From Special Forces to Nanny to Hollywood Director

When we get that question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", I'm still not sure! The great news is that as long as we do what we do with passion and commitment then good things will always follow. And some of you, just like myself are considering or are being forced to change careers.

Here's a great story about Mark Burnett. Some of you may recognize the name as the Emmy Award winning creator of Survivor, The Apprentice and others. Well few people know that Mark started out in the British Special Forces and came to America with little education and no business experience to find his riches. Nothing of course worked out as he planned (rarely does it, but again great things happen to those who are passionate and committed) and he ended up getting a job as, crazy as it sounds, a Nanny in Hollywood. Here's how the interview went:

The husband was against having soldier Mark as a Nanny from the beginning. "Can you wash and Iron?" he asked. I said, " I was in the British Army for four years, sir. I could put creases in your shirt that you could shave with." Not convinced he asked, "How about cleaning?" he asked. I said, " In the army they inspected for dust with a white glove." The wife was on board at this point but then he asked, "Can you cook?" I smiled and said, "Sir I'm British. Not even my mother can cook."

Mark was offered the job that night.

And no it wasn't what he was looking for initially but by being around the right people who could give him the right advice, Mark quickly turned his lack of experience into very high quality networking.

By the way, Mark was from the poor part of London and didn't have a college degree. What he had was passion, honesty and commitment. In this situation his honesty probably helped him more than anything. Don't be afraid to admit when you don't have some of the technical skills for a position. If you have built familiarity early in the interview process then hiring managers will be more concerned with your attitude, willingness and capability to learn, vs. your over all skill set.

Tasks can be taught; attitudes for the most part can not be changed and bad ones get worse under pressure.

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