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Editor's Notes

• #4: We are all mortal - ‘Carpe Diem’ I’ve called this tip zero because it’s not a tip at all. It’s a statement of absolute fact. As Shakespeare put it in Twelfth Night: All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; Forgive me for stating the obvious, but none of us is immortal. There will come a time when each of us will make our exit. Some people believe that their time on earth is pre-determined and that their lives are ‘fated’ – ‘what will be will be’ . Whilst I accept and respect this viewpoint, I disagree completely. I believe that to a very large extent we can be masters of our own destiny. I also believe in the philosophy that we should ‘Seize the day’ (Carpe Diem). Once a day has passed, you will never have the opportunity to live it again. If you want a wake-up call for how many days you have left, try this little exercise. Draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper. At the left end of the line write a zero and also the year you were born. Now try to guess / estimate how old you will be when you die and write this number and the year at the right end of the line. Now draw a cross on the line to correspond with your age now. How do you feel about the time that has passed? How do you feel about the days and years to come? If, like me you believe that you are in control of your life, and you want to make the most of it then read on.
• #5: Define your vision of success Are you successful? Do you want to be successful? What is success? And how do we recognise success? She must be successful she drives a Porsche. He really must have made it - all of his suits are Hugo Boss. They must be successful they live in a big house and take three holidays a year. Is that YOUR idea of success? Now I’m not saying that it’s wrong to be inspired by people whom we admire. But we shouldn’t try to copy their lives, or live a life that is dictated by the desires of others. My dictionary defines success as ‘The favourable outcome of something which one has attempted’. What does success mean to you? What was your knee-jerk reaction to that question? A big salary increase? A promotion? A fast car? Seriously when did you last sit down and write your definition of ‘a successful life’? Have you ever done it? You see I believe there are as many definitions as there are people reading this article. And the definition doesn’t have to be driven by money. The 15 months that I spent working as a volunteer teacher with the charity, Voluntary Services Overseas in Papua New Guinea, count as one of the most successful chapters in my life. So what are YOUR criteria for a successful life? What is YOUR life-vision? Remember; a vision is a dream taken seriously. Write down the words that come into your head and develop your definition of success.
• #6: Write a life plan – develop your strategy Where do you want to get to in your life? What do you want to achieve? What is YOUR Life Plan? I have asked these question of hundreds of people and been shocked by peoples’ answers. I’ve got used to it over the years; Glazed eyes, dropped jaws and blank expressions. Doh! You’d think I’d asked them to give me the formula for some highly complex chemical, when all I’d really asked was ‘ What do you want to do with the rest of your life’ ? Most people are too busy with the day-to-day aspects of their lives, to establish a strategic direction and to set life-goals. Also, the idea of a strategic life plan may sound a bit pompous but how many of us would choose to work for an organisation that doesn’t have a long-term business plan? We should apply the same principles to ourselves and as a starting point write down 5 -10 ‘life goals’ for the next five year period. These are the actions which can turn your vision into reality.
• #7: Develop a positive mental attitude People often have problems in making career plans and developing goals because they impose barriers on themselves. They say things like ‘I could never achieve this’, ‘That opportunity is not available to me’, ‘This isn’t feasible’, etc. How many times have you heard (or asked!) the question ‘Is the glass half-full or half-empty?’ and felt good about the positive ‘Half-full’ answer that you’ve given. Well I’d like you to take your thoughts to a new level. Because unless you live your life in a vacuum, the glass is ALWAYS full. Sometimes water, sometimes air, sometimes both, sometimes poison, sometimes nectar. ‘The glass’ is in your hands. The responsibility for making the most of the contents is, to a very large extent, yours. If you adopt the mind-set that you CAN make the most of what you’ve got, then you’re half way to success. Many successful sports people develop mental pictures of themselves crossing the winning line first, or scoring that winning goal. Convince yourself, that you are in charge of your own destiny. Believe that you can achieve the success you want, picture yourself achieving it, and you’re halfway there!
• #8: Prepare to fail You CAN succeed in spite of failure – If you’re persistent and persevere. If you don’t believe me, then here are some ‘failures’ that were never going to make it: Coca-Cola sold only 400 bottles in their first year in business. Henry Ford went bust twice before his business successes. In their first year Gillette sold only 51 safety razors and 168 blades! H J Heinz (of beanz fame) went bankrupt, and did better next time. Luciano Pavarotti - was told that he should be a baker like his dad,as he would never succeed as a singer. John Lennon's Auntie Mimi used to tell him daily that he would never get rich strumming that guitar! Paul McCartney couldn’t sing well enough to join the school choir. Clint Eastwood was fired by Universal studios because of his broken tooth, protuberant Adams apple and slow speech. And the manager of The Grand Ole Opry fired a young singer called Elvis Presley, telling him; ‘ You aint goin nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin a truck’. What a different world it would be if these people had heeded the advice! When I wrote my first book I was rejected by over thirty publishers. Undeterred I self-published. When I re-submitted the self-published version I got a publishing contract within 24 hours! Don’t be afraid of failure. Treat it as a learning opportunity. You may have to ‘kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Prince’. But if you persevere you CAN succeed.
