Call the Ball - Career aspirations start with being authentic

Managing your career is based on a combination of aspiration, inspiration and attitude.  You are charged with manifesting your own destiny.  All our lives are products of the many small decisions we make. How you spend a minute can dictate how you spend an hour and eventually how you spend your hours determines whether you will reach your goals. An opportunity lost is lost forever and ultimately, self-control lets you relax because it removes stress and enables you to conserve willpower for the important challenges.

 

More and more people are looking for their purpose in the world and in the workplace looking for validation as a sign of life. People want to be heard, but more importantly they want to know that their contributions are being noticed and not taken for granted.  Not for the sake of attention, but more so because they want to know that their skill sets are still relevant and useful and that they are making a difference to advance the organizations they serve.   With training and professional development budget cut-backs in recent years, people have had to start investing in themselves as concerns grow about where their capabilities best fit in their organizations and what their futures hold.

 

At the same time, leaders are trying to make their people feel more secure in order to maintain consistency, conscious that if too much disruption leaks out into the workplace, there is risk of losing high-performers which is challenging to replace from the impact of time, lost intellectual capital and cost. In this ever changing “war on talent”, landscape, leaders need to think differently about how to keep their teams on track. 

 

They must become more intuitive, diverting from the traditional ways of leading that have become too predictable and uninspiring. Many leaders are out of touch and disconnected from their employees, focusing solely on their own personal agendas.  

 

Where it becomes most apparent, are when leaders try to use a “one-size-fits-all” approach to earn trust, build loyalty and inspire team and individual performance. Leaders must understand that in today’s new workplace, there does not exist a single formula to inspire employees to perform better.   Rather, it’s about how to maximize all the components in order to create hundreds of formulas that provide long-term value, continuity and impact, but are most importantly authentic.    Organizations have a responsibility, but so do the people who comprise  the organization.  The mutually beneficially relationship between employer and employee has gone by the wayside like work life balance.  These are semantics and you need to be authentic and true to yourself, leading your own career, in order to realize your full potential in any organization.

     

 

Kickstart - In Search of Personal Motivation

Kick Start - In Search of Personal Motivation


Everyone wants a happy beginning and ending in their journeys and activities, but guess what – life is not perfect.  The subtle art of KICKING A** is about kicking your own a** with a personal smack down.  Not about negative speak to yourself, but about committing yourself to a broader plan of attack.  Complaints and venting are often cathartic, but you need to move from “complaint to commitment”. There are times where we get so caught up in what everyone else is doing and telling us that we need to do that we stop listening to the signals that our bodies are sending us. If something feels wrong, it probably is.  Sometimes the stress that we place on ourselves for results, in and of itself, is enough to make us sick and unsuccessful in our pursuits. We get so obsessed with trying to ‘feel’ something that we can actually create that effect or symptom.

I’ve done it to myself and I see it over and over again in the misguided and futile attempts of people who are not committed – this is small stuff and obsessing about it is sucking the life out of you. It’s not okay to spend your life caught up in the idea that life stinks because you are not making the right amount of money, have a specific title, weigh a certain amount or because you look a certain way, have this number of friends on social media platforms. Until you start to know yourself – where you are and for who you are – you aren’t going to find happiness.

 

So the fine art of KICKING A**, is about motivating yourself to live and be the best you that you can be – because that’s enough.

 

It is true that that hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work really hard, but fail. They tried and didn’t succeed.  The simple fact is that people tried and there is a subtle difference in what I just referenced – “hard work doesn’t always guarantee success, but working harder than anyone else opens unique opportunities and insights if you are paying attention”.

 

While it may not appear to many people that know me that my confidence is not based purely on my innate talents, it is based  on the fact that I try to work harder than anyone else.  No one is going to come out of the shadows and hand you things. A good friend and associate joked around with me that he would have to get up at 3:45AM to get a jump start on me – get ahead of my morning emails, rants, celebrations and personal expectations.  The fact is he was as passionate about the day as I was! It is about passion and jumping, crawling, careening out of sleep to meet the day represents an opportunity. Kicking A** is about sucking the marrow out of life and realizing that every day you have an opportunity to be at your personal best – seize it as fortune favors the bold.

