Got A List Checkin It Twice
With 2008 well past the halfway mark, many of us are evaluating where we are in regards to our longer-term
goals. As many of you know, this has been a tumultuous and rewarding year for me, in which I left behind a solid but flat job to pursue my joy full-steam. From getting two of my dream cars (a ’63 Bel Air and a Honda Civic) to my recent move to my dream city (ATL), I’ve used a similar process that gives me a knack for getting what I want. I decided to analyze the steps I’ve taken to reach my goals and use it as my future blueprint. As I look to the next stages of my success, I want to share what’s worked for me in hopes that it can work for you, too.
1. Know what you want: This step usually comes about by defining what we DON’T want. I didn’t want to be tethered to a phone all day in a cubicle, so I knew my ideal job would allow for some interaction with people. Most times, all we have to do is look to what’s currently making us miserable for cues on where we might like to be.
2. Be very clear: I knew I wanted a career that combined my love of writing, interaction, planning, and creativity. When I honed in on public relations as an industry, I went about the business of defining where I saw myself in that business. It’s not enough to know you want to be in finance or law or the music industry. Drill down until you have the exact title and job description of where you want to be. For me, I focused in on being an Account Executive at a small to midsize PR agency–and I’m currently on that path with an internship.
3. Read and Research: I live on the Internet. My library card gets a workout. There are boundless resources for information on ways to obtain your desires. Databases, books, white papers, blogs and websites all exist to provide the answers to your questions without putting foot to pavement. Through specialized research, I amassed knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the position I wanted, boned up on my interviewing skills and researched potential opportunities. Create a dossier or “go-to book” on your goals, with magazine articles, lists of names and companies, and your notes to have all your goal-getting info in one place.
4. Talk to people who have what you want: In researching my ideal position, I created a network of people who could tell me what in the hell I was trying to do. I found out the duties and going salaries, the differences between corporate and agency work, what employers were looking for. I have unofficial mentors like owners of PR agencies, corporate communications VPs, HR pros, and presidents of organizations. These people give me the inside track on what to say and do and where to look for what I’m going after. My key source for building my network is membership organizations and conferences–where everyone is already geared towards helping other members.
5. Preparation: Ensuring that you’re ready when the right opportunity comes along is more an art than a science. There is never a “big break.” Each little opportunity and piece of information builds on the others until you’ve created a portfolio, a resume, a reputation. Making sure to do well wherever you are gives you the foundation for where you want to go. Even if you hate your job, by doing it well you ensure a good reference. A few small pieces on a blog can demonstrate your writing skills and subject mastery if you want to break into writing for magazines. Sounds like grunt work? You’re catching on! This is also known as paying your dues, and it’s the hardest part of reaching your goals.
6. Prayer/Patience: No matter who you pray to or if you pray, you need to detach from the outcome. After you’ve controlled the controllables, you need to realize that you really can’t control what’s outside of you. After you’ve sent the application, shook the last hand at the interview, made the presentation, it’s out of your hands. Of course there are ways to continue to positively interact with people, but don’t ever tie all your hopes onto one opportunity. Keep moving forward and keep a few irons in the fire, because something even better might come to you.
7. Resilience: Setbacks are inevitable. Obstacles, snafus, and crises are par for the course in reaching your goals. Surround yourself with a team of cheerleaders who will remind you of all the hard work and achievements you tend to forget when things aren’t going your way. If you get a “thanks, but no thanks,” give yourself permission to have a down day where you mourn the loss of the opportunity and indulge in your frustration. But remember, there’s no good story without conflict, and times like these are going to be part of your “nobody gave me nothing for free” success story.
8. Celebrate!: Be thankful for every little win along the way. Share your news with non-haters. Stop for a moment to reflect on what you’ve accomplished and how you got there before moving on to the next step of the process. In our quest to acquire success, it’s rare that we pause to count our blessings as they are right now.
