And Quit Doing. Quit listening to the news when pundits and economists talk about the dire outlook for jobs and the US workforce - because you aren’t the workforce, you are a single worker. Pundits and economists by vocation are incapable of protracting macro issues – like the monthly or quarterly job loss or job gain of the entire U.S. – out to the micro level that is relevant to you, just you.
If you want to climb to a better place, work on you. Period.
The only way to overcome challenging external circumstances such as being unemployed, being stuck in a job that you hate, or unable to make a career change is to once and for all take the long view of your situation and commit to develop yourself into an irreplaceable talent. Everyone can develop into an irreplaceable talent. It is hard work, but it is not difficult. Good thing – because everyone can do hard but not everyone can do difficult.
Developing into an irreplaceable talent begins with developing a strong Personal Prosperity Meter. A strong Personal Prosperity Meter is the result of building strong internal forces, combined with strengthening your talents and staking your Personal Brand claim for what you do uniquely that creates the most value from your work.
If you have a job – do the best work you can do, ignoring the unpleasant issues you face with the work or your employer. With strong internal forces of Awareness, Abundance and Adaptability you can stay in flow, out of the struggle. You will be amazed at how you can rise above the minutia that has bogged you down and blocked you from moving closer to your goals of finding work that you love, your dream job.
If you are unemployed or in transition, commit to develop your Personal Prosperity Meter – your Personal Brand. It’s not the fast answer. It’s the right answer, no matter how dire your circumstances. If you have to take a short term or intermediate step for work – you can still do this. Ask yourself, “Where will I be in a year if I don’t commit to develop into an irreplaceable talent?” And then, imagine the possibilities for where you will be when you become an irreplaceable talent.
Please know that if you are doing crappy work today because you are unhappy with your circumstances – this will impede your ability to do the self-development that is called for in this talent era of the 21st century. You won’t believe your own story or worse, you won’t show up authentically when you do get a chance to tell your story to a new employer. And then you’ll really miss out – because if the job is a fit for you – you just couldn’t get the ACCESS due to your own shortcomings, head trash, really.
And with conviction about your Personal Brand, you know that if you fall short of the job description when you do get in front of new prospective employers, the job is not a fit for you and your talents. This takes you far from the irreplaceable talent track you are meant to be on. Walking away from an interview like this is the biggest gift you can give to yourself. It saves everyone time, effort, stress and eventual pain. And it gets you closer to finding the job that you are meant to do and doing work that puts prosperous living in your reach.
ACCESS … because the journey is the destination.
A wink of gratitude to Thomas Friedman who, in his book The World Is Flat, dubbed the early 21st century as the talent era and identified the significance of irreplaceable talent in a global economy.
Marilyn Carpenter is a Business Coach, Speaker and Author. Look for her book –
OPEN SESAME: Why It’s All About ACCESS For The New Worker of the 21st Century
Available at www.opensesameaccess.com or through Amazon.com.