Life's too serious to take seriously

"Don't take yourself too seriously. And don't be too serious about not taking
yourself too seriously." - Howard Ogden

A big problem in the business world is that people tend to take themselves way too seriously. I know some people who don’t have any fun at their jobs, and I think it shows in the work they put out. This is not the case at Liggett. To succeed in this creative industry, you can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty – at all. Especially as an intern.

As a Program Management Intern at LS, most of my assignments are pretty much what I expected them to be: Writing news releases, building media lists, putting together press kits and doing group intern projects. And of course I get some work no one has fun doing: Making copies, typing up spreadsheets, etc. But I’ve also gotten some assignments I never in a million years expected to do.

A couple weeks ago I was sent out to roam around the city during lunchtime to interview people about their snacking habits (preliminary research for a client). Now, I’m an outgoing person, but I’ve never had the urge to approach complete strangers and talk about potato chips. I was nervous, but I grabbed my video camera and clipboard and went to work.

What I thought was going to be a socially scarring experience ended up being an assignment I will never forget. I learned a couple things from that afternoon:

1. If you have a video camera, people are going to want to be on it.
2. If you tell them you’re an intern, they’ll have sympathy.
3. And most importantly, when assigned to walk around downtown for two hours, wear comfortable shoes.

After those two hours, I felt like I could do anything. I get that feeling a lot working here. And I would actually be excited if I got asked to do it again. Who knew?

So sometimes the wacky jobs end up being the memorable ones. You have to take a leap of faith, because usually you underestimate your capabilities. When looking for an internship or job, just remember the famous quote: Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive.

Olivia M.
Program Management Intern