I tried out for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” recently, as did fellow biz-e-chick Jenni McKay. (See Jenni’s blog entry about it here.) It’s funny how an audition for a game show can be a lot like daily life. Here are a few little life lessons that were reinforced at the try-outs:
1. Go with your gut. We had 10 minutes to complete a 30-question multiple choice test. This seems like plenty of time until you get stuck on a question like “The term ‘embouchure’ refers to the position of one’s mouth when doing what?” Right off the bat, I had a feeling it was “playing a wind instrument.” Why did I know this? I have no idea. All I know is that answer felt right … and it was.
To me, this is like going with your gut when meeting with a client. There have been a couple times when I’ve met with someone and known right away that things would not work out between us. The first time this happened, I didn’t trust my gut and ended up doing work for which I was not paid. The second time, I passed on the suspect client and found out later from the girl who was hired that working with the person was a complete nightmare.
2. First impressions are everything. Once you’ve passed the written test at the audition, you have a quick one- to two-minute interview with a Millionaire producer. At the end of that time, the producer decides whether or not to put you through for an on-camera interview. One to two minutes: that’s it to prove yourself worthy of Millionaire status.
This made me think about doing presentations for prospective clients. You usually have more than one minute to present yourself in a situations like that, but not always. There’s a very good chance that the possible client has started judging you from the minute you walked in the door. Your appearance, your attitude, your preparedness – they can all be sensed within seconds, so you need to be “on” immediately.
3. Give it all you got. For most people, trying out for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is going to be a one-time thing. (This does not apply, though, to the sweet old man standing next to us in line – Mr. Fourth Time’s a Charm*.) So, I was bound and determined to put everything I had into the process. I treated that test like my life depended on it and acted like the producers were the gateway to my dreams. There was nothing to lose and $1 million to gain!
With every project I work on, I treat it like it’s the last thing I may do for that client because, really, that could be the case. If I don’t do my best and something slips past me, it could mean the end of my relationship with that client and the end of a steady stream of income.
It occurred to me that all of these are things we learn when we’re little kids. Isn’t it funny how they still apply to us 20-, 30- , 40-, 50-something women now just as much as they did when we were five? I guess that guy was onto something when he wrote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
*Four-timer didn’t make the show again:(.
Lessons From a Soon-to-be Millionaire
I tried out for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” recently, as did fellow biz-e-chick Jenni McKay. (See Jenni’s blog entry about it here.) It’s funny how an audition for a game show can be a lot like daily life. Here are a few little life lessons that were reinforced at the try-outs:
1. Go with your gut. We had 10 minutes to complete a 30-question multiple choice test. This seems like plenty of time until you get stuck on a question like “The term ‘embouchure’ refers to the position of one’s mouth when doing what?” Right off the bat, I had a feeling it was “playing a wind instrument.” Why did I know this? I have no idea. All I know is that answer felt right … and it was.
To me, this is like going with your gut when meeting with a client. There have been a couple times when I’ve met with someone and known right away that things would not work out between us. The first time this happened, I didn’t trust my gut and ended up doing work for which I was not paid. The second time, I passed on the suspect client and found out later from the girl who was hired that working with the person was a complete nightmare.
2. First impressions are everything. Once you’ve passed the written test at the audition, you have a quick one- to two-minute interview with a Millionaire producer. At the end of that time, the producer decides whether or not to put you through for an on-camera interview. One to two minutes: that’s it to prove yourself worthy of Millionaire status.
This made me think about doing presentations for prospective clients. You usually have more than one minute to present yourself in a situations like that, but not always. There’s a very good chance that the possible client has started judging you from the minute you walked in the door. Your appearance, your attitude, your preparedness – they can all be sensed within seconds, so you need to be “on” immediately.
3. Give it all you got. For most people, trying out for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is going to be a one-time thing. (This does not apply, though, to the sweet old man standing next to us in line – Mr. Fourth Time’s a Charm*.) So, I was bound and determined to put everything I had into the process. I treated that test like my life depended on it and acted like the producers were the gateway to my dreams. There was nothing to lose and $1 million to gain!
With every project I work on, I treat it like it’s the last thing I may do for that client because, really, that could be the case. If I don’t do my best and something slips past me, it could mean the end of my relationship with that client and the end of a steady stream of income.
It occurred to me that all of these are things we learn when we’re little kids. Isn’t it funny how they still apply to us 20-, 30- , 40-, 50-something women now just as much as they did when we were five? I guess that guy was onto something when he wrote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
*Four-timer didn’t make the show again:(.