his/her transition onto the next set of train tracks in life.
Agreeing with Hannah, along that way, it's important to keep the "other trains" in mind and to be equitable and pay-it-forward to all other trains (fast or slow) on their own journeys.
With me so far? I've been passed-up on very good job opportunities, perhaps I've passed-up others at one time, but it's important to reach out, jump the tracks, and help all other trains along their own journey...Toot, toot your horn plus listen to other train whistles too...
Guess I woke up to Fairport train whistles at 4am today.
Posted by: Doug Hitchcock | May 19, 2010 at 08:15 AM