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If you haven't
aimed your sights much further than a great paycheck and social prestige,
you may be in for a surprise. Looking into your
future now to decide what makes you feel fully alive and invigorated
can make the difference between an average existence and an extraordinary
life.
Regard this career column as an ongoing guide to help you
steer your way on a career path that brings much more than marketability
and high income--lifelong career fulfillment. Whether you are
about to graduate from college, deciding on your path, learning
the ropes early in your career, or a seasoned professional, it's
a great idea to have a road map to navigate your future. Having
been down this path myself, I will share my road-tested experiences
and offer the insights I've gained as a career and life planning
mentor.
The enthusiasm of young professionals is astounding. The first days, months, and years on the
job can have a bittersweet feel. The mix of pure excitement and
confusion about being on the right track is not uncommon. Some
make their way and get on a career path that fits extremely well,
some job hop to China and back before they find their bliss, and
some struggle their whole career blaming themselves for not being
happy. After 10 years in the work force, 70% to 80% of American
professionals say they've settled for work that really doesn't
light them up--like Homer Simpson they feel trapped in mediocrity,
paying bills, and clock watching. How can you keep from loosing
the sparkle in your eyes?
Early in our careers many of us experience something like
Luke Skywalker did in the Star Wars scene where he's in a smoky
bar full of bizarre looking space creatures. We're about to launch
our lives and are looking for some clues from those around us
to get our bearings. If on the right track, our eagerness to
learn and explore usually carries us through this rough, unclear
territory without too many setbacks. We can enjoy the ride and
grow wiser through our mistakes. Throughout Luke's journeys he
confronted many insurmountable obstacles and yet still came
out in the end as a success story. His flame didn't go out. Having
an incredible career, one that soars, takes this kind of commitment
to choosing the best path for you. Even after all that hard work
in school, your future is more like a blank canvas than a completed
Picaso. A passionate career won't happen if you forgot to dream
it up and go after it
Think of your education as an entrance fee to Disney World.
Your diploma is like a $100 bill in your pocket. You now have
a choice on how to spend it. Once you're in the front gate you
still have choices to make, like which roller coaster ride you
want to get on. Today, it almost doesn't matter what color your
ticket is or even how you got it, once your in the career park
you can navigate your way to where you have the most fun! In
other words, it's a means to getting what you want out of life
rather than the end. In my work I counsel many people that say:
"I've got this degree, I have to use it!" I say sure,
but to do what? The key point is that this pigskin is just a
ticket to an adventure park called your life. But for many people
it turns out to be a ticket to a life sentence in a minimum-security
prison. They can come and go according to schedule, but while
their inside they have to stay locked in their cell and look
busy. Often, this sense of being trapped in a dull, boring job
is self-imposed. I usually ask, do you really want to live in
the shadows of your potential, dreaming of retiring early to
do what you love? Wouldn't you like to spend your life energy
living fully and extraordinarily in your daily work? Can each
day be an adventure to look forward to?
Experience teaches that an extraordinary career really has
little to do with what degree you have, how much money you can
make, what position you hold, or how many high-tech thingamajigs
you can show off. Nor does it have much to do with how many different
skills you can learn and how marketable you are. In fact, it's
less complicated than all that stuff times ten, then some. Yet,
at the same time, it's quite a challenge. Not because it's difficult,
but because it's different.
The secret to getting on the right path is to realize that
there is no "right" path waiting for you. Rather than
hoping for your perfect path to reveal itself, it's more useful
to pretend it doesn't exist yet. No matter how hard you look,
odds are you won't find it! Joseph Campbell, the story teller
who consulted with George Lucas in making Stars Wars said, "Where
there is a way or path, it is someone else's path. If you follow
someone else's way, you are not going to realize your potential."
Unleashing your unique potential and having an extraordinary
career is more like "inventing" your future--as opposed
to wishing for it or compliantly doing the right thing. In this
light, getting on your path has less to do with finding it, but
rather, "declaring" it. In this mind set you move from
the observer to the actor, you are the artist. Your career is
now your masterpiece on the canvas of your future, rather than
somebody else's road map to success. Take a moment to think of
someone you admire that lived an extraordinary life. What qualities
did they embody? Did they move boldly on their own path or go
after the sure thing?
Where the rubber meets the road is being able to apply this
idea of paving your own path in everyday life, all while sitting
there facing your computer desktop doing what needs to be done.
Having an extraordinary career requires everyday-life learning
as you pursue your commitments to make a difference. Through
observing the lives of people who have made extraordinary impact
and contribution to the world around them we can summarize three
main practices they embodied throughout their lifetime: Leverage,
Reflection, and Reframing.
- Leverage is an easy concept to understand:
use your strongest talents and ignore your weaknesses. We all
have a unique set of inborn "raw" abilities and gifts
that when recognized and developed move us gracefully in the
direction of our goals. Since human beings are extremely adaptable
we often work hard at making the wrong career work. Why spend
time getting better at something you'll never be strong in? Use
your brilliance as much as possible! Both cats and squirrels
can get up trees, but the squirrel was born to live in those
lofty heights. Determine your squirrelness and soar through your
life, rather than live hanging by your claws waiting to be rescued.
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- Reflection is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.
As your life unfolds you experience joy, pain, confusion, and
all the highs and lows of the human emotional system. We are
reflecting when we pause and ask ourselves tough questions like
"What do I really want to be?", "What matters
to me most?", "What am I passionate about?", "What
commitments have I designed my life to be?" Seeing ourselves
as an unfolding, changing being opens us to adapt and redirect
our thoughts and actions when we get stopped. Take timeout regularly
(start with once a week) to reflect on what is most important
to your having an extraordinary life. Your insights become building
blocks for your future.
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- Reframing is the ability to see your setbacks in a
useful or positive way. Life's everyday lessons are our practice
field to learn from--how you interpret failures and criticisms
can make a major difference over the course of your life. Howard
Gardner, the Harvard psychologist behind this theory, provides
invaluable insight by asking us to imagine a creator or leader
who learns an important lesson from one experience a week. In
just a few years, hundreds of experiences will have been accumulated.
He states, "This accomplishment puts you in quite a different
niche from someone who does not pause to reflect or draw lessons
at all." The next time you have a setback try to learn from
it rather than interpret it as a personal offense or a permanent
defect in your personality.
In essence, people on extraordinary career paths learn to
trust their instincts--doing what they do best as they pursue
their heart's desire. Luke Skywalker fans would put it more simply:
"Use the force!"
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