When You Get Fired or Fail Big, This is How You Bounce Forward
Growing up in New Zealand, where there are twenty times as many sheep as people, Sarah Robb O’Hagan wanted to be a veterinarian. When poor grades in science crushed that dream, she decided to see the world. She applied to Air New Zealand’s training program, but she failed a required IQ test. Refusing to take no for an answer, Sarah launched a campaign to get her foot in the door. She started pitching ideas for how she could contribute to the airline’s growth. There were hundreds of applicants for just six spots and Sarah didn’t get one. But Air New Zealand decided to open up a seventh slot just for her. Sarah blossomed at Air New Zealand, and ended up landing a big new job at Virgin Atlantic Airways. Soon she was pitching Richard Branson on a campaign with the Austin Powers movie—they ended up rebranding the airline Virgin Shaglantic. At 26, Sarah was recruited to run marketing for Virgin’s retail stores. The following year, she got fired. Broke and unemployed, Sarah thought she’d...