"Well I won't back down.  No I won't back down.  You can stand me up to the gates of hell but I won't back down.  No I stand my ground.  Won't be turned around. And I keep this world from dragging me down, no I won't back down.  Gonna stand my ground.  And I won't back down. Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out.  Hey, I'll stand my ground.  And I won't back down.  Well I know what's right, I got just one life.  In a world that just keeps pushing me around - I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down.  Hey baby there ain't no easy way out.  Hey - I will stand my ground and I won't back down....."

-TOM PETTY & THE HEART BREAKERS - listen to the song here.

It's been a good year or so, probably longer since I blogged about life, recruiting, and what it means to live, breathe and drive outcomes in a recruiting sense, and for that matter a little bit of luck along the way too.  No one could predict we would have faced what we did in 2020, it's been literally one year since everything came crashing down, both literally and figuratively.  Since that time, staffing professionals, and recruiters everywhere along with many other workers found themselves facing life head on, where the realities of the Coronavirus, family life, the economy, political unrest, work life, religious life, and everything in between collided in one fell swoop.  Fast forward to 2021 and we still are in the woods so to speak with all of this, but one wrinkle is that everything around us has ramped up with intensity.  Many businesses that were quiet are hiring again, if you are in recruiting in some spaces it never let up, but I think all of us can say we have been affected in some way.  In my work place multiple scenarios exploded on the scene and work/life balance became more pronounced.  I believe in persistence, work ethic and to stand your ground.  This song by Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers is the recipe for complete and total success.  How often have we found ourselves in places where we get knocked down and have to brush ourselves off in the recruiting game?  And in life?  Plenty.

Today, I find myself looking at mountains - mountains that have opportunity:

I took this picture on a wintery day in January of a Mountain near my home town.  I plan to climb that Mountain (hiking not really a climber) - there is a trail to the summit, and I think it will be worth the view.  It is called Deseret Peak - it is one of the highest mountains around the Tooele Valley.  I look forward to that day.  But for now, I am facing Mountains in the purest sense of the word, at work, at home, in my Church role and further across all fronts.  It is here that I reached an epiphany one day while looking west at this beautiful place.  That is in order to climb any of life's "Mountains" we may actually have to have a plan, a point of attack, a wish and a key factor.  Within volume of lots of openings, it becomes vital to see to it that you have your stuff covered with a Plan - whether that be a sourcing plan, a staffing plan, a client engagement plan, and a plan to drive ahead with perfect resiliency.  

"Yeah I won't back down" - in all things in life we have choices.  These choices pave the way to our results.  I think it is best to know yourself, know what you are capable of, and then with pure stubbornness execute in a way that only YOU can do.  I learned long ago, that I needed to take stock of what I was truly facing, and what I realize is we are only as good as our plan and our persistence to get there - that's why the quote at the beginning of my blog here is so accurate.  Go ahead scroll up and read that again.

"The Secret of Success is Constancy of Purpose." - Benjamin Disraeli 

How will we react when our purpose is challenged by life?  How do you jump back in the game when you are being challenged by heavy volume and your work/life balance is subject to challenge?  We need to drive forward with a commitment larger than ourselves.  When life is giving you the message that it is going to give you some lessons, just hold on for the ride, drive ahead, get some more interviews on the books, make more calls, do more screens, source more candidates.  The principle in life is the same as recruiting, where you take on a mountain - how do you scale it?  Yes.  With a plan, and with determination.  You don't back down.

Holding your ground in staffing and life is a true pursuit of excellence, it's a mojo, I find that when I need to let go of my expectations, and rethink my resiliency, suddenly life is giving me greater opportunity.  I believe in consistency, I believe in making my own luck, I believe in driving ahead.  It might be that March may be a defining moment in my career, where the chips are down, the challenges are at all an all time high, where everything is coming fast and furious and I have but one choice and that is to succeed until I have come to the summit of that mountain.  As much as a lesson of looking up at a mountain recently taught me, I remember that the journey can sometimes be interesting, tough even, but then I turn back to a little song by Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers - and I am reminded that I "Don't Back Down".  One of the greatest lessons of my staffing career is this, when facing what appear to be insurmountable challenges suddenly the key to success is really "Standing my Ground," as I climb that mountain of life.  Maybe that's a lesson worth reiterating in times like 2020, and early 2021.  We have tools, friends, folks who stand by us, colleagues, & family. 

These outcomes of success, are really a product of resiliency and consistency.  Maybe we need to take a step back sometimes and enjoy the journey a bit.  I intend to do so.  But along the way - when you get determined, and stubborn to stand your ground, well life has a way of falling into place doesn't it?