What if we told you that your childhood Halloween experiences helped influence your professional career? Witch hats, fairy wings, and Superman outfits may be more important in your professional development than you think.
This article will convince you on how you learned to be more risk — taking, creative, and detail-oriented — even when dressed as Dracula.
1. I learned to… take risks.
Close your eyes and imagine your 11-year-old self standing at the end of a long driveway of a complete stranger’s house, dressed as [insert your favorite Halloween costume of all time]. You’ve never been to this house before and haven’t met the people inside, though word on the street is this house gives out full-sized candy bars, and they have the best selection.
Do you hesitate before knocking on their door yelling “Trick-or-treat!” or just go for it?
You go for it! Your eyes are on the prize, and even if it’s a little awkward, you don’t mind knocking on any door to ask for what you want.
What if you behaved so boldly when making a sales call or testing a new product?
Key takeaway:
Don’t be afraid to take risks and or ask for what you want.
2. I learned to… be creative.
Every year, the most clever, fun, and over-the-top costumes take home the top prize at school, work, or local contests. Why? Because creativity is the name of the game.
On Halloween, we are rewarded for being creative, so we take the time to think through what will have the biggest impact on our target audience. What will make them laugh? What will make them think? How will we get them to pick us over of the competition?
It’s an important lesson. Because creativity is a process, not a personal characteristic. And if you don’t practice it, you won’t win the prize.
What if your marketing team or design team could come up with innovative ideas, the way you came up with new costumes?
Key takeaway:
Don’t be afraid to think out of the box and go out of your way — creativity needs attention.
3. I learned to… be detail-oriented.
Did your family have a rule that all candy must be checked before you ate it? For most of us, this was the worst part of Halloween. We’d have our bag of candy, and we weren’t allowed to have a single bite until our parents went through each piece. Looking back, it’s easy to see that they were looking out for our safety (and quite possibly stealing all their favorite pieces), but back then, we thought our parents were the obstacle standing between us and sweet satisfaction.
But there’s huge value in checking the product, reading the fine print, and trying before you buy.
What if you read the fine print on contracts, and asked the right questions to find gaps on product timelines?
Key takeaway:
Details matter! Double-check your work, read the fine print, and don’t get caught on your heels. People are counting on you.
Halloween, although often trivialized as a day just for kids, may actually have more meaning for you than you think. Take these lessons, and go forward as the successful business person you are meant to be. May the force be with you!