Achieve Success in Your Career
20 May 2015
Read by 2951 persons
Here are two seemingly simple questions: Why do you work? Are you successful in your work?
The answer to the first question is obvious, isn't it? You work because you need to pay your bills and buy the many good things life has to offer.
However, when you add the second question, the answer is harder to give and can reveal a lot about your career motivation - or more importantly, the lack thereof.
Where do you want to go?
If you are concerned about your career success, it is therefore imperative that you clearly understand why you work. Otherwise, how can you really know what steps will help you succeed? As Robert Campbell once said, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else."
If life really takes you elsewhere - a place where you didn't expect to be - would you consider yourself successful? Certainly not.
Define Success
How can you increase your chances of being among the winners when you retire? Know why you work, how to achieve your work goals, and periodically evaluate how to adapt your career plans as needed.
So why do you work? Here, in no particular order, are the top 10 answers clients have given me over the years:
To make a living.
To make a fortune.
To flourish or maximize one's knowledge and skills.
To set and achieve goals.
To become famous.
To help others.
To pursue personal interests.
To travel and see the world.
To make your mark on history.
To earn a place in Heaven.
If you're like most people, you can identify with several items on this list. On the other hand, your own list may include 10 reasons not mentioned. One way or another, the means of achieving your professional goals vary from one goal to another. If your goal is to have a personal fortune, then the path you will need to follow will probably be very different from the one to earn a place in Heaven.
Determining How to Achieve It
None of the reasons mentioned above are better or worse than the others. But once you've identified your reasons for working, do you have a good future plan in mind to achieve those goals? Have you examined the methods others have used to succeed and are you applying their wisdom to your own career plan? Finally, have you established benchmarks that will indicate when you will achieve success in your career?
Only you can answer these questions. Take the time to understand your career goals and find the most appropriate ways to measure your success, and you'll already be on the right track.
James Gonyea
Monster.ca
Translated by Sophie Welter, Monster.ca
The answer to the first question is obvious, isn't it? You work because you need to pay your bills and buy the many good things life has to offer.
However, when you add the second question, the answer is harder to give and can reveal a lot about your career motivation - or more importantly, the lack thereof.
Where do you want to go?
If you are concerned about your career success, it is therefore imperative that you clearly understand why you work. Otherwise, how can you really know what steps will help you succeed? As Robert Campbell once said, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else."
If life really takes you elsewhere - a place where you didn't expect to be - would you consider yourself successful? Certainly not.
Define Success
How can you increase your chances of being among the winners when you retire? Know why you work, how to achieve your work goals, and periodically evaluate how to adapt your career plans as needed.
So why do you work? Here, in no particular order, are the top 10 answers clients have given me over the years:
To make a living.
To make a fortune.
To flourish or maximize one's knowledge and skills.
To set and achieve goals.
To become famous.
To help others.
To pursue personal interests.
To travel and see the world.
To make your mark on history.
To earn a place in Heaven.
If you're like most people, you can identify with several items on this list. On the other hand, your own list may include 10 reasons not mentioned. One way or another, the means of achieving your professional goals vary from one goal to another. If your goal is to have a personal fortune, then the path you will need to follow will probably be very different from the one to earn a place in Heaven.
Determining How to Achieve It
None of the reasons mentioned above are better or worse than the others. But once you've identified your reasons for working, do you have a good future plan in mind to achieve those goals? Have you examined the methods others have used to succeed and are you applying their wisdom to your own career plan? Finally, have you established benchmarks that will indicate when you will achieve success in your career?
Only you can answer these questions. Take the time to understand your career goals and find the most appropriate ways to measure your success, and you'll already be on the right track.
James Gonyea
Monster.ca
Translated by Sophie Welter, Monster.ca
