I’ve just started a poll here on Linkedin:
Regardless of your profession, business sector, or industry you work in, you want to be successful. There’s no doubt about this.
But why do so few people ever experience the career success they dream of?
The question remains...
How would you describe a successful career?
And then the options I gave are:
- Getting the top job
- Having more freedom
- Making an impact
- Others
There is still some time for you to vote, so if you haven’t please go here (INSERT A LINK FROM MY PROFILE)
It has only just started but we already have 1000s of people voting in a number of different groups and I have been struck by some of the comments in the groups.
One that has made me think has been a comment from a member of Remote Workers on LI. Tony A. (MBA) said:
“I won’t presume to define what success is for anyone else and I’ll accept their definition of success for themselves. I’ll also evaluate my own success for myself. Hope you all achieve your own success.”
I think Tony makes a great point that may go some way to explaining why so few people ever experience the career success that they dream of. And maybe that is because the picture of success that they have is not really their own…
Maybe they have a picture of success that is about what other people think success is. Maybe their parents, their partner, their social circle, their organization, and so on.
I know that when I was at school, success was about passing exams. My teachers saw I had a natural aptitude for languages so pushed me into doing A’levels in French, Spanish, and German as well as English. I wanted to do Biology – I enjoyed it and thought it would be something different. When I was at school, you couldn’t do psychology at A’level, but I thought if I had science I could maybe go that route. They spoke to my parents. I did all the languages and then went to university to do languages.
Do I regret those choices? No. I had a great time at University and enjoyed my degree. I used my language in my work in international companies and continue to do so. But I didn’t go into translation, interpreting, or teaching. I went into retail, marketing, and then finally coaching (psychology came back in some way!). And I did well in my A levels and my degree. But it wasn’t really “success” for me.
I’ve been on a journey to discover what success is for me and I think that journey will continue as life evolves and changes and what I want from it changes. Right now I love working as a coach – I help others get clear on what they want and then achieve it. For me, it’s a privilege to be invited into other people’s lives and trusted to help and support them. I am increasingly working online and enjoying the freedom that gives me and the reach. I am at home to support my sons who are getting to an age where they are asking themselves some of these questions. I have my parents living with me so I’m able to support them and my husband and I are great partners on this journey and I love him deeply. Oh, and my dog Whisky sits at my feet most of the day too which I love!
The clearer I get on what success means for me the more I achieve it.
So what is success for you right now? What step can you take today towards it?
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Speak soon,
Sonia xx
