People say that the two most important days of your life, is the day you are born and the day you figure out why.
Purpose
The “why” deals with one’s purpose in life, i.e. having a sense of direction; for you to have something you feel led to accomplish during your lifetime. Simon Sinek reckons that when we have a clear sense of where we’re going, we are flexible in how we get there.
My understanding of Sinek’s comment is that following the right direction (purpose) is more important than continually chasing self-imposed goals which might not always be attainable.
The one question therefore which arises is whether or not you and I follow the career path that matches who we are?
Career management
Carolyn Boyes in her book Career Management Secrets says that “Most people fall into a career by accident. They might enjoy success or find themselves stuck in a job that’s not fulfilling. By contrast, if you manage your career you take control of what you do, whether that’s climbing the corporate ladder, starting your own business or perhaps going part-time.”
Most people face the same sort of issues trying to decide what to do next. They generally haven’t spent enough time focussing on what suits them best. According to Boyes
the starting point of managing your career is getting to know yourself.
Take responsibility
So do you take responsibility for your career or do you let your career just happen to you? In the old way of doing things you would leave school or university and expect to have a job for life.
But the world is changing so rapidly now that you do not know whether your company or even industry will exist by the time you reach retirement age. So it is important to take charge of your own career like an entrepreneur who holds his future in his own hands.
# The entrepreneurial way
To be successful at managing your own career, you first need to have a long term vision for your career. Robert Allen said
The future you see is the future you get.
Self-employed people are entrepreneurs and every day they need to take responsibility for making their careers as successful as possible.
Many employees though fall into the habit of being passive about their own careers. They turn up to work and assume that as long as they do everything adequately, there work lives will continue at an even pace.
Yet in the world we live in, this is not enough.
Nowadays you need to think like an entrepreneur if you want to make the right kind of progress in your career.
Entrepreneurs don’t let things happen to them, they make things happen for themselves. They assume that they will have to make their own fortune of luck and money.
We must remember that employers will always consider their own best interest first, therefore you need to play an active part in planning / managing your own career. A successful life is one lived through understanding and pursuing one’s own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.
- In tough time we need exceptional business insight and knowledge. Click here to enrol for the Business by the Book Course on 23 – 24 August at the Val de Vie Polo Estate in Paarl. Watch the video and display advert below for more information.
- If the starting point of managing your career is getting to know yourself, a Career Direct Assessment is probably the best place to start. It will not only show who you are, but will also point you in the right direction.
- Also tune in to my radio program “Jy die Entrepreneur” Monday evenings at 20:00 and Saturdays 12:30 on Radio Namakwaland www.934fm.co.za.
