Just show up

Opportunity dances with those that are already on the dancefloor

Author

Bozhidar Ivanov
September 11, 2024

On a wrinkled paper poster in the toilet of a gas station, I once saw the quote “Opportunity dances with those that are already on the dancefloor“. Despite the unusual location, it is a quote I have remembered to this day.

We all know success won’t fall on our heads - it requires us to get out there and chase it.

I believe there is a sliver of success for every one of us. No matter how unprepared you feel or how bad the circumstances or the job market are. There is something waiting for you - all you have to do is keep stepping on the dancefloor.

👋 The power of showing up 🚗

This week marketer Etien Yanev organised his inaugural Sofia Marketing Meetup events, and I decided to go. It’s been a while since I’ve visited professional events, so I felt a bit rusty. But I still dusted off my business cards and headed out.

This reminded me of the many events I’d visited (and organised) and all the people I’ve met along the way - people who had shared interesting observations and insights I would not have gotten if I’d stayed at home.

If you are feeling like some area of your life is lacking, then excessive googling and spending time on socials might not be the best long-term strategy. In fact, you may end up down a rabbit hole of doomscrolling and of people spewing negativity. Instead, find events and other meetings where you will able to meet people involved in the area and strike up conversations. People are much more positive and supportive in person than they are online.

It might take a few events - even if you are a bad networker - but I’m sure you will find someone who can help you in your journey. Just show up!

📚 Shelf Shocks 💥

For years, Eddie has been writing the VeryGoodCopy newsletter, which shares short lessons and observations for marketers and copywriters. He has collected 207 of his best bite-sized micro-essays, which will help you start thinking and writing like a copywriter.

Endorsed by some of the biggest names in the advertising industry, his newsletter has over 70 thousand subscribers: you can join for free here.

Why were the gold magnates of 1920s America very wealthy, while the ordinary folk who mined, milled and produced the actual gold, stayed poor? And why do today’s massive corporations enjoy generous tax cuts and pay hefty bonuses to Directors, while salaries stay stagnant?

According to Mariana Mazzucato, part of the answer is how value extraction has overtaken value creation - economic power has been taken away from those who actually create commodities, and moved over to those who can most masterfully create systems that divert value to themselves. The conclusion? We need to address this flaw in modern capitalism, before it tears our economies apart.

New Yorker writer and editor Bill Buford was only an amateur chef when he decided to quit his desk job to join Babbo - a top-level Italian restaurant in New York.

If you enjoy seeing Gordon Ramsey yelling at people in Hell’s Kitchen, you will enjoy this memoir of Bill’s experience in a professional, high-pressure kitchen. He follows this by going on a journey to Italy and the UK to discover more about the culture of food, which will give you a better appreciation of the culinary arts.

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