Press on

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
Calvin Coolidge

This was the body of an e-mail I got from my dad last night... it always seems like he knows how I'm feeling, even when I haven't talked to him in days. Have been feeling a little deflated the last few days... don't know if it's because of lack of sleep, a new schedule, or still getting adjusted to L.A, but my confidence level has taken a bit of a dip. I am not used to not having the answer, not knowing what I'm doing, and not feeling like I kick ass at my job (whether it is school, work, etc). When I was mentally preparing for my Social Media internship, I literally had NO idea how in depth and scientific it could actually be. I have always been really into writing, Facebook, blogging, Twitter, so I thought I'd immediately be awesome and blow my boss away. It has qiuckly become apparent that I am not in college anymore, I can't get away with being unprepared, and that people aren't automatically gonna think I'm awesome just bc I am an OK writer. The professional world is entirely new to me, and although TOMS is very laid back and casual, it did not get to be a wildly successful company by people casually going about their day. People at TOMS work their asses off, and as I said before, have built an incredible company out of nothing. And so, after a week of screwing up spreadsheet after spreadsheet, I WILL be one of them. I have to research, write, and work harder than I ever have before, because I know I am the person for this job, but lately have not really proven that to anyone, including to myself. I don't mean for this to sound down or depressing, but rather as a realization of the differences between my previous world and my current one.

I LOVE my job at TOMS, and everyday I get so excited to go into work. I am so incredibly lucky to have a chance to work at such an innovative company, and I just really want to make sure that I make the most out of every opportunity that comes my way. I told Caroline that I was really interested in events and PR and she said she would definitely let me know about opportunities to go along with the Sales/Retail teams for different TOMS. It would essentially be volunteer hours because it's not in my department, but it would be so worth it to learn how these things work outside of TOMS HQ. I think this kind of down week was just what I needed to give me a swift kick in the behind and jumpstart me for the next 4 months, and believe it or not, I am more excited than ever to get started next week and prove how awesome I can be :)

My favorite line from the quote above really says it all. I have been playing it over and over in my head lately: Persistance and determination alone are omnipotent.
Omnipotent. That's a powerful word.

On a lighter note... here is the latest TOMS HQ Update... it's a spotlight on our office manager, Travis. Just one of the many reasons why TOMS is so great. Enjoy!