CAREER DEVELOPMENT

The corporate society has for many years been obsessed with the details that go into your resume-curious about your personal details, educational background and off course work experience. And what usually surprises me about preparing my resume is how meticulously the follow of information must be represented-there MUST be a sort of pattern illustrating your growth. What I am referring to here is a pattern that goes something like this...

You start working as a intern doing filling and admin;you work very hard and get promoted to junior clerk. Inspired by this promotion,you work harder to be Supervisor with 4 people reporting to you. Off course the quest to become manager and eventually a partner consumes you and this is great. This shows ambition,determination and growth. A similar pattern is seen across many industries and is considered the rule of thumb, what is referred to as "climbing the corporate ladder"

However what happens when you decide to abandon the ladder you've spent years climbing to start a fresh journey where up you are required to start at the very bottom?  How best does an individual give up everything(position, benefits, relationships) they have spent time working on to follow a dream that has no guarantees?

We are often told to take a risk and to pursue the dreams that burn us with passion, but many of the philosophers forgot to mention how hard giving up everything is. Many of the them did not tell us how scary this process is or how terrifying the uncertainty can be.

Developing a career that you can be proud of, comes with tough decisions I believe. The pressure we place ourselves under, trying  to develop impressive resumes can also ruin the dreams many young people have. Some of us are so scared of making a fresh start within different industries, because we are worried of losing the comfort we have established. We are so scare of losing the benefits we are currently enjoying because we want to follow the corporate pattern described above.

Shouldn't this year be about what you think is best for you and your development? Shouldn't our career development be our responsibility?  Shouldn't we follow our dreams against all odds?

What is your take on career development?

Smile.laugh.live

Change Requires Effort

We start our year with an uncommon burst of energy; eagerly writing down our resolutions for the new year. Our excitement and hope in making each new year different, brings about a renewed sense of obligation to truly make this year one that actually counts.

But so many of us get to the end of year and it seems like we haven't moved from where we were on the 1st of January.

I find myself at the start of a new year, hoping to make 2014 a meaningful year. Now you may ask yourself what will make this year different from the other years.

Too often we set ourselves big dreams based on our past performance, hoping that with the same amount of effort put in, we will yield the same result. We convince ourselves that by doing the minimum requirement we will be in the league to show positive results. We maintain the same routines and carry on with the same habits; and we are  then surprised when we achieve less than average at the end of the year.

I  learnt that to be a part of the winning team, we need to change. And to do that, it is important to change how we approach things. We need to change our attitudes and develop new habits because the old habits are no longer enough.  Einstein once said that we cannot keep doing the same thing time and time again, then  expect  a different  result.

I stopped to reevaluate the dreams I have for 2014 and I asked myself, " what am I going to do differently this year to achieve my dreams?" Am I doing the minimum requirement to achieve this goal? Does my attitude this time warrant for me to go the extra mile? How am I different from who I used to be previously?

Now I ask you the same question. What are you doing differently this year to ensure your dreams become your reality?

Are you doing enough to make that happen? If not, then when?

Smile.love.live

2014...Year of Greatness

Good evening on this very hot Wednesday. I trust all the festivities aimed at welcoming 2014 were great and that we are all ready for Greatness.  This year is dedicated to making our own individual lives a success and I sincerely hope that 2014 will truly be a year to remember.

Wishing you the very best as we pursue our individual goals.

Continue to smile, laugh and LIVE.