It’s All About Mindset

Action leads to actions that lead to more actions. I’ve made applying for jobs my sole purpose the past couple of days. I didn’t even leave the house yesterday, let alone my tiny cave in the ceiling. I call myself a salesman, yet allowed the wave of rejections to throw me off track. I didn’t put down my applications to read, work out, get outside, or any of my other productive activities.

Rejection, or success, I still need to stay in shape, get outdoors. Do my 5W’s and other productive tasks. New Zealand is waking up. With the end of the lockdown, only winners will move forward. The air of Alert Level Three is totally different than level four. Everyone is relaxed, casual, and happier. There is an underlying tension. Finance. Everyone’s feeling the pressure, and its leading intense competition for work and accommodation. As well as xenophobia, but I’ll avoid that topic for tonight.

The bright news is shops and farms are opening up. Some people are getting early work and cheap accommodation. Shop keepers and small business owners have something to look forward too. There will already be a wave of paid employees when they open up. Utility, labor, and administrative fees will be more than made up by a body of people itching to shop. Bar-owners and those in hospitality share the excitement. Everyone is bored and isolated. Bubbles are great, but man would it be nice to meet some new people. And everyone will have had a paycheck or two by the time they open. The night-life will be wild once we are let loose to mingle and indulge.

Speaking of new people, I have an exciting opportunity on the horizon. I have a follow-up interview for a job as a hostel manager. The more I think about it, the more excited I become. Sometimes I think it would have been optimal to happen before the lock-down. I could have been set up with heafty pockets, while the rest of the economy slowly picks up their prices. Articles circulate the internet of abandoned cars littering the streets. Other travelers are hopeful to go home, and still looking to sell their cars for a huge loss. It would have been like ‘picking season’ in Tofino all over again.

For the fortunate, it will be, but not for me. No, I need to buckle down and work (just like the rest of the country). Reflecting on the lockdown, I wonder if it was nesecarry to be unemployed and directionless. A cucoon of sorts. A hibernation where I found what was important to me. Reflected on my purpose. Re-kindled my motivation and remembered my discipline. Perhaps these breakthroughs wouldn’t be possible, if not for the abysmal self-reflections brought on by the boredom of lockdown.

Yes, everybody feels the end of lockdown coming. There is excitment in air We won the war on Covid.

Remembering how panicked the hostels felt when I left. Nervous and unsettled. Many felt betrayed and abandoned by their governments. Me and the snow-flakes wouldn’t have gotten along, which would make me a terrible manager. Fun fact kids, if people hate the hostel manager, they’ll leave shit reviews, regardless of how good the hostel is. I know this, because my first ever 2-star rating on hostel-world was aimed at the Same-sun Hostel in Kelowna. For terrible management.

Now things will be different. The hardships are over, and I’m focused. I’ll brush past the complainers. I’ll be fresh, but so will the wave of travelers coming at the ease of lock-down.

I know what you’re thinking because I thought it too. I’m returning to ‘hostel life’. This time its a sign of growth. A passed baton really. Hostel life will take the place of bush life, ending that cycle. And I won’t have to work on a farm. While it sounds fun (alot of people in Australia and New Zealand rave about their farm experiences) it just feels like going backward. The hostel, however, presents a golden opportunity.

I’ll be the weekend manager. Offical management, and administrative experience. Tourism experience. Marketing experience: because you know I’m finding a way to use this and promote my blog, books, and other adventures. I’ll have my accommodation sorted. While I’m sore too lose the privacy of a room, I’m relieved to no longer worry about rent. I’m scraping pennies and could only laugh at a bond(security deposit). Three days of work, for a week’s rent, AND A PAYCHECK. It may be minimum wage, but it will be the pillar I used to get back on my feet, and then catipult my-self.

I don’t have the job yet, but I feel confident about the first interview. I had great repor with the Week’s manager Ben. He had been running the hostel during lockdown. Because they’re expecting things to ramp up again, they need someone special to take care of the place, and facilitate a good weekend. If any guy knows how to party, its me.

And instead of partaking in it, I’ll be marketing it. Making sure everyone who leaves the hostel for their night on the town, or next adventure around New Zealand has a good thing to say. Its come full circle. Instead of getting lost in the craze of a wild night, I’ll be ten steps ahead, creating it.

Which brings me back to why the mindset is so important. I need to have the confidence of already having the job, and having projects to bring to the table. I imagine their current plan gives me cleaning and mindless administrative work. Which is fine; as long as I’m getting paid for more. The way to ensure that happens is to clearly outline my projects in the interview, and how I want to get into marketing for them. I can get paid to learn, and hopefully, score myself some more hours. Possibly even create a role, that becomes applicable towards essential jobs, sponsorship, and my permanent residency. At the very least, I want the skills to create that future.

I have to remind myself that succeed or fail, there is other work to do. Fixating on one thing will throw me off track. I have to remain consistent with everything I started.

Consistency is the key to success. Just like thinking about nothing but your breath is the secret to meditation. The big answers are always lost in simplicity. That’s the tragedy that allows anyone to become successful, while most people won’t.