How To Have A Successful Working Career

Living A Determined Professional Life 

Mark Sutherland, a business coach in New Zealand and former Olympic Gold Medal coach, says there are three components to a successful work career ── enjoyment in what you do, being productive and doing something meaningful.

Since a great many people spend the vast majority of their waking hours either working or thinking about work, having these three key components front and center will certainly enhance the chances of developing a successful and satisfying working career.

We have reached a juncture in the development of the world where it is time to question whether too much attention is paid to economic growth and commerce. Many years ago, the line "It's the economy, stupid" helped Bill Clinton win the United States Presidency. Today, one almost feels like a presidential candidate should be shouting "It's society and our people" at his or her opponent. But until that day is reached, your professional life is likely to remain utmost among your concerns and short-term desires.

So how do you do something meaningful that you enjoy while being productive? The first step is to always bring your A-Game with you. A true professional is one who can do their best even at times when they do not particularly feel like it.

The second step is to be people focused. Far too many organizational leaders focus on tracking the outcomes of profit and customer satisfaction scores. These measurements, however, are actually byproducts of staff development, reliable products and quality customer service delivery. 

As Henry Ford said, "A business that only makes money is a poor business." A good business is one that raises the skill levels of its employees and makes pertinent contributions to its community or society at large.

The third step in meeting the success criteria laid out by Sutherland is to port your personal life characteristics and personal values into your professional life. Research shows that those whose working lives mirror or encapsulate their personal values are generally more productive and happiest with their professional lives.

For, as author and leadership trainer Steven Howard notes, "When people go to work they should not be required to leave their values at home." 

If the values of your working environment clash with your personal values, removing yourself as quickly as feasible from that working environment is mandatory for your spiritual, physical and emotional health (and growth). You are not likely to find enjoyment, be productive or consider your work to be meaningful in an environment where the values are not in sync with your personal values.

Additionally, if you cannot live your passions through your work, then you absolutely must find a way to pursue your passions on the side. Allowing your professional life to bury your personal passions is neither spiritually healthy nor rewarding. 

Living your passions through your work. Now that's the definition of Living A Determined Professional Life. 

Lastly, beware of the evil trap of, as Jackson Browne eloquently put it, "going in search of the legal tender." 

This article is partially excerpted from our top-ranked personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life, which is available in Kindle and paperback formats at Amazon. 

Moving Forward With A Determined Life

Progress Is Dependent on Direction, Not Speed 

The business of life is to go forward; he who sees evil in prospect meets it in his way; but he who catches it by retrospection turns back to find it. That which is feared may sometimes be avoided, but that which is regretted today may be regretted again tomorrow.

Samuel Johnson

In other words: the past is the past, many of the things you fear about change can be avoided, but the regrets you have today about not changing are likely to be carried forward by you into the future. 

American author Steven Howard advises, "Don't go straight, go forward." Forward progress is rarely a straight line from where you are today to where you want to be at some future point. Progress along the path to A Determined Life is full of twists, turns, hurdles, obstacles, and uncharted waters. A straight line it is not.

Building momentum for your personal change project is a matter of repeated effort, constant re-dedication to your commitment (to yourself), and an on-going battle to prevent distractions, excuses, and procrastination from gaining an upper hand. 

In fact, as Aristotle pointed out centuries ago, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." The same can be said for change.

The mistake many people often make when trying to build momentum for their personal change projects is relying on other people or other external factors. It is best to avoid doing so at all costs. 

The only person who can build momentum for your personal change project is you. Others may help (such as a personal trainer if you are changing to a more fitter you), but the responsibility remains yours.

For one thing, only you will know if the steps being implemented resonate with you. Are they working? Do they need modifying? Is the effort level too little, sufficient or too much? Is this the right track?

Remember, progress has little to do with speed and intensity, but is highly dependent on direction. As the Buddhist Proverb goes, "If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking."

Again, repeated effort is key. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn used to tell his audiences, "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." 

It is the lack of repeated efforts becoming habit that causes so many people who lose weight to regain the weight back within a year. As one observer stated, most people don't lose weight, they merely misplace it for awhile. Those who develop the habit of healthy eating combined with physical activity, however, are the ones also enjoying permanent weight loss. 

Do yourself a favor, TODAY. Find 30 minutes of alone time and contemplate your future. Are you facing in the right direction to achieve your desires? If not, what alignment in direction do you need to make? 

This article is excerpted from the book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. 

Know Yourself: Define Yourself

Only you know what you can or will become

The foundation of your own self definition will be expressed in your own self image. What you project to the world, and to yourself, reflects how well you understand yourself.

The better this understanding, the greater will be the satisfactions you feel and experience.

Remember, there is nothing obvious or apparent in a caterpillar that foreshadows it becoming a butterfly. Only the caterpillar knows it is going to be a butterfly.

Likewise, only you know and understand what you can or will become.

As Buddha said, "be a lamp unto yourself." This will give you the insight and understanding of a caterpillar. 

Doing so will also help you define yourself, both for the world and to yourself. And defining yourself is something you want to do.

After all, as George Bernard Shaw said, "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

Here are some quotations from our book Project You: Words of Wisdom to help you go about defining and creating yourself: 

The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been. Alan Ashley-Pitt 

How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most. Stephen Covey 

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. Sir Edmund Hillary 

When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Lao-Tzu 

There is only one success -- to be able to spend your life in your own way. Christopher Morley 

You can judge me all you want. Just keep the verdict to yourself. Steven Howard 

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. African Proverb 

He who is firm in will molds the world to himself. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self. Hindu Proverb 

Dogma is living with the results of other people's thinking. Steve Jobs 

This planet is a laboratory of experiences and an infinite university of potential learning for the evolution of our souls. 

Use your experiences and lessons to cultivate a deeper, richer self understanding and you will enjoy a greater balance and harmony in the spirit of your true (self-defined) self.

This article is partially excerpted from the book Project You: Words of Wisdom, which is available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats.