"At the last minute, they decided they couldn't afford to pay a freelance film critic. So I sort of raised my hand and said, 'I wrote film reviews in college. Could I do it?' So I did it for free. I didn't get paid for it. I remember, my salary was $10,000 a year, and I did these long essays, every issue of New Times. But that really led to my career. Because then a year and a half or two years later, the New York Post saw my reviews and offered me the job as film critic there." - Frank Rich
Many happy endings began with a willingness to donate oneself. Most any corporation starts that way, with ownership experiencing several years of loss before turning a profit. Individuals can flourish by word of mouth, which comes most easily when you're willing to work for free - who's gonna turn down free help nowadays? Think of it in a business sense as start up marketing cost. Or in an educational sense as an unpaid internship.
I've been glad to volunteer for NCHS basketball as a coach, both for the prospect of making a difference for the program and also for the learnings to be sponged up from seasoned coaches. Meanwhile, Dena's been shopping her graphic design services at a discount for several years, and I could see word-of-mouth momentum carrying her upward rapidly in a few years. Yet another twist on the old saying that it's more important to give than receive... at least at first!
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