Eighty Percent of Success is Showing Up

I recently read the Woody Allen quote “eighty percent of success is showing up.” I interpret the quote as meaning that you will never get what you want if you don’t try. In other words, even at the risk of rejection, you have to “go for it” in order to strive for opportunities that may or may not be within your reach.

I didn’t think that I would be hired for an internship at the White House but I wrote the best essays I could and sent them in. I could have been swayed by the thoughts that “there are probably people that are more qualified ect.” but, instead, I focused my energy on the certainty that I would not get the opportunity if I did not even apply for it. I got the internship. When I later applied for another internship although the application submission date had passed, I sent my cover letter and resume to a random person on the website. I ended up getting the internship. The same mindset works when you are no longer looking for an internship*. This attitude is helpful whether you are a second semester senior on the first full-time job hunt a job or a post grad hoping to switch jobs. Of course submitting a resume and cover letter may not actually be equivalent to an eighty percent chance of landing your dream job. It is also important to make sure that your submissions reflect your personality, spirit, drive, and competence in the best possible light. When you take a risk you are confronted with your fear of rejection. No doubt about it, rejection hurts, but I’d rather endure rejection than suffer the regret for not pursuing my dreams.

“Freedom lies in being bold.” Robert Frost

“Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves.” Robert Frost

“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost

Live, so you do not have to look back and say ‘God, how I have wasted my life.’.
Elisabeth Kubler Ross

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
Elisabeth Kubler Ross

*Side bar: here is my favorite internship quote, “this country was built by unpaid interns. And in exchange, I assume they got college credit.” -Stephen Colbert.

If you’d like a constant reminder of the Woody Allen quote “eighty percent of success is showing up.” You could wear the Three Jane You Locket Up Collection Annie Hall necklace (click to find out how to purchase it).

Believe In Yourself Wall Decal (put this on your wall if you need a little reminder that you can handle taking a risk, comes in other colors, click to find out how to purchase it):

Here are my favorite quotes (via BrainyQuote) about changing your perspective of rejection:

A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.
Bo Bennett
I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.
Billy Joel
I think that you have to believe in your destiny; that you will succeed, you will meet a lot of rejection and it is not always a straight path, there will be detours – so enjoy the view.
Michael York
I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.
Sylvester Stallone
I used to save all my rejection slips because I told myself, one day I’m going to autograph these and auction them. And then I lost the box.
James Lee Burke
There’s nothing like rejection to make you do an inventory of yourself.
James Lee Burke
You have people come into your life shockingly and surprisingly. You have losses that you never thought you’d experience. You have rejection and you have learn how to deal with that and how to get up the next day and go on with it.
Taylor Swift

You’re Only Human (Second Wind) by Billy Joel: An 80’s Interpretation of Rejection (if a guy in a black trench coat playing a harmonica follows you I’d recommend running in the other direction):