• #9: Prepare to change Career and life planning is about helping you to capitalise on your own ‘Human Capital Assets’ and take advantage of present and future job opportunities. We must never lose sight of the fact that we live in a world of constant flux and that many ‘traditional’ jobs are disappearing and new ones are emerging. Career and life planning is a personal change management process. And of course we’ve all heard it said in the past that ‘people don’t like change’ haven’t we? Well I’m sorry I disagree. People LIKE change! If people didn’t like change then why do we look forward to going on holiday, buying new clothes, getting a new car! People like change if it answers the WIFM question in a positive way! What’s in it for me? Charles Darwin tells us that ‘The most successful species are the ones which adapt best to the changing environment. The most successful individuals are the ones with the greatest competitive advantage over the others.’ He could have been writing a career and life planning book for the 21st century! So how do you make the most of change? By keeping an open mind, having a positive attitude to change, and identifying what’s in it for you.
• #10: Re-invent yourself? You may need to challenge your paradigm of your self-image and what you can achieve. In business paradigm paralysis can cause missed opportunities. Swiss watch manufacturers dismissed the concept of the quartz watch, even though they had invented the technology … and suffered the consequences. Apparently 42 companies rejected Chester Carlson’s new photographic process in 1930. One company saw the opportunity – the Xerox Corporation and produced the first photocopier. Inertia or fear sometimes stops people from challenging their personal paradigm. You have not been genetically encoded to be a secretary, an accountant, a trainer… … you can take control and have the life that you want, but you need to be brave . You cannot discover new lands, until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore
• #11: GET A COACH There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success". George Matthew Adams A coach will help you to turn your visions and dreams of your career-life plan into reality. Do you know someone whom you can use as a sounding board? As you develop your career and life plan, you will find it very useful to "bounce" your ideas off someone else. Ideas can take on a new dimension when you explain them to someone else, and their inputs can really help to motivate you into action. A professional career coach may be a complete stranger, who will take you through a series of series of exercises to help you formulate and refine your plans. Many coaches do this through an initial 1:1 meeting, followed by a series of telephone calls. Very few of us have the benefit a use professional coach, but do not despair! What about someone who knows you well and whose opinion you value? What about a favourite uncle or aunt? An old school/college/university friend? A current or previous work colleague? A neighbour? A fellow member of a sports or social club? You will probably find it best not to use your partner. I'm not advising you should exclude your partner from the career-planning process; not at all. But they may not be able to "see the wood for the trees", because of their personal involvement.
• #12: Re-Package yourself – do a Lucozade! Re-packaging yourself and re-inventing yourself can create new opportunities. A n excellent example of such a successful paradigm shift is Lucozade. In the mid 20th century Lucozade was a drink which helped people to recover after a period of illness. In the 1980’s Lucozade re-invented itself completely as an extremely successful ‘energy’ drink for athletes and sports people. What has Lucozade got to do with career & life planning? Well, everything! Our working environments are changing faster than ever. The rate of change continues to accelerate. A couple of decades ago, no one had heard of HTML, SQL, C++ or Java. Now people who can speak these IT and website assembly languages can almost pick their salary! There is no ‘one way’ to plan your career or to find a new job; the keys to maximising your potential are flexibility, keeping an open mind and regarding change as an opportunity not a threat. Our beliefs and perceptions about what is right or possible often prevent us from exploring new solutions. You’ve only got 1 life. Challenge your life-paradigm. Just like Lucozade you may need to re-invent yourself, to achieve your goals.
• #13: Develop a Networking Strategy Ninety-nine percent of advertising doesn't sell much of anything’. David Ogilvy. The success rate for networking is no better and may be even worse! But when it does work it can bring powerful rewards. Just as the gardener reaps their rewards for working and fertilizing the soil, you will gain rewards from your networking activities. Networking is a proactive process of building and maximising relationships to help you to advance your career. Your network becomes increasingly important as you get older, or apply for more senior positions. Some people believe that as few as 25 per cent of jobs are ever advertised and that about 50 percent of people over 40 find work through personal contacts. Some people network quite naturally, whilst for others, the very thought of it makes them feel so uncomfortable that it makes the hairs on the back of their neck stand up! Ironically many people, who are brilliant marketers for their product or service, draw a blank when it comes to self-marketing! No man is an island; build and use your network.