How Do You Handle Disappointment?

Jim opens with a story about his disappointment and shies away from talking about himself

Mark jumps in and shares how he has had to disappoint people as a recruiter for 35 years…sorry man you didn’t get the job

Jim reminds us that it’s a big deal for him to even fill out an application because he has dysgraphia.  Mark reminds Jim of how he should be proud of having overcome this limitation

Jim then shares how one little dissapointment brings every other disappointment in your life rushing into your consciousness and you beat yourself up.  This can help you reanalyze things but it can also be challenging

Mark brings in his kids and how they were abandoned in the divorce.  Getting rejected blows and watching others get disappointed is rough

Mark talks about being empathetic and Jim makes the point that he’s sharing less

The less you share the easier life is

The guys talk about cutting each other off and the way they communicate on the podcast

Mark talks a bit more about his divorce and how it impacted the sale of the company.  His disappointment in one of his partners and how his other partner was awesome

Jim brings back in Mark’s recruiting experience disappointing people.  Mark get’s into more detail about feedback in the interview process

Mark talks about how the ego plays into disappointment

Jim mentions he isn’t set up well to fail because he succeeded early in life.  It also is a time to reflect on how to get better

Mark brings God into the discussion

Mark reflects on his mother and sister.  What part of this disappointment could he influence

Is compassions better response

Mark talks about how competition is both a friend and foe

Jim agrees. He then brings creativity and Anthony Bourdain and Robin Williams

Dopamine

Why would someone take his own life?

Mark asks Jim, how should you behave when you have to disappoint someone

Jim says call.  No text, no email.  Compassion and empathy

Mark says if possible, face to face

Mark cites his recent article about the lousy feedback step in the interview process

Mark brings up Monty Python and the Life of Brian - man being woman

In the context of social media - reaction to your online posting/articles

Jim shares his online application experiences

Mark wants to talk about recapping the takeaways

Humanity, compassion and context.  Person to person

How should we handle disappointment ourselves

Jim and Mark agree…don’t complain and don’t share all your disappointments

Nobody gives a shit about you or your stuff