What do you want to be when you grow up? How many times were we asked that over the years?
I have raised a house full of boys and at different ages through the years, each one had “his moment” of questioning. One dreamed of being a rock star, had a garage band, and is now 30 years old, married, and a fireman. One dreamed of playing in the NHL and is now 29 and a recruiter. Another pursued acting, but is now 31, works at a steel mill and paid off his mortgage in 2 years. These boys and their brothers all had to choose to alter their dreams of what they wanted and the paths they would take to make those dreams possible.
When I work with someone, I listen to their dreams. Sometimes they don’t know what is possible. I take the information about their jobs, their dreams, their skills, and with an objective eye, I look for their unique value so that I can help them highlight their sometimes unknown (or merely unrecognized) skills. The best part of this job is shining the light on someone’s potential.
There is a lot of chatter in the job market about personal branding and influence. Personal websites and social media presence are the most popular displays of one’s own brand today. In “the olden days”, we referred to it as your reputation. How do others see you? Does it align with how you see yourself and represent yourself? What are you known for? Do past mistakes, either personal or professional, have to follow you to the ends of the earth? The answer is “NO”. It is possible for you to create your brand to reflect the image you wish to portray. To do so authentically, you must first dream it and believe it yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, no positioning, post or print is going to convince others to believe in you.
A firm believer that we are all capable of doing anything we set our mind to, I encourage you to envision your career dreams and goals, then make a list. don’t worry about making it pretty or perfect. There will be time later to unscramble and make sense of it.
Next, remove all excuses. “I’m not an expert,” that’s fine. Don’t represent yourself as an expert then. “It’s not the right time,” you have to choose to make it the right time. “I don’t have a degree,” and neither did Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and many more. If you want to succeed, are willing to really work and do whatever it takes to succeed, you WILL succeed. No one can stop you unless you allow them.
Just believe! Drop me a line and let me know your dreams. I will happily brainstorm with you to start you on the path to achieving them.