#0035 - Things I wish I knew earlier in my career

Take the time to prepare.

I was getting ready to make a big interview on the NYSE floor and was a featured guest on CNBC's Squawk Alley. It's not a typical interview. It's live and in person. But not "Good Morning America" live where you are in a studio with just the hosts. No, on this show you are literally placed in the middle of the NYSE surrounded by people actively doing their jobs. So you kind of feel like an animal in the zoo with many distractions while having to appear comfortable and relaxed on camera.

This was my first time on this show, and as such, they wanted to "vet" me as a guest so they had me come a few hours early for this interview. I get to Wall Street 10 minutes early and the producer takes one look at me and says, "Didn't you read all the instructions?" Well turns out buried deep in the packet they sent it says, "No jeans on the NYSE floor"! I had no idea this was actually on the floor, I thought we were on a set somewhere. Plus I had grown accustomed to my tech-inspired jeans + jacket outfit. She goes, "You have about an hour to go figure something else out or I have to cancel your appearance."

So I leave Wall Street freaking out and bummed as I brought my mom to come and take part in this interview experience with me. I hurried to a nearby store, and as quickly as I could, ran in without trying pants on and selected the closest they had to my size. I leave the store, run back to the NYSE, and put the pants on...they were way too small.

So now I'm about to hop on the biggest interview of my life, I'm drenched in sweat, rattled, and feel like a tick about ready to burst out of my pants. After that day I vowed to at least skim the instructions in detail...there is a reason they sent them to me! The interview turned out great, you'd never know I felt like an anaconda was squeezing the lower half of my body, and they even invited me back for another interview!

Here's the video of the interview

I'll admit, I'm still terrible at this one. I just am not the kind of person that learns well by reading the instructions. I want to grab, go, and do. I learn best by doing, so preparing and being incredibly thorough BEFORE I do any actions just seems unnatural to me.

So do yourself a favor. Spend the time to sharpen the axe before you start chopping, and give yourself time to prepare appropriately at whatever you are doing.