Would You Buy A Lemon of a Car?

You can tell a child is growing up when he stops asking where he came from and starts refusing to tell where he is going.  ~ Author Unknown

When our children were little and growing up, I drove a verrrrry loooooooooooooooooong station wagon (SW)  that I did not like – evah! Not that I wasn’t grateful, I just didn’t like the brand, the car, the shape, the style, the anything about it, but I drove it for many years anyway. During a visit to The Windy City, not far from Wrigley Field, I spied a car that I thought was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. I scribbled the car’s name on a piece of paper, later to look it up on the Internet. While I chose not to invest in a new one, I started saving money for a competitively-priced used vehicle of this particular variety.

During this time, I also befriended a local auto dealership representative that marketed and sold the specific product line that I aspired to own. As you enter the dealership, visitors go one way for new cars and another for pre-owned. I was advised not to say used, so now I say pre-owned. Also, I was advised not to say used car salesman --  I am to say car sales professional or car sales specialist. So, I met a car sales person whose name was the same as a former USA president’s – which was good because it was always easy to remember him.

When I met the car sales pro with the former President’s name, I gave him a list of the specifications that I wanted in my new used pre-owned car. I asked that he please not contact me with any other makes, models, equipment, etc. as I knew what I wanted and when he found it, I would buy it. We had already established a price range I was willing to invest in said product.  14 months later, I got a phone call from the pre-owned car pro – they had a match! Woo hoo! Peace out and bye-bye SW!

If you know what you want in a car, you probably have acquired some pretty good instincts and ideas about what you want in a job. Would you buy any car? Would you buy any job? Would you intentionally, purposefully and knowingly buy a lemon of a car? I hope not. Would you buy a lemon of a job? While I would hope that you wouldn’t, I have heard countless stories from clients who do. “I knew the job was all wrong, but I took it anyway because I needed a j-o-b.” (I am not talking about stop-gap or bridge jobs here).

Homework Exercise:

Make a list of the specifics that you would like, desire and prefer in your work. What would you be doing? Who would you be reporting to? Who would you be working with? What activities, tasks and roles would you be performing? What elements would be your favorite? Who would be your ideal customer? How much money would you be generating for your time and talent? Where would the job be located geographically? What type of environment do you wish to maneuver through? What type of work space brings out the best in you and which one brings out the worst in you? How long of a commute, if any, are you willing to make? What would you be contributing? What goals would you be achieving? What skills would you be using? What passions would you tap into and apply? What sacrifices would you be willing to make? And on and on and on – what kind of job do you wish to invest in at this time in your life?

When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio.  If all the stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance the transmission is shot.  ~ Larry Lujack

cross-posted at billiesucherblog 

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