In the past few months I’ve been invited to be interviewed by, respectively, a podcast focusing on web design and development, and an online magazine showcasing “inspiring people” in Los Angeles.
So, along with inviting you to read my interview here, there’s a lesson in this.
Don’t ask “why me?”
The answer is “because it’s you.”
Don’t question their interest in you and your abilities.
They know what they are looking for.
Don’t wonder if you have anything to offer or not.
You do.
Don’t murmur to yourself, “But there are so many people better than me.”
Yes, but many more who aren’t. And even if there were, so what?
When Voyage LA emailed me with a request for an interview, I looked up the website. There I saw a bevy of beautiful, young LA types, professionally photographed doing yoga poses on the beach, or standing in front of a wall graffiti art, with amazing stories. So why would they want to interview baby boomer designer me, when I don’t even have a cool, glass-enclosed studio with exposed pipes (or perhaps one exposed brick wall with the paint remnants of a former warehouse name still visible), and a dog bed or two?
Don’t ask “why me?”
The answer is “because it’s you.”Don’t wonder if you have anything to offer or not.
You do.
In the end I stopped asking. I did it. And later, when Hallway Chats put out a word to a web developers’ group I’m in for interviewees for their new podcast,I immediately thought “Oh, that would be cool, but I’m more of a designer and they’ve been interviewing theme and plugin developers…” And then I thought “But maybe they want something different?” So I took a chance and responded. A few weeks later I was on the air with two lovely interviewers.
So yeah, the fact you are different may not always be what someone is looking for, but maybe it’s exactly what they are looking for.
And if, like me, you are a square peg in terms of your background or age or experience or mishmash of skills, there’s a client, or customer, or reporter looking for you, the unique one. Know that your square-peggedness is what makes you special and more valuable.
That’s “why you.”