Axiom 88: Catalog Your Life

"What is a diary as a rule? A document useful to the person who keeps it. Dull to the contemporary who reads it and invaluable to the student, centuries afterwards, who treasures it." -Walter Scott

Take a moment every once in a while for some self reflection. Find an outlet that works for your style and fits your schedule. It may be jotting down your thoughts in a journal, recording your thoughts as a voice memo or video, or some other way of cataloging your life all together.

Cataloging your life serves two purposes. First, it allows self-reflection. You are able to evaluate your life, make changes, and set goals easier. When you don't have any thorough way of self reflection then you will continue to drift through life like you always have.

Second, it allows a record of your life that you can pass down to your family and children. Everyone wants some sort of lasting memorial that speaks to who they were as a person. I can only imagine how thrilled I would be to have video or audio of my now deceased family telling me the story of their life I their own words. When you die your life story will fade away unless you have done something to preserve it otherwise.

Take the time to express yourself and reflect. Don't let time get away from you before it is too late.  

Axiom 87: Don't Strive for Perfection

"Don't wait, the time will never be just right." -Napoleon Hill

When i visited Paris a few years ago I was excited about seeing the Eiffel Tower. I had a vision of how quiet and romantic it would be. However, when I actually got there it was nothing like I had imagined. It wasn't the perfect place I had imagined. It was loud, crowded with people selling souvenirs, and was more like a carnival than a romantic destination. It was a simple reminder that nothing is perfect.

Don't let perfection derail your success. There are three distinct ways that the idea of perfection can hurt you:

First, don't be such a perfectionist in starting a project that you never get the ball rolling. Some people want everything to be perfect before they begin a big project. They want to have all their little side projects done, they want the timing to be perfect, they want all their resources lined up first, etc. Don't worry about making a perfect situation before you begin a project. Just dive in and let things work themselves out along the way. 

Second, don't be such a perfectionist that you never complete a project quickly. If it takes five hours to do something 96% accurately, and 12 hours to do it 100% accurately maybe the extra time isn't worth it. Of course this is a question only you will know the answer to but make sure you are not wasting time for the sake of perfection. Most tasks do not have to be 100% accurate.

Lastly, don't let the idea of perfection distort your life view. While you should strive to do good work, don't strive for an idea of perfection that is not possible. Sometimes imperfection is perfection in itself. When I realized that the Eiffel Tower was more of a tourist trap than the idea of perfection I had envisioned I did not let it ruin my time. I simply keep my distance from the crowds and the insanity and enjoyed it from a distance with my wife. From a distance it was as perfect and magical as I had imagined.

The Right Way to Apply for a Job

Every time I post a job to hire someone new I am absolutely floored how bad the resumes are that I get. It seems that no one knows or cares how to properly apply for a job these days. However, when I do get someone that takes the time to put together a nice application I show them the same respect in return by giving them careful consideration. If you're applying for a job it is something that you should keep in mind.

Chances are that if you apply with a company that has less than 50 employees the person reviewing your resume is not a full-time HR person. They have a primary job other than hiring and are probably really busy doing their day-to-day business activities, that's why they are looking to hire someone. That means they don't have a lot of time to go through resumes. When I go through resumes I usually decide in about 5 seconds whether to hit the delete key or to read a little further. 

Because this first impression is so critical below are a few tips to help you get more consideration when you apply for a job:

• Follow the application instructions carefully - I always post a couple things that applicants MUST provide when they send their resume in. I delete all the applications that don't follow these rules. I want to see how well applicants can follow instructions and this is how I test people without them knowing.
• Save your resume as a PDF and name the file properly - A PDF is the only way to guarantee that the viewer will see your resume exactly as you want it to be seen. I've had weird word formats sent to me that won't open or try to start downloading plugins. At that point I delete and move on to the next candidate. Also, name your resume file properly. A filename like, New Resume (2).docx shows me you are lazy and disorganized.
• Write something thoughtful - Write me a note and tell me about yourself. Tell me why you want the job. Tell me why I should be compelled to hire you. Tell me why 'x' on your resume looks bad but you have a good reason for it. Don't send me, "i want the job. -sent from T-Mobile". Again, if you are that lazy in the way you apply what makes me think you aren't going to be just as lazy when I hire you. Are you going to send equally lazy unprofessional notes to our company's clients once I hire you?
• Do a freaking spellcheck - It's 2015 and spellcheck is readily available for you to use. The lowercase 'i' is not an acceptable replacement for word 'I', which should always be capitalized. If you don't give me the respect by sending me something written in proper English then I will not give you any respect in return and will quickly delete your application.

Take your time when you apply for a job. The way in which you apply is an indicator to the employer what kind of job you will do if you were to get hired. Remember that the person reviewing your resume is likely very busy and you will have only a few seconds to make an impression.