I Didn't Get The Job.

This view will forever be seared into my mind. This is the view from the lobby of the CHANEL HQ in Manhattan and to this day serves as my desktop background. I had the incredible opportunity to sit here and look out as I waited for a job interview in 2013.

The waiting room consisted of two identical couches facing each other in a glass enclosed room with "CHANEL" etched into the door. The image you see here was floor to ceiling windows from wall to wall. One lone secretary sat at a desk that was as chic and minimal as you would expect. I commented on the view and she replied with a curt "uh-huh" as though I was the most basic person she had ever met.

I thought this was going to be a breakthrough moment in my career. Sadly, it was not. My interviewer, who is still a connection on my LinkedIn, asked me what career path I wanted to take. Did I want to pursue the path of Business Manager and beyond or did I want to pursue being an artist leading to eventual National Makeup Artist status? In that moment I couldn't decide. I wanted whichever presented itself first.

Big mistake... HUGE!

I didn't get the job and whether or not the recruiter aforementioned agrees, I know why. I didn't know myself and what I wanted. I didn't trust my instincts. We as humans are so paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake we undercut the value of failure. It's in the darkness of failure we often find the purest light.

I needed to take a leap, a leap of faith, and go with my gut at the moment. I've learned that now and I am hoping that anyone reading this will take that away. None of us are smarter than time and no one except a few palm readers out there can predict the future. Your best bet is to stick your neck out there, I promise it won't be chopped off!

Believe in yourself and know even if it doesn't work out, you will. Just commit and be steadfast in your vision of the future.