Always be cringe.
When I was twenty-two I worked at the Apple Store in the Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas. Two weeks in I decided I needed to email this Steve Jobs guy. He ran the place and everyone seemed to idolize him. I had ideas! He needed to hear about them!
With minimal effort I tracked down his email. Turns out, it wasn’t hard—because who would dare request an audience with Caesar before being summoned?
With barely a proofread, I shot off my email entitled “A Paramount Idea!”
CRINGE.
Smash cut to a few months later. I had completely forgotten about my electronic faux pas—but by then, I definitely knew who !STEVE JOBS! was and why he was a !BIG DEAL!
That morning, I walked into the back room of the Apple Store, logged into my work computer, and saw one new message.
From: SJobs@apple.com
“Kristen, I will be in my office at 11:15, if you would like to come and pitch me for 15 minutes. - Steve.”
OMG.
Here are a few things I learned that day and in the twenty years since:
Spell cheque
Be Cringe
End on a high note and leave them wanting more
On THAT note—if you’d like to hear the end of the story or hire me for more Paramount Ideas™ you know what to do…