Getting ahead is hard work. Here’s a few suggestions to make it easier:
Monday’s Tip: Don’t Accept Traditional Hierarchies. Figure out what path you want your career to take, and don’t just jump at opportunities to take one small step up on the organizational food-chain unless it fits in with your master plan.
Tuesday’s Tip: Have a Plan. Those who get where they want may not always know the route, but they have a very clear vision of the destination. What are you working towards? What are some of the interim steps to get there?
Wednesday’s Tip: Beware of Money and/or Status. Don’t ever do anything exclusively for money or status. The buzz of money and status has a very short shelf-life, and by pursuing them to the exclusion of your other goals is a one-way street to misery. If you pursue your other career aspirations, and a by-product of those happens to be money or status, then enjoy it, but realize the pursuit of those things as an end to itself is an empty pursuit.
Thursday’s Tip: Reach Out to Others on Your Career Journey. You will never get anywhere without help. Ask others for feedback and assistance where appropriate. Help others achieve their career goals. Make a list of people you need to keep on your network, and then proactively manage those relationships.
Friday’s Tip: Work Hard. Some people actually think success will fall in their lap – it won’t. You need to know what your goals are, and then relentlessly pursue them. Ask any successful person, and they will tell you there are three elements of success: Luck, Being Smart & Hard Work. They appear in different quantities for different people, but none of these things can ever be zero if you want to be successful.