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Are you ready for 2009?
2009 – Here we come!
By Douglas E. Welch
Listen: 2009 – Here we come!
[audio:http://welchwrite.com/career/audio/2008/career-op-20081226.mp3]While we might not have the brightest hopes for 2009, I think that there are always steps we can take to build the career we deserve. The New Year is always a great time to reflect on our lives and make plans for the next 12 months. Once we return from our holiday vacations we can get so involved in the day-to-day realities of work life that we fall back into old patterns of simply letting life and work “happen TO us” rather than actively directing it. I have been doing some thinking about my own career already and here are some ideas that I am going to be applying as the calendar page changes.
Visibility
Over this “Year of Visibility” (as I named it at the end of 2007) I am more convinced than ever that you have to make your work visible to everyone around you. If you choose to be a faceless, easily replaceable, cog in the machine than you will be treated as such. If you, instead, do everything in your power to show people what you do, and how well you do it, your career opportunities will dramatically improve.
Whether you are in the most basic entry-level job or at the highest levels of management, you need to introduce yourself and your ideas to as many people as possible. You never know what person or what company might provide your next big career step, so you need to make yourself visible to the world at large. You can do this by writing books, blogging, podcasting, networking, whatever, but you MUST do it. Otherwise your career becomes something you merely survive, rather than something that enhances your life.
Get out!
For those of you currently in a job you hate, give yourself permission to get out…today! Nothing is more draining and disheartening than a job or career you hate. It saps the life out of everything else you might hope to accomplish. Take one action, no matter how small, to start the escape process. Take a class. Start creating something. Form a side business. Start talking with others. Work on your visibility. For your own sake, DO SOMETHING to escape. The life you save will be your own.
Think more
Think more about important actions, dramatic actions, actions that can change your world or the entire world. Too often, when faced with adversity, we withdraw into ourselves. We stop thinking about the big picture and only worry about the minutiae. We worry more about what to watch on TV than where our career might be headed. Take some time every day to think about the big issues…the important issues. Think about what you want out of your life and career and then think about how to make it happen. Talk to others about their hopes and dreams. What are they doing to accomplish their goals? Can you use any of their ideas? I find that talking out issues with others is often how I come up with my own best ideas.
Do it now!
Now that you have thought about the issues in your life, do something about them. The power of the world lies in the doing. We can have the most amazing ideas in the world, but if we do nothing with them, they are worthless. For every thought, develop an action. For every idea, develop a plan. Do something each and every day to improve your career. Make something happen. If you do, I can guarantee that great things will start to occur. People will notice you and your work. People will start to come to you for advice. Your ideas will gain more respect and attention, as will you. Do it now!
Lead
I considered 2007 the Year of Reconnecting. 2008 the Year of Visibility, and I think 2009 is will be the Year of Leadership, at least for me. I am seeking out more opportunities to lead. These include another year of this column and podcast, continued development of my other blogs and podcasts, classes and seminars and my 2 new groups, New Media Interchange and LA Friday Coffee. All of these provide me an opportunity to lead others to higher ground in their careers, businessess and lives. How will you lead in the New Year? People all around you are looking for assistance and answers, how can you provide it? The world needs more leaders and guess what, these leaders are you!
There will be many challenges in 2009, as there are every year, but there will also be many opportunities. Start thinking today how you will take advantage of everything that is offered you in the New Year.
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