Instant Gratification

Ashley Longshore, is a pop artist based in New Orleans. If you ever take a visit to the Big Easy, I strongly suggest you stroll along Magazine Street and stop into Longshore’s gallery. Her art is colourful, cheeky, and bedazzled. In addition to creating art, Longshore speaks her mind and regularly shares her musings on social media, particularly Instagram. Including, saying the following:

“Instant gratification will get you stoned, drunk or pregnant. Everything else is going to take some time.”

Longshore knows what it means to work hard.  Most artists sell their art through galleries which take upwards of 50% of the selling price.  Longshore thought she was worth more, and eschewed the galleries and outrageous fees. Instead, she used social media and her own chutzpah to build a loyal group of followers and collectors (including Blake Lively, Penelope Cruz, and Salma Hayek).  She was willing to hustle.  She knew that instant gratification was not going to get her to her end goal.

I think about all the hard work that goes into a student's job search.  I appreciate the relationship building, CV editing, cover letter writing, company researching, and interview preparing.  The gratification is not always instantaneous. What a student does for his/her job search in P1 does not translate into an immediate offer.  But, solid job searching takes time.  And, those that spend a sufficient amount of time tend to be fully gratified in the end.