Does your Career Sucks - Break the barriers, Buddy !!!

Does this topic sounds inquisitive and relevant to you, then please answer the below questions honestly:

1.   Are you hanging on to the job for the salary or upcoming EMIs with little satisfaction?

2.   Are you in a vicious cycle and can't reach where you wanted to go in your career?

3.   Are you feeling fretful and in-secured about your future career?

4.   Are you in 'Survival mode' in your career most of the time?

5.   Are you feeling exhausted and over-worked most of the time and looking for a break?

If your answer is 'YES' for any one of the above questions then you are part of 80% of the disengaged /unhappy workforce - as indicated by the 'Times group' survey.

If you think, you may feel being lost and Non-Momentous, if you happen to lose your current job/career, here below are your take away to introspect and make the action plan worth for the rest of your career :

Nothing here is 'Perfect' ever for anyone:

Most of us have landed in their job/career, which has come to us as a 'Chance' and not been taken as a 'choice'. Having spent years in it, changing your career now becomes impossible and it's needless too. It has to be understood that there are many dimensions, you may not like even in your 'dream career'.

Eg: You may love doing Designing as a 'Designer' all through your life, but may not like to deal with people issues as 'Manager' in your future role or even vice-versa.

When Jeff Bezos of Amazon can feel happy about working with finance, HR, Sales which may not be his area of interest, you too can find happiness about doing something in your job which may not be close to your heart.

Realize that any work you do contribute to 'Some One's life' and that mindset will make you realize that your career is more meaningful than ever. First understand and accept that there is nothing called a 'perfect career' that exists on this planet because a career or job demands evolution every time. We can spot better dimensions in our career, which will keep us happy consistently and progress well for a longer period.

Survival to Thrive:

It has become now very frequent to witness people, either who just 'Survive' in their careers or just be 'Allowed to survive'. We all are wedged by our 'so-called' routines which trap us as mere 'Survivors' and not allowing us to look anything beyond managing such routines.

The very 1st thing anyone must do to progress in their career is to move from 'Survival' mode to 'Thrive' mindset which is altogether a positive and confident connotation. You will open yourself into your 'thrive mindset' only when you know to identify and play with your strengths.

"Achieving the 'Mindset of Thriving' backed by your Strengths is a Freedom"

What you 'DID' belongs to that moment:

What you have done stays 'just done', what you can do again successfully keeps you in the game as champion. Yesterday's success belongs only to Mr.'yesterday' and not relevant to Mr.'Today'. Never expect anyone to keep appreciating what you have accomplished in the past. Your archived successful past is a hope for the future and today's results are the only proof of your existence.

"Every Day is a New Beginning for new results. Take a deep breath, Smile, and Start Again"

Harness unique skills:

I have seen many folks, even after years of experience in their jobs who haven't developed the exact skills required to be the best in what they do. Most of us wish to endure with what skills we possess and take no chance to learn further. 'Future Ready' is the word to get sounded in our eardrums every day. Ask yourselves -Am I going to be relevant in the next 3 years? Will there be demand in the market for me?

Most of the successful startup owners across the world have harnessed new skills contrary to what they have learned in the early stages of their careers. When Elon Musk was with a financial payment company Paypal, did he know all about rockets and space technology to start his SpaceX Inc? It's always possible to learn anything that you don't know (just time taken to learn may vary), but the key is, Are you 'willing' to learn?

Be a specialist with a futuristic skill set so that you become irreplaceable because the future world is only for 'Specialists'.

"Be so good that they can't ignore You"

Focus on bigger 'small' things:

Richard Coch – the British author of '80/20 principle' book which demonstrates 80% of your success comes from 20% of your efforts. It's no brainer to focus on that 20% more and the trick is to learn to identify that 20%.

That 20% need not be a skill all the time, it can even be very small things like - being there to fix that one small bug in a project, when your boss needs someone desperately to fix it a moment before the disposal to a client. You are smart if you know to spot and grab that moment. This small support extended by you may contribute to 80% of your pay hike for that year or even the promotion next year. So focus to channelize your energy on small things that bring you bigger outcomes. Your career for sure will have an accelerated growth if you master this skill of doing 'What gives you visibility and benefit'. Happiness is a by-product if there are visibility and benefit in what you do.

"Knowing exactly what to do saves endless confusion and Energy !!"

