The Great Acting Blog: “Contacting Powerful People”

The Great Acting Blog: “Contacting Powerful People”

“When you are going to any of those in great power, place before yourself that you will not find the man at home, that you will be excluded, that the door will not be opened to you, that the man will not care about you. And if with all this it is your duty to visit him, bear what happens, and never say to yourself that it was not worth the trouble. For this is silly, and marks the character of a man who is offended by externals.” – Epictetus

Or put another way: prepare correctly. I do believe that what Epictetus is talking about is imagining the possible outcomes from your action before you do anything. In this way, you will be able to handle whichever one eventually happens because you will have anticipated it. More specifically, it will help you to deal with a negative outcome. Furthermore, this kind of preparation will help you take action in the first place because you will not be discouraged by vague concerns.

Make that phone call. Send that email.

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