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Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing
First, I love Tumblr and want to keep loving it. And yes, it is immediately terrifying to hear that Yahoo (which, from a lot of our perspectives, is a laughably backwards and culturally irrelevant company) is going to own Tumblr. I sympathize. But there are a number of circumstances in which…
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I reported to Marissa before she was a VP, after she was a VP, and then to someone who reported to her. I was never close friends with her, but I do consider her a mentor and I have many friends in common with her.
The comment on HN is not an accurate portrayal. I can see why someone would think that, as many people had difficulty working with her. **She’s opinionated, smart, and direct. I’d argue that it’s very rare to find someone extremely successful who doesn’t rub a lot of people the wrong way.** If you’re smarter than 85% of people in the room on any given day, and have been for most of your life, then you get used to knowing what someone not as smart as you is going to say, cutting them off to tell them why they’re wrong, and moving on. This is an unfortunate mode of operation most people come to — there are only so many hours in the day…
But I soon learned that it was a side effect of not having enough hours in the day, and they’d learned to be direct. As an aside: not all executives are this way, and there’s no excuse for being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole. But let’s look at these behaviors in context and give people the benefit of the doubt. What I found interesting is that this behavior most often annoyed people who were **less secure in their own abilities** or who were less well respected by the organization already. It was really that a curt executive magnified something they already felt, rather than being the source of the issue.
"Anonymous user on Quora // How was Marissa Mayer viewed within Google?
This reminds me of a recent conversation I had with my supervisor because I can totally relate to Marissa based on the feedback I was getting. I’ve highlighted my favorite parts with two asterisks.
Basically…
Unsolicited advice for Marissa Mayer
I agree with almost everything in this list. Especially part 3. I was talking about this with a teammate just last week. We were saying: “If only they’d let us form a small team of awesome and leave us alone for a few months.” We agreed that we’d be ready to add a clause that they can fire us if something awesome hasn’t emerged after that time. I’d happily take that bet, and so would many of my co-workers. Go Marissa!
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned
You’ll probably see a lot more posts with this same title, so brace yourself… Or perhaps I should come up with a few more clever ones.
Nonetheless, I’ve started to realize that the way I think about money and work may be driving what’s key to my success. In the past two weeks (roughly), I’ve had a couple of people ask me how do I accomplish what I’ve done thus far. That’s quite the compliment and I’m extremely humbled.
I’ve realized that part of my success story is that I tend to draw lots of opportunities my way and I’m sort of always in the right place at the right time. I tend to catch people’s attention and business opportunities are always presenting themselves to me.
The Secret Key
There have been plenty of times in my life where I found myself in particular situations — either lucky or tragic — and I absolutely knew from the bottom of my heart that this strange occurrence was not a coincidence. I remember when my dad passed away three days after doctors declared him terminally ill with only three months left. My family was not prepared at all to prepare with the emotional and financial mess we were in. Somehow I had $2,000 in my savings account (a miracle considering my account never reflects that). Add the fact that one of my dad’s long lost best friends flew in and helped put a very generous and considerable dent into what we needed.
Just a few months later, I quit my job after a year at an extremely toxic work environment (maybe I’ll go into details in another post) and I didn’t have anything lined up. I had a lease for a $1400 apartment over my head plus tuition and I was living in a city all by myself. I took a leap of faith (literally) and went on a sabbatical to really find myself. I flew across the country to spend a couple of weeks with my brother in Idaho. Suddenly out of thin air, I had two amazing job offers. One at a prestigious PR agency and at FIU (my current job).
During this short period of time, I learned an important and valuable lesson regarding money, life, success, faith and most importantly life itself: the reality is that God is your provider.
Sorry to break the news but your boss, your comfortable job, impressive résumé, extremely profitable business, etc. is NOT your provider. At any given point, you can have it all and then not have anything. Vice versa. I hate to be negative Nancy but Nancy is my middle name. You’ve got to understand your success does not lie in anything of these things.
I’ve realized this is also a central belief in Abrahamic religions, most notably in Judaism and Christianity. It’s a fundamental reason why both religions tithe. It’s a continuous reminder that God is the source of everything that we have. In return of one’s offering, God will provide bountiful blessings and opportunities (tax breaks for starters).
Religious texts also point out that if you want something, put it out there. Whether you pray for it, talk about it often or simply let it be known, it’s imperative you state exactly what you desire.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Even if you’re not religious, it’s a universal law. Haven’t you ever read The Secret? I’ll admit I totally ‘Cliff Notes’ed it. Basically the book is based on the law of attraction and how positive thinking can create life-changing results. The book’s motto is “Everything is Possible. Nothing is impossible.”
Once you’re knocking, you’ve got to figure out what’s the key to unlock the door (pun intended). Simply put, you have to know what it is you need to bring to the table. Whether those are certain skill sets, years of experience, vision, work ethics, or any combination of those, you’ve got to identify and have that key to success when once you’re at that door. It is what’s going to propel you from point A to B; From nowhere to virtually anywhere your heart desires. Sky is the limit.
"Treat your colleagues like your clients."
This is for the encouraging talks, positive vibes and new adventures. Thank you, Elisa.
(Source: pinkylovess, via animalshugging)
"If your only goal is to become rich, you’ll never achieve it."
John D. Rockefeller, America’s first billionaire // How the Rich Got Rich
