Go away, I’m looking for truth

The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.

— Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

I actually sent this quote to an internal recruiter once. I had been through several interviews with the company and it seemed that I was progressing towards a job offer. I was excited about the company and it looked to me to be a very good fit.

And then came that one final interview with one of the partners. Within the first fifteen seconds of our conversation I knew that an offer would not be forthcoming. It was clear that she had already made up her mind before the call even began. When the recruiter called a few days later to say that the firm had decided to not move forward I was deeply puzzled.

With nothing to lose I sent the recruiter an email that included Robert Pirsig’s quote. Sometimes, when you are looking for something important, it can be right there in front of you, and you tell it to go away. I never heard from them again, but it felt good to speak my truth.