Early riser or night owl doesn’t really matter it is about finding the morsel of motivation – if you can’t find a way, make one!

Everyone Wants to Rule the World

Everyone wants to rule their own world and have control. Everyone wants a happy ending, but guess what – life is not perfect.  The subtle art of influence is about kicking yourself into gear to inspire movement and motivation.  It cannot be about negative commentary to yourself, but about committing yourself to a broader plan of attack.  

Complaints and vetting are sometimes cathartic, but you need to move from “complaint to commitment”.  Commit to a plan and execute using other friends, advocates and stakeholders in the process. Sometimes we get so caught up in what everyone else is doing and telling us that we need to do that we stop listening to the signals that our bodies are sending us. If something feels wrong, it probably is.  

Sometimes the stress that we place on ourselves for results, in and of itself, enough to make us sick and unsuccessful in our endeavors. We get so obsessed with trying to ‘feel’ an effect from something that we can actually create that effect or symptom. I’m not joking. I’ve done it to myself and I see it over and over again in the misguided and futile attempts – this is small stuff and obsessing about it is sucking the life out of you. It’s NOT okay to spend your life caught up in the idea that life sucks because you are not making the right amount of money, have a specific title, weigh a certain amount or because you look a certain way. Until you start to truly value yourself – where you are and for who you are – you aren’t going to find happiness.

 

So the fine art of influence is about motivating yourself to live and be the best you that you can be – because that’s enough. What about working harder than anyone else? While it may not appear to many people that know me, my confidence is not based purely on my innate talents, it is based on fact that I try to work harder than anyone else.  A good friend and associate joked around with me that he would have to get up at 3:45AM to get a jump start on me – get ahead of my morning emails, rants, celebrations and personal expectations.  The reality is that is when everything kicks into gear for me.  Let me reiterate the concept “for me”.  This is about motivating yourself to suck the marrow out of life and living every day like it is your last or think of living one life in one day.  

 

It is true that that hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work very hard, but fail for a myriad of reasons. They tried and didn’t succeed.  The simple fact is that people tried...and there is a subtle difference in what I just referenced – “hard work doesn’t always guarantee success, but working harder than anyone else opens unique opportunities and insights if you are paying attention”.

Brand New Day, Brand New Way

The blog was designed to address insights into the topic of personal branding through inquiries, existing relationships at work and in my personal life.

Many of the discussions that I have on this topic deal with work in standing out and getting noticed through the blur of activity.  The person you are in the office and the authentic self you are in the rest of your life are one in the same. The images and impressions you make in all contexts of your life relate to your personal brand.  As we march through the stages of life we need to be cognizant of those elements that are authentic to ourselves.

Breakthrough and Attack Your Goals

Breakthrough is about your personal potential and living the life you not only want, but ultimately need.  Standing out of the shadows and building upon the person you are today and who you will become.  Your personal brand is similar to that of the products and services you consume, use and love.  Every interaction you have either builds, maintains or erodes your personal brand.  I say interaction as it could relate to the people you meet, your thoughts and actions.

We spend most of our time externally ruminating over the “how-to” address the daily challenges and opportunities we face life.  The speed in which you address these challenges and opportunities is often valued more than the quality of your actions.  Your actions are critical Very few people ask the question why, often hiding in the shadows or process and prescribed emotions. 

There is no magic bullet, algorithm or solution it requires time and a personal investment to truly understand yourself and who you want to become. It is about focus and goals - What does it mean to you personally of going all in? There is no limit to action - Attack your goals ruthlessly.

Attitude is the key to everything you do both personally and professionally.  We are often overwhelmed by the time, so speed takes over.  There is a natural comfort in being busy as we can delay and ignore the critical elements that will feed our personal brand, passion and goals.

This is the time to stand out, step out of the shadows by going within, quieting the mind asking the questions to ultimately shine.  Take stock in identifying who you are and what you need to assess your personal brand. Getting started should focus on who you are now and who you would like to be.  This requires introspection and basic questions – What’s working in my life and what’s not? What do I want or need? What’s best for me to focus on now?

The question I ask on a daily basis is “how can I breakthrough the static” and achieve my personal best – my brand? Find your passion in every role your have and demand more of yourself to maintain that passion.