Surround by people who want you :

You may be the one who makes the team lively, you may be volunteering help when needed, you may be the emotional support for someone, you may be a mentor for someone, you may have the skill to contribute someone's success, you may be an idea tank for someone, you may be the tea time partner for someone. Here in the above scenarios 'For Someone' is the keyword.

Successful people are often givers and not takers. The more you give, the more you are in demand and the more you are in demand, the more you are successful in your career. You need to be "The Go-to-Man" and create that circle of influence around you. Always be there to extend help and the caution statement is:

"Offer humor, but Don't be a joke"

Use others:

It's always the majority of others who determine your large portion of your career success. It could be your subordinate, peer, client, team, vendor, boss, stakeholders, coach, mentor or even it could be anyone whom you have direct linkages with your results. The smartest way is to use influence as a tool to get your things done by others and by the way you do less to achieve more.

This need not be correlated to the 'exploitation/credit stealing' sort of meaning, but, it must be interpreted more like - knowledge partnership, alliance, delegation, idea excavation, leveraging good emotional baits, ethical imitation of good practices/processes, etc.,

Don't feel timid to use others and their intelligence for your success because you can't be better at everything.

"It's all those unique five fingers makes your hand stronger"

 Ace of attitude:

If you trace all successful people in their careers, there is one attitude which remains dominant irrespective of the field they are successful and it's called 'Courage'. They are courageous enough to face challenges, confident about acquiring new learnings, brave about managing adversity, fearless about managing difficult people, and also they are valiant to get the best of available resources.

If you have courage, you will be able to connect the missing dots for your career success. This ace attitude needs to be developed very early and your career growth largely depends on this attitude.

"Courage is taking a step, more than, you think you Can"

Hunt for a Mentor or Coach:

Jeff Bezos of Amazon was mentored by Mr.Bill Campbell, a former football player of Columbia University and then a coach. Two things to be noticed here are – What's a need for the CEO of an E-Commerce giant to find a mentor and how a football coach went on to become a mentor for a CEO. There are people with super special mentoring skills available always around us, but we need to do a 'desert hunt' to find those coaches/mentors.

Everyone needs a helping hand to guide, a monk-like mentor to give a 4K resolution like mental clarity, and an eloquent coach to bring out the unidentified aspect of you. It can be your parents or your friend or your boss or your teacher or completely a new person you met recently. Always find that someone who offers you genuine directions, clarity, and advice with their deep insights to be the best version of you in your career.

"A Coach deciphers the sleeping fire in you and channelizes it as propelling fuel for your success"

Sell yourself :

'Selling' might sound nauseating, but understand that you are a commodity in the market with a price tag on any day, and you are purchased and sold by your employer or client now and then.

There are certain few who work only for money and that's their sense of achievement and happiness. They hoop jobs/careers quickly and more so, they might end up earning more money and learning better too.

But there are many others, who want stability, security, serenity, work-life balance, compatibility, and also a decent income. It's their kind of priority and rudiments for fulfillment. These folks change jobs/careers only when there is a compelling requirement for money or for a life-changing reason or to feel emotionally better.

But above two extremities cannot exchange worlds, because their drivers and definitions of career success are different. You need to sell your ideas, sell your knowledge, sell your achievements, sell your capability relentlessly to your boss, company, clients, and even to your family at-times for them to see your value. People always buy kinds of stuff which are sold with better value and with best of selling ability.

Classic example- It's that marketing, packaging, and appealing selling strategy that makes us pay 80% more for a single bottle of aerated drink, considering its mere production cost.

The large success of your career is evaluated by the fact that 'Everyone needs to sell themselves at some point and but you must be sellable at a price of your choice'. You, your ideas, values, skills deserve better selling than a Cola bottle.

"Value is what you Give, Price is what they Give – Question here is what's your Value !! "

Most of the time you seemed to have lost in your career either because you don't know where and how to go or you know how to go, but did not want to go.

Doors open for only those who Knocks and believe me, the most powerful and respected word ever in this world is:

"DO" !!!

Pro Tip :

1.   Have min 6 months of your earnings as savings. Always have an additional skill to pursue an alternate career.

2.   Generate passive income sources (Rent, Equity, etc.,) when you are earning well.

3.   End of the day it's your 'Happiness' that counts - Do your Best and leave the rest.

4.   Don't measure your success with someone else Ruler. It's must be just You Vs You.