5 Ways To Speed Up Your Career

The distance between where you are now and where you want to be with your career goals can seem insurmountable. In fact, in some instances, it can be tempting to say “Why try? If I work hard, I still won’t reach my career target until I am 90 years old.” Even if there are more steps to the end than you can count or you are hung up on a major step, the great news is there are some surefire actions you can take today to move you forward. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

1.    Clarify Your Goals

Remember when you were asked as a kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Some of us never move past this game. We hold our childlike answers near and dear to our hearts, but we never break those dreams down into real, achievable goals.

As the motivational speaker and leadership coach Tony Robbins says, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." Being a famous author is a dream. Starting a blog, writing an e-book, self-publishing a book, selling 1,000 copies, drafting the second book: these are all goals. They can be broken down into the steps it takes to get there and then crossed off a list.

Sometimes shaking your dreams out into achievable goals can be challenging, but it always worth it and can be a ton of fun! I share more about it in a few other posts.

2.    Read Articles, Books & Blogs

Seems like a simple idea, but how many of us truly take advantage of the expanse of information available today. Find articles, books, and blogs related to your career goals. What have others done to pave their way to success? What works? What doesn’t? What foundational skills and knowledge did they need along the way? Research. Research. Research.

The notable playwright, poet, and politician Joseph Addison said it this way, "Reading is to the mind as what exercise is to the body,"

As an added benefit, the very act of reading is mentally stimulating and reduces anxiety or stress. You will strengthen your analytical thinking and recollection skills. The more you read, the more relaxed you can feel, helping make you a more confident and happy human.

3.   Learn the Necessary Skills

Even if your dream career seems eons away, you are not without movement in that direction. What skills must you master to succeed? Do you need to learn a new language? Type faster? Manage social media marketing?

Maybe it is leadership skills you need to hone. Perhaps you can volunteer in an organization where you oversee other volunteers. Step up and take the lead. Conquer the skills you will need now. They are the foundation of your dream.

Here is a list of some of the different types of skills you may want to learn to advance your career in the direction of your dreams.

4.   Find a Trusted Mentor

A mentor is one who is several steps ahead of you. It is someone who has “been there-done that” and can share their experiences with you. They are the flashlight on your path to success. While your mentor is not required to be older and wiser, they should have expertise in the particular field you are pursuing, because you will need specific advice on specific steps.

If you are not sure where to start to find a mentor, here's a Forbes article to get you started.

5.   Work With a Certified Coach

A coach is one who may not know details of your field, but they understand the human process of journeying toward a prize. They will be the one who can help you through the bumps and twists and turns. They facilitate a process and hold you to it.

If you would like more information on the roles of a coach and how coaching could be beneficial to you, I would invite you to schedule a call with me.

No Man Is An Island

Seven and a half billion: the number of humans bouncing around this planet like pin balls. So why are we so alone? Why do we carry the sole weight of our own success and happiness? We spent our childhood biking around the neighborhood, gathering up friends as we went along, and hanging out in the best backyards together. Our teen years were spent in small packs, entertaining ourselves, getting into trouble, and holding each other’s hands through the toughest years of our life thus far. As we journeyed through our college years, we studied during the week so we could party the weekend away. We formed bonds that we thought for sure would last a life time.

Then something happened. For some of us, it was gradual. For others, it happened overnight. We grew up, put on our adult pants, set aside the playdates, and chase our career. At first, it’s invigorating and self-inspiring, but then the pressures keep stacking higher and higher on our shoulders until we can no longer self-coach ourselves through it and, at a time when we need friendships more than ever, we find ourselves so very alone.

In the first chapter of his book, Vital Friends: The People You Can’t Afford to Live Without, Tom Rath interviews a homeless man. This man previously had a very normal life: good childhood, an education, a wife, three children, and a job. “What landed you on the streets?” Tom asked.

The story that followed did not start with poverty. It did not begin with alcoholism. The lead domino was the loss of his close friend at work. Having a good friend in the work place made the stresses of the job and their harsh boss bearable and even enjoyable. Without his friend at the desk next to him, the negative pressures built until he could no longer handle them. He began to drink excessively, eventually losing his job, his wife, his children, his home, and his car.

“Who expects you to amount to something?” Tom asked of him. “I don’t think anyone does anymore,” was his reply.

While this story may be more on the extreme side of the scale of negative effects of the lack of friends, it sometimes takes the drastic to open our eyes. We need people. We need friendships.

This life throws some real messed up crap at us. Our idea of a perfect projection can be shattered in a spilt second, and sometimes we don’t realize that second happened until we look back in retrospect. When broken perfection trips us up, our human patterns of survival kick in, and we begin to sabotage ourselves with negative thoughts of fear and failure. These are most vulnerable moments of our lives.

These are the moments we need specific, vital relationships with people who truly believe in us. We need someone to help us sort these spiraling thoughts, label them for what they are, and climb back up. Tom Rath outlines 8 roles of friendships, saying that everyone needs 3-4 friends who display some of these in order to maintain a healthy and happy life.

1. Builder – Motivator, personally investing in the building of your success

2. Champion – Got your back, standing up for you and what you believe in

3. Collaborator – Shares many of the same interests, passions, and hobbies

4. Companion – There in every moment of your life – good or bad

5. Connector – Networking buddy with access to any connection you need; “knows everyone”

6. Energizer – The feel-good friend who keeps who laughing and having fun

7. Mind Opener – Gently pries open your mind to see outside your comfort zone of ideas

8. Navigator – Weighs the pros and cons with you, guiding you to the best decisions

Of course, no one person is capable of being all this for you. You’re going to need several to cover the bases that are most needful for you.

If you are fortunate enough to have people in your life that reflect this list, invest in them. Be to them the type of friend you do best. And the next time someone says, “We should get coffee sometime”, make it happen. It could save your life.