While I was growing,all I have was a dream of how I'll grow up and go to that best schools,date that fine girl,drive that fancy car,have that good job.............that's all. *smiles* I bet most of us can relate to this,but as we are growing up,things started turning out quite differently,why? because there are limited resources for us all and above all,life is not mapped out that way. Whatever we want,we need to have the right attitude and desire to have them. As part of the 20-something years old,i made few mistakes and I'm still learning but i honestly feel if I knew what I know now, while I was like 21 yrs old,I wouldn't be where i am now....not doing bad though but I could have been in a better position. So I put together 18 changes you need to make to get you closer to that your dream.
1.Time is Not a Limitless Commodity – I so rarely find young professionals that have a heightened
sense of urgency to get to the next
level. In our 20s we think we have all the time in the world to A) figure
it out and B) get what we want. Time is the only treasure we start off
with in abundance, and can never get back. Make the most of the opportunities
you have today, because there will be a time when you have no more of it.
2.You’re Talented, But Talent is
Overrated - Congratulations, you may be
the most capable, creative, knowledgeable & multi-tasking generation yet, but
unrefined raw materials (no matter how valuable) are simply wasted
potential. There’s no prize for talent, just results. Even the most
seemingly gifted folks methodically and painfully worked their way to
success. (Tip: read “Talent is Overrated”)
3.Stop Dreaming and Think! – I always give this advice to a lot of people around me, you don’t
get to do something special with your natural reasoning ability, you need to
create time to sit down and think! Life itself is unfair, haven’t you heard? You want to get yourself into better position
in what you do? You have to stop dreaming and strategize (this you cannot do without proper thinking) Talks don’t
achieve goals, thinking and acting does. Even the bible stands against talking (which comes easily) without thinking.
Think well, think deep.
4.We’re More Productive in the Morning – When I was
unemployed, most times, I wake up as early as 3am or 4am and all what I do is
to think and plan for the day and I’m usually productive for the rest of the
day. We are most likely going to get most things done when we start working on
them very early in the morning.
5.Social Media is Not a Career &
Your Blackberry Shouldn’t be part of Your Addiction – You are always marking register facebook and 2go,if only
that will amount to some kind revenue. You get 100% boredom the moment your
blackberry goes off? Hello, you need to get yourself a thinking chair to analyze
the real importance of your BB. Unlike the current crop of youths, RIM invented
Blackberry majorly to cope with different business challenges. Social media is
simply a function of marketing; it helps support branding. Social media
is a means to get more awareness, more users or more revenue. It’s not an
end in itself. I’d strongly caution against pegging your career
trajectory solely to social media and pinging
6.Stop “Forming” – Forming is a Nigerian slang for acting too
valuable or too self-dependent to relate with other people. We all need help
sometimes, remember? With good inter personal relationship, we can learn what
we don’t know and get what we don’t have. Swallow that pride!
7.Don’t Wait to Be Told What to Do – You can’t have a sense of entitlement without a sense of
responsibility. You’ll never get ahead by waiting for someone to tell you
what to do. Saying “nobody asked me to do this” is a guaranteed recipe
for failure. Be on the side of doing too much, not too little, afterall
there will never be any harm in trying.
8.Take Responsibility for Your
Mistakes – You should be making lots of
mistakes when you’re early on in your career. But you shouldn’t be
defensive about errors in judgment or execution. Stop trying to justify
your mistakes. You’re only going to grow by embracing the lessons learned
from your mistakes, and committing to learn from those experiences.
9.A New Job a Year Isn’t a Good
Thing – 1-year stints don’t tell me that
you’re so talented that you keep outgrowing your company. It tells me
that you don’t have the discipline to see your own learning curve through to
completion. It takes about 2-3 years to master any new critical skill,
give yourself at least that much time before you jump ship.
10.Add Value to Yourself – No knowledge is lost. Whatever
you do, wherever you are, add value to yourself. Learn everything you have the
opportunity to learn when you have the time, the dots will always connect. Volunteer
to do something to learn about it, even if the pay won’t be much or without pay.
I can tell you that I added some values to myself doing something free and the
more I do them, the better I become with them.
11.Map Effort to Your Professional
Gain – You’re going to be asked to do
things you don’t like to do. Keep your eye on the prize.
Connect what you’re doing today, with where you want to be tomorrow. That
should be all the incentive you need. If you can’t map your future
success to your current responsibilities, then it’s time to find a new
opportunity.
12.Speak Up, Not Out – We’re raising a generation of foul mouths. In your
workplace this is a cancer. If you have issues with management, culture
or your role & responsibilities, SPEAK UP. Don’t take those
complaints and trash-talk the company or co-workers on lunch breaks and
anonymous chat boards. If you can effectively communicate what needs to
be improved, you have the ability to shape your surroundings and professional
destiny.
13.You HAVE to Build Your Technical
Chops – Adding “Proficient in Microsoft
Office” at the bottom of your resume under Skills, is not going to cut it
anymore. I immediately give preference to candidates who are ninjas in:
Photoshop, HTML/CSS, iOS, WordPress, Adwords, MySQL, Balsamiq, advanced Excel,
Final Cut Pro – regardless of their job position. If you plan to stay
gainfully employed, you better complement that humanities degree with some
applicable technical chops. As far as I am concerned, I want to know
software programming, even though none of my work demands it now,but I believe
it will, in nearest future
14.Both the Size and Quality of Your
Network Matter – It’s who you know more than what you
know, that gets you ahead in business. Knowing a small group of folks
very well, or a huge smattering of contacts superficially, just won’t cut
it. Meet and stay connected to lots of folks, and invest your time
developing as many of those relationships as possible. An usher in my church does this very well and I believe it’s a matter
of time before gets breakthrough with networking
15.You Need At Least 3 Professional
Mentors – The most guaranteed path to success
is to emulate those who’ve achieved what you seek. You should always have
at least 3 people you call mentors who are where you want to be. Their
free guidance and counsel will be the most priceless gift you can
receive.
16.Read More Books, Fewer Pings/FB
posts – Our generation consumes information
in headlines and 140 characters: all breadth and no depth, even our
courses in universities. Creativity, thoughtfulness and thinking skills
are freed when you’re forced to read a full book cover to cover. All the
keys to your future success, lay in the past experience of others. Make
sure to read a book a month (fiction or
non-fiction) and your career will blossom.
17.Spend 25% Less Than You Make – When your material needs meet or exceed your income,
you’re sabotaging your ability to really make it big. Don’t shackle
yourself with golden handcuffs ( fancy or expensive things). Differentiate
between you Wants and Needs. Be willing
and able to take 20% less in the short term, if it could mean 200% more earning
potential. You’re nothing more than penny wise and pound-foolish if you
pass up an amazing new career opportunity to keep an extra little bit of
income. No matter how much money you make, spend 25% less to support your
life. It’s a guaranteed formula to be less stressed and to always have
the flexibility to pursue your dreams.
18.Your Reputation is Priceless, Don’t
Damage It – Over time, your reputation is the
most valuable currency you have in business. It’s the invisible key that
either opens or closes doors of professional opportunity. Especially in
an age where everything is forever recorded and accessible, your reputation has
to be guarded like the most sacred treasure. It’s the one item that once
lost, you can never get back.
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