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Principle 1: Make
Small Commitments [ Meaning | Natural Ability | Workplace
Environment ]
Principle 2: Design Your Future
Principle 3: Experiment
Build your career piece-wise, one element at a time.
Start a list of clear, well-defined, rock hard commitments. Each
commitment is a "must have" requirement that you can't
live without. Focus on the daily elements of your future career,
don't try to commit to career "titles." Think of each
commitment as a promise that you are going to keep, that you
see as something you must have as a key ingredient in your livelihood.
The objective is to make commitments to the individual building blocks of your career, each
one a carefully thought out part of your work day. This bite-size
approach is much easier than trying to commit to your life's
work in one big leap.
There is a real difference between wanting
something and definitely committing yourself to having it. You can determine what you are currently
committed to by looking at your life. What you have is what you
are committed to. If you are going to work with a grumpy look
on your face, that's a commitment. Are you dedicated to a job
you hate to pay the bills? That's also a commitment. Our commitments
are our intentions, and the first step toward taking actions
that create results in our lives. To commit to something you
really want is to say, "I declare that I will do what it
takes." Highly fulfilling work is possible only through
making definite commitments that we willing to stretch for.
Definite commitments propelled people like you and me to the
extraordinary accomplishments of our time. People like Benjamin
Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Albert Einstein were born with
a unique set of talents and abilities just like all other human
beings. What made them stand out above the crowd was their commitment
to something larger than themselves; they each discovered a special
and unique purpose for their lives. They had a passion for something
they strongly believed in and a commitment that guided them through
the obstacles along the way, helping them to persevere against
the odds.
Interestingly, these extraordinary people did not see themselves
as extraordinary. They were simply following their own path doing
what they love to do, doing what came naturally to them. With
years of focused commitment on a single-minded effort, they were
able to apply their abilities to something the world needed;
they created their lives as a contribution to something much
greater than paying the bills.
Purpose
& Meaning
What's most important to you? Where are you willing to stick
your neck out? Your sense of what is meaningful is a choice that
only you can make. Begin by examining your underlying values
and ideals. If you don't know how to do this, get a good book
to help you think your values through. Without personal meaning
in your work, your career will leave you feeling empty and disconnected
from the big picture. A career path that does not embody your
sense of meaning will drain you of your energy and enthusiasm,
making it tough to get out of bed in the morning. People who
love their work stand out in the crowd; they go to work because
the want to and are often full of energy. When we work at something
that really matters, we satisfy that part of us that wants to
make a difference.
Natural
Ability
One of the best gifts to give yourself is to measure your
inborn talents. Not until you know your strengths, can you begin
forming a clear sense of the kind of work that will use the abilities
that come naturally to you. Here is a critical distinction:
natural abilities are inborn, skills and interests are learned.
Our natural abilities do not change throughout our lives, they
are innate. We are born with a unique set of abilities that we
keep for life. People who are fulfilled in their work use their
strongest talents and abilities all day, while minimizing the
use of talents that they are weak in. Understanding your natural
talents is an absolute must if you want to excel at what you
do.
Personality
Your personality characteristics, such as your passions, wants
and desires, dreams, aspirations, beliefs, and personality makeup
are also important components to build into what you do everyday.
Examine your personality characteristics and rules about what
is "doable." This will provide you with insight into
choosing a career that integrates all of you, even your quirks.
Most people have many wants and desires but never accomplish them
for fear of failure. Our personalities are often supported by
beliefs that are too limiting. Many people tell themselves that
they are unable to go after what they really want for fear of
making less money. The common belief, "I can't make money
doing something I really love," is a limiting belief. If
you are making money doing something that doesn't express your
purpose and talents, imagine what you are capable of earning
doing what you love.
Workplace
Environment
I've met many brilliant people who say that nobody listens
to their great ideas at work. They have natural talent to see
problems that others don't notice, and feel compelled to fix
them. Yet, no one seems to care enough to implement their innovative
solutions. This dilemma often stems from a poor fit with the
workplace "ecology." Does your workplace environment
support what you do best? For example, imagine an acrobatic F16
fighter pilot trying to make a living flying for a commercial
airline. His gifts just wouldn't be appreciated when flying a
sky bus with 200 passengers through rolling maneuvers! In addition
to meeting your talent and purpose requirements, it's important
to design a workplace setting that will fit you well. Do you
want a big or small company, entrepreneurial or steady-state
culture, indoors or outdoors setting, quite or bustling office, flex
hours or 9-to-5, liberal or conservative coworkers, etc? A workplace
ecology that supports your talents, purpose, personality, and
even your personal quirks is the best way to reduce the stress
of daily living.
Use your own creative abilities to integrate your definite
commitments, natural abilities, purpose or meaning, personality,
and workplace ecology into full career scenarios. Creating
a vision of the perfect career is a step-by-step process of piecing
together all the key ingredients into a clear picture of your
future livelihood. Like Picasso with an empty canvas, you can
paint your career path as a masterful work of art. Customized
by you to fit like a glove.
A clear picture is necessary to create something new. Nearly
everything human beings have created in the world today was born
with a vision, a blueprint for a desired future result. Imagine
yourself without a clear vision: it's like walking with a blindfold
on hoping to reach a destination. Having a clear picture in your
mind's eye is like being able to see a landmark way out in front
of you where you steer in the direction you choose. In reaching
this landmark, you may have mountains and valleys to overcome,
but your commitment to the vision will act like a compass to
keep you on your path. An enticing vision will push you to achieve
dreams much greater than you believe you're capable of.
The last trick is to make your career choice a reality.
What does a commitment look like in everyday life? The great contributors
of our time demonstrated another important behavior: experimentation.
Dreams are necessary, but they will remain only dreams if no
action is taken to make them real. When living and working from
commitment, human beings begin to overcome obstacles that stand
in their way. With a passion for something we really believe
in, we learn to accept the obstacles as part of the path; we realize
that no path is painless. People living from a personal commitment
begin to see the results of their actions as necessary learning
experiences rather than successes and failures.
Thomas Edison's commitment to creating an innovative light bulb
helped him through hundreds of experiments. Where would we be
today if he had given up? This is passion in action. Without
this type of commitment to something, our actions will likely
not make it through the tougher challenges. Before you commit
to your career, take it for a test drive. It's very wise to get
engaged to your new career before you decide to marry it.
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