You Failed.

"The CEO of your company was here yesterday, and we had lunch together," the hiring manager gently told me when I explained why I was leaving my job for a new one. I felt ashamed for explaining everything in such detail.

With a good resume and a position at an international metal producer, I had been invited for several interviews, but unfortunately, I failed to secure any of them. Additionally, I had turned down an internal promotion to the quality director position a year earlier because it required moving to a new city, and I didn't have a long-term plan for that. I was in the middle of process for immigration to a new country which would be completed in the following years, and that became a logical reason for my unsuccessful interviews and that promotion.

Despite the lack of long-term planning for living in the country, the situation had forced me to seek new job opportunities. A year prior, my supportive boss and mentor had been pushed to leave the company, and the new management team struggled to lead the organization as expected.

I was interviewed for a sales and marketing director position with the CEO of another metal commodities producer, whose office was located not far from my previous job. It struck me as peculiar that two different metal producers in different categories had a close relationship and that their CEOs had a meeting just before my interview as the interviewer stated.

At the time, I couldn't understand why the interviewer had lied to me. However, looking back after ten years, I now realize that he wanted to teach me something. Though I no longer know that man, the lesson he imparted has remained unforgettable:

"Regardless of the challenges that prompt you to move on, always focus forward and not dwell on those challenges." This is the lesson I learned. I was fixating too much on the problems that motivated me to seek change, and as a result, I couldn't hide them during the interview process, expressing everything in a negative light.

Every day, we should ask ourselves the question "WHY": Why am I doing this? Am I heading in the right direction? Am I pursuing what I truly want and deserve? If something is amiss, we shouldn't blame others or the situation. Instead, we should take the time to describe in detail what we want, focusing on the positive rather than the negative.

By concentrating on what we desire, we not only cultivate ambition and a clear direction, but we also channel our energy towards our objectives. Challenges, although they may provide fuel and momentum for change and improvement, should not drain our energy and lead us astray from our path.