Max, the cat, found himself without a job when the local factory shut down. For 10 years he had been the Director of Rodent Detection. Having never been out of work he turned to books on the subject of executive job search. There he learned all about how you go about getting a job. He learned that to really impress employers you had to look and act like a wolf.
Max worked tirelessly on his wolf imitation and made a wolf costume. He was particularly proud of his wolf mask. He then set out on his first interview. When he entered the waiting room he became dejected. The room was filled with all kinds of animals dressed in the most amazing wolf outfits. What was even more depressing is that one of the candidates was a real wolf. “What an unfair advantage,” Max thought.
He ended up not getting the job and kept working on his wolf imitation, but to no avail. He finally became dejected enough to look for different advice. Another book told him in order to get hired, he should look and act like a beaver. It provided specific examples of how to answer questions so he could trick interviewers into believing he was a beaver.
Again Max practiced diligently and made a wonderful beaver suit. When he walked in the waiting room he was more confident. He had gone through this process before and was getting more comfortable all the time. This time he nailed it and he was hired. Max started his job as the Director of Dam Construction and soon realized it wasn’t for him. He couldn’t stand water and he was lousy at construction. The stress of going to work every day was horrible and it didn’t take long before the two sides parted ways.
After much soul searching, Max decided he was going to follow his instincts. He was a cat and a damn good one. He was going to look for positions that required the benefit of all his cattiness. Max really became motivated when he started to find roles that were right up his alley.
He set up an interview for one such job and when he walked into the waiting room he couldn’t hide his smile. There in the room were all kinds of animals dressed in hideous cat outfits. In one corner, a dog practiced his “purring.” Max laughed. Why hadn’t he trusted his instincts sooner? Why did he believe all those so-called experts telling him how to act when deep down he knew who he really was all along.
Then all his confidence came crashing down as a “super-cat” walked into the waiting room. The super-cat looked around and noticed Max was the only other real cat and sat down next to him. Max was so intimidated he could barely speak, but finally found the courage to ask this cat, “You are so perfect I assume you were blessed with good genes.” Where upon, the super cat answered, “Not at all, I had to work hard on bettering myself.”
Stunned to hear that, Max asked, “How did you know to work on it?” “Well” the super cat responded, “I realized a long time ago that I was never going to be a great dog or a good monkey. But I knew I could be one hell of a great cat. So I spent all my time looking at what was important to me and working on my shortcomings to become the best cat I could be.”
Max sat dejected next to the super cat and said, “What chance do I have to ever compete with a cat like you?” The super cat looked at Max with understanding, and said, “Do you know how far you’ve already come? Look around at all these silly animals dressed as cats – they still don’t get it. You’re on your way. As you develop your self-awareness there is nothing that can stop you from becoming the very best you can be. And with every step you take, you will become more and more accomplished; until you will be a super cat with little or no competition. You’ll see.”
