As a disclaimer, this is not your typical (read: practical) career advice. There will be no fool-proof tips and tricks to climb the corporate ladder or reach the million dollar mark in your business. If you’re looking for a get-rich-or-successful-quick scheme, this is also not it.
What this is rather, is a testimony to one aspect of our careers, and our lives in general, that is too often overlooked, at the expense of technical know-how and practical advice.
Listen to the average employed person talk about their work, and you may more often catch them rant about their horrible bosses and atrocious workload, than you would about their growth potential. Try and catch a session of “office watercooler gossip”, and you may be in for a serious re-run of “The Desperate Housewives of the Cubicle Next Door”. Truth is, the majority of people constantly complain about their jobs, from dreading the Sunday night blues to despising their annoying co-workers. Those who don’t? Well, who wants to chat with anyone who loves their job, anyways…
Many, if not most, aspire to the next best thing in their careers, whether it’s the next promotion, the next job, the next boss, or the next coffee machine to survive the day (hello work-induced caffeine addiction)….Few stop to be truly grateful about where they currently stand in their work journey, or any other positive side of their current occupation. Besides, all this positivity wouldn’t make for juicy watercooler talk…
In the much acclaimed book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill reveals how a change in the way you think in general, and in particular your level of faith, desire, and resilience, can propel you to success. As it did for millions, this book, among others, revolutionized the way I envision success. While I was raised in a household that valued hard, tireless work, and academic excellence, I realized in the course of my career that these, although invaluable, are far from being enough. The modern cult of the constant grind and overachiever mentality, so prevalent among entrepreneurs, is also leaving us with an insatiable thirst for more that is ever so unquenchable. As a result, purpose is eluding us at the expense of grandiose status and bottomless FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). We then find ourselves in this unending quest of closing yet another gap or smashing yet another ceiling.
What I’ve found through my own trials, errors, failures and successes across jobs, careers, and through fulfilling my own purpose, can be summed up in a few words: Less doing, more thinking and being. Could it be that after all, the secret was never to work harder, but to think better? Could it be that we all can manifest the career of our dreams by switching the quality of our thoughts? It has certainly been my experience, and is now my testimony, based on these few yet powerful principles:
- An abundance mindset creates opportunities
One of the main obstacles to career success is the belief that there aren’t enough opportunities to go around. This scarcity mindset is often at the core of competitive and toxic behaviors and environments, not to mention at the root of Impostor syndrome and slef-doubt.
Developing a mindset rooted in abundance means recognizing opportunities even where there seems to be lack. Sometimes, it may mean creating those opportunities for yourself. It’s also learning to celebrate others as we build our own successes.
- Gratitude is a multiplier
Manifesting the career of your dreams begins where you are, which means it starts with showing gratitude for the job you have now. It can be difficult to fathom when work doesn’t inspire you more than the prospect of a somewhat generous paycheck, or that of a juicy gossip session in the deli section of the cafeteria.
Expressing gratitude for where you’re at in your career (and life in general) is also recognizing the positive in your current situation. Whenever you see and acknowledge the positive in anything, you’re also multiplying it!
- No amount of work can supersede your thoughts.
However you may define success for yourself, and regardless of the amount of work you put in, you must believe it to be achievable for yourself first. Self-doubt and lack of confidence will rob you of the positive outcome of your hard work, unless you commit to believing in yourself.
It is no surprise that millions of dollars are wasted each and every year in process inefficiencies, as employees literally waste precious time, energy and money on unsuccessful pursuits. It’s the lack of intentionality and purpose behind so many business initiatives, rather than the lack of work, that really explains their failing.
So yes, hard work, shiny credentials, unwavering dedication, discipline, smart goal-setting, and a good eye cream are important to career success. Yet, none of it is truly effective until we begin to think and see ourselves successful, on our own terms.
The Corporate Sis.
