BeSmartee

UPDATE: Nope didn't get the job. Look below

While browsing for blogging gigs on problogger.net, I noticed a peculiar job advert entitled: "Passionate Writers Wanted".

It got my attention and pretty soon my index finger started finding the letter J on my keyboard and the other fingers jumped to their respective positions like in a military formation.

Then they concocted a rather unimpressive jumble of words influenced by my flu ridden mind. In retrospect, I really do need to work on my resume which I have lost somewhere.

Then I got to thinking, after the fact.

In this day and age, how exactly does one prove to the world or at least to one person that you are a

"Passionate Writer"

Is passion found in the number of words you can write in a day?

Is it found in the number of sources you can muster to make a well researched post?

Maybe it's found in the number of invectives one can throw about left and right? ^$#^#%^@

The concept intrigued me so I began to research about the company which I'd like to write for - BeSmartee.com. The one that posted the blogging gig.

Their vision page is quite unorthodox but very, very straightforward.

"The way the world works is really simple… if you buy it then someone will make it.  

Every time you buy something you’re voting for something, and that something shapes your world.

To change the world you simply need to change who you buy from.

BeSmartee creates products and services with a purpose. These companies make profits, and those profits are reinvested 100% back into the world through people, ideas and causes. The more successful our companies become, the more we can reinvest. This also means that BeSmartee owners will never receive a penny of profits. Period. We only receive compensation for our roles as employees of BeSmartee which is comparable to the marketplace for companies of our size."

- BeSmartee

I really like the concept. 

Plain, simple and straightforward. 

But still, I had this nagging feeling that I had to know more, so I dug deeper. That's when a key piece of the puzzle struck me. The founder's goal:

"My dad taught me to have passion in everything I do, to have the courage to believe in what I believe, to be humble in my success and to be honest to myself and others. My mom taught me that whatever I wanted to do in life to do it to the very best of my ability, to be accountable for my actions and to share it with everyone around me."

That's also when I realized a sobering fact about myself as a person and as a writer.

I've lost that passion.

Somehow, along the way, I let myself get beaten black and blue by circumstances. Somehow, along the way, I let hope slip away. Somehow, along the way, I let passion go.

It got buried under a pile of ash. Despair came with fear. Hopelessness, led to inaction. My worldview began to change and suddenly, there's only this. This sad piece of man, pretending to be a passionate writer.

Before I get lost and drone on and on about my plight, I'd like to end this piece with something good.

For what it's worth, I think Tim and his team's belief and advocacy holds promise. It's true that you can shape the world by how you buy. I practice this myself. The question is - how far can this concept go?
_____
This is possibly the coolest rejection letter I've ever read.
>>>>
Hi Everyone,

All I can say is WOW!

Since placing our ad looking for bloggers, we've received responses from over 500 people, some of which were inspiring and even tear-jerking. People emailed to say they loved BeSmartee's mission to Change the World and that gave us the extra motivation to stay up just a little later and wake up a little earlier to push through the piles of work needed to launch our first initiative Masterplan.

We'd like to thank every single person who submitted their resume and work samples. The truth is, we weren't able to read every single email because of how many we received. For now, we've hired our first 10 bloggers. We're planning to release one to three blog posts each week and plan to eventually reach a point where we can release a blog post each day.

As we move forward, we'll reach out to our network *YOU*  when we need new blog posts. In the meantime, we're asking you to please stay in touch with us by signing up for BeSmartee's newsletter on www.besmartee.com. We'll make sure to update you on what's going on at BeSmartee and how you can get involved.

Thank you for your support!

Veronica Nguyen
Founder & Business Development, BeSmartee