I had a grant application due last week. It posed the simple question: "What experience has prepared you to carry out your mission?" I felt obliged to answer honestly: absolutely nothing.
When I started Edesia, I had none of the required degrees nor the technical skills or relevant experience to qualify me as a good candidate for tackling the issue of reducing global malnutrition. As a matter of fact, I wasn't "hire-able" by any rational person's standards.
Luckily, a fantastic benefit of starting my own company was that I didn't need to interview for the position. I could make my own business cards (giving myself a fancy job title and a cool logo) and just give my ideas a go. I was armed with nothing but determination, energy, tenacity, endless passion for my cause and the inability to take no for an answer. Five million children were dying every year from malnutrition and in my opinion the cost of inaction was far too great.
Having the ability to circumvent roadblocks, reduce mounting challenges and acknowledge failures rarely translates well into bullet points on a résumé. So here's my advice:
n Do something bold even if it is outside your comfort zone.
n Take risks and know that creative problem solving will take you far.
n Remain persistent. The results can be amazing, more than you ever dreamed.
And what if you never took the chance, because you didn't have all the experience required? I guess you would just never know. •