What fascinates you? Do that.

Early in my radio career, I discovered that a male coworker whom I disliked, and who was doing basically the same job as me, was making $150 more per week than I was. I got angry. I could have confronted my boss and demanded a raise, but I decided to look for another job instead. A better job. One that would rub my coworker’s nose in it.

I was working in San Diego at the time and decided to look for a job in Los Angeles, the #2 radio market in the country. That would show him!

So I got busy working on an audition tape. I spent a month perfecting it in my spare time, editing together bits and pieces from my various newscasts and banter with the disc jockey, with short snippets of music interspersed here and there to brighten things up. The resulting three-minute tape was good, damn good. I was convinced it would get me a damn good job.

Later that summer, I took a vacation and went up to L.A. to visit a friend and research the market. At a university library, I found a reference book that listed every radio station in the country along with the names and phone numbers of every program director, the person who does the hiring.

My friend told me that she was worried I’d be disappointed when nothing came of my efforts. I laughed because I knew I was ready, in the way that you just know. She hadn’t heard me on the air since my first year in the business, and of course I wasn’t anywhere near ready for the big time then. But I had been working hard for four years, and the effort showed on my tape.

In that time, I had worked hard on my on-air delivery and my writing. I learned how to kid around with the morning jock, how to interview visiting authors, and how to inspire devoted teenage fans to work for me for free as interns. And best of all, I discovered my hidden talent for editing tape. I was endlessly fascinated by the many ways I could manipulate the human voice by simply cutting and splicing. That little talent was what later helped me put together an audition tape that stood out.

At the library that August day, I wrote down the contact information for half a dozen Los Angeles stations — and as a lark, I also decided to send my tape to the big radio networks in New York.

It turned out that my friend was right about the response from the L.A. stations. I got a couple of interviews but that was all. And then one day a couple of months later, I got a call from ABC News. And everything changed.

I could go on about what happened after that: the satisfying look of envy in my coworker’s eyes, the excitement and terror of the new job in New York — and I will someday — but right now, let’s talk about lessons.

Here’s what I learned from that experience:

1. Prepare. Do your research. Sharpen your skills. Do the work. This part will take longer than you like, but really immerse yourself.
2. Be fascinated. If you are fascinated by the subject or process, you are on the right track. If not, you might not be following the right path for you. It is crucial that you be truly interested in what you are doing. That interest, that fascination, will carry you through the rough spots, the long dull stretches, and help you achieve mastery of your subject.
3. Know your strengths. Believe in yourself. You’ve done the work; you know how good you really are. Listen to that quiet inner voice that says, “I am GOOD at this.” Don’t listen to that other voice. You know the one.
4. Use negative emotion [in this case, anger] positively, to your advantage. Don’t waste energy stewing in it — use it, for motivation and to fuel intense focus.
5. It’s amazing what even a brief period of intensely focused work can achieve. Believe that incredible things can — and will — happen.

What are you GOOD at? What fascinates you? Tell me in the comments below.

Image credit: akuban