Do You Still Love Your Career?
This month marks the 33rd birthday of Career Strategies. In a way, I am not surprised that I am still here because I had great faith in my business concept and thought it through thoroughly … but in another way, “wow, this is amazing!”
The odds are very much against any start-up making it even 5 years, let alone 33. The odds that someone will still love their work after 33 years are, I suppose, very small. But I do love helping people enjoy their careers as much as I enjoy mine, which is why I am still doing this work.
If anything, I guess I am an object lesson for my clients. Unlike most people I have counseled, I set career goals and developed a plan to achieve those goals. Then I followed it.
While still in college, I sat down one evening and made a list of the things I wanted to do professionally: be a press secretary and speechwriter for a Congressman; be a reporter and columnist on a daily newspaper; be involved in television programming and production for a TV network; help market movies for a major motion picture studio; work for a top-tier consulting firm solving difficult problems for Fortune 100 companies; get on the Board of Directors for a profitable corporation. I achieved each of these objectives. Why? Because I had a plan, and the courage to try.
This is what I try to impart to my clients: Determine what you want, put a well-considered careful plan together on how to achieve your goals, swallow hard, then execute your plan.
I am nothing special. I didn’t come from privilege. I am not what I call a Harvard-Harvard, and don’t have college and graduate degrees from an elite Ivy. I didn’t have a network of powerful contacts who could open doors for me.
I am actually like most of my clients: I was good, even very good, at what I did in my jobs. I can hold my own intellectually with just about anyone, but there are a lot of people out there who are smarter than I.
No doubt, I am much like you. But the difference is that I have had a very diverse career covering different job functions in many different industries and have loved each job. (Except for one. I will talk about this experience in an upcoming column.
I remember the night when I put my career bucket list together, and thinking I did not want to be one of those old guys in his 70s walking along the beach saying to himself, “I wish I had done this professionally,“ or “I wish I had done that.” I did not want to live a life that, at the end, I regretted for not taking chances to do the things that mattered to me.
You don’t have to live that life either. If you are not fulfilled in your career, or if you are ready for a new challenge but not sure exactly what you want to do or how to get there, I can be your guide. It’s not too late, even if you are in your 70s! If I can do it, you can certainly do it. I will be happy to help you.
If you are an attorney or senior executive and you have been thinking about “what else is out there” for you, or if you are not sure how to start a career transition process, get in touch with me for a virtual cup of coffee. You will receive a confidential, no-cost consultation to discuss your situation and goals, and will also get expert advice on how to launch your job campaign. To schedule a strategy call with me, click here: https://live.vcita.com/site/bruce.blackwell
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