Professional Development

Your Career Is A Bunch Of Investments

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I manage my own investments (which I'm kind of glad of considering the market).  Now you may not be up for managing your investments, but there is one you should manage – your career.

Think about what an investment is – you put money into something (stocks, land, a business), from which you expect to get benefits that are greater than the money and effort you put into it.  The benefits may not be the same (an investment of time may make money, and investment of money may yield fame, etc.), but the principle is the same – put something in that yields more.

Your entire career is a series of investments.  Indeed your life is.

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Weeky Challenge: When it’s time to wait?

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Everything comes and goes in the cycles of life.  We, careerists and professionals, are used to trying to figure these cycles out to ride them – or run from them.

Now and then, we end up at a difficult period in our lives when the various forces in our lives are at a crossroads, things end, and we're trying to get a handle on what's next.

So today's challenge?  Ask yourself what is on hold in your life – and that should stay on hold.

Take a look at your career goals – what is on hold now and why?  Of these events on hold, what are ones where you need to apply timing – to wait for an economic change, someone to return from a trip, etc.  What parts of your great life plan just happen to be caught up in the cycles of change.

Now for a second part – what of these "on hold" goals should you NOT try and tackle?  Are there things that, if you try and ram them ahead, you'll only end up in trouble?

What in short, are you just going to be bet off waiting on?  As much as people that try and encourage others on their career (like me) push you, sometimes you gotta wait.

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: The Victory – and the After

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You're looking to create your career, achieve your goals, build your bank account, etc.  You have all these plans and hopes – that's partially why you're here.

A lot of the challenges I present are to help people reach those goals, but let's try something a little different in another two-part challenge.

First I want you to pick one of your goals – or THE goal if you have but one major one.  Ask yourself:

  1. How you will know you achieved it.  Seriously, when can you declare victory?
  2. How will you preserve this achievement and build on it?

A lot of people ask #1, but victory is fleeting, and maintenance takes effort . . .

Give it some thought.

– Steven Savage