by martingibbons | Mar 12, 2012 | Career Development
Is it unrealistic to expect to love what you do? Is it asking too much? I’m a great believer in asking a lot from life. Maybe you will not get all that you ask for but you will never get more than you ask for. When you set out the expectation to love what you do for a living, then you are planting seeds of expectation. Not all seeds germinate but they stand a good chance of doing so if you stick them in the ground. But it’s not just a nicely or a luxury. Everything depends upon it. It’s not possible to sustain success if you do not love what you do. I know there is a common philosophy of “I hate this job but I get paid well for it”. But is this really good enough? an you honestly expect to be promoted with that kind of attitude? People can tell if you love what you do or not and they prefer to work with people who genuinely do. Don’t you? When you do not love what you do your success, if any, is short lived. So don’t settle for anything less than finding a job that you love to do. This is the secret to success. Do not chase the money as it will always elude you. Do what you do out of love and the money may...
by martingibbons | Jan 14, 2012 | Career Development
This weeks most disturbing news came via a book review I received. As you know my new book “Career Change” is coming out soon, so I have asked some people to review it. They have very kindly looked beyond the typos and written some pretty cool stuff. What disturbed me however was that one lady told me that my book confirmed why she had hated the place she worked for 24 years. To be more specific “I hated every minute I worked there for 24 years.” I wish I had got there sooner. I wish I had got there 24 years ago. No one should stay in a job they hate – NO ONE. You have options and alternatives. Everyone does. I don’t care what the economy is doing, even at it’s worst, you have options. So why would anyone stay in a job they hated for 24 years? The psychology is interesting and complex. I can’t speak about this particular case but I can talk more generally. I am going to refer to an old friend of mine, Estrella the elephant. (see photo below) When elephants are being trained they are initially tethered with a chain around their ankle. But after a few months the chain is replaced with a bit of rope. Now the elephant could easily break the rope but it never tries to. It accepts the tether because it is conditioned to behave that way, even if it doesn’t like the tether. This is one of the reasons why someone stays in a job they hate for 24 years. Don’t let it be you. You...
by martingibbons | Mar 22, 2011 | Career Development, Personal Development
Another great post from Seth Godin called Reject the tyranny of being picked: pick yourself From a behavioral psychology perspective we all have, to varying degrees, the habit of waiting to be picked. It’s something that is drilled into us from an early age. It’s natural selection on a small scale. But what he says about gate keepers is very true. The Internet has changed many things and one of the most exciting is its ability to make gate keepers redundant. It now means the traditional, well worn paths are not the only way to get to where you are going. Walk on the grass Do not feel obliged to stick to the paths. The “parky” has lost his grasp on power, so it’s up to you to take advantage of it. This is one reason I do not teach conventional job hunting. Sure the recruitment industry prefers you to walk on the paths and wait in line to be picked but is that what you really want? Don’t you deserve better than that? So bugger them. Stuff the parky. Walk on the grass, feel it between your toes. Know that it makes the parky furious and that you will get a much, much better deal from life when you...
