Success at work is a hard slog

“Dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.”

                                                                                     ----- Vince Lombard

There are three positions or spots that you can be in your career and they are ease, progress and phobia. In order to discern where you are, you need to introspect. You can reflect upon a specific work concern or your present standing or even ponder over some not so old incident involving you.  You need to query your own self as to where exactly you stand. It is likely that your response highlights a place where there are no or little confrontations, no tensions and no bolts from the blue – no bumpy rides to sum up. The inference would be clear – you are perhaps in the precinct of ease.

            As you continue with the above exercise on a continual basis, you would realize that you seek to do something else or be in a different place. The reasons why you are where you are could well be many – domestic liabilities, ill-health or undemanding workplace environment, to name a few. Whatever be the contributory factor, such a situation is detrimental in the long run and could well be a formula for failure.

            A position of ease is generally that moment in time when people chasing success get into tight spots. You may start harbouring a ‘could not care less’ attitude and even put down your feelings in writing as a complaint. What is likely to follow is that openings and prospects will fly past you and you will gradually be thrust aside from the scheme of things of others. Eventually, your efforts and endeavours will be treated as mundane; you will simply be like a horse also running on the course. Your contributions will neither be acknowledged nor denied. In short you will not be included in any planning or decision-making loop.

            The above highlights the rapidity at which ease can be transformed into trepidation with little or no prospects of moving up the professional ladder.

            All progress is active and full of life; it also has a tendency to spread out. But it can concurrently be nerve-racking and occasionally sore. Instances are not rare when progress is thrust on us. An additional assignment, newer responsibility or an appointment raise are all chances flung at you; and are as good as progress thrust on you. You could well be looking for something different and new; and all set for that something different and new. Unfortunately, your desire does not fructify at all and you are impelled to take control of the circumstances and move your cart in the preferred direction. 

            The way to move forward from the stage that you may be in currently is in the acronym MOVE itself as under:

·   Mingle:   You need to mingle with thought leaders because progress does not take place in emptiness. In doing so, you reinforce your information plinth and get to know people whom you can try to be like. Within the gamut of mingling also lies taking note of what they say and reading about them. In short, you need to inhale the oxygen of those who are stand above you.

·   Open-out:  Making progress is habitually related to perceiving reason in what you intend doing. You ought to relax and think things over as pertinent to your role and outputs towards to your establishment. It generally happens that we get so much engrossed in current happenings that there is a tendency to forget whatever we have attained or accomplished. The fact is that unless you do so, progress will be difficult to come and hold out no charm.

·   Volunteer:  They say that nothing is real work, unless you do something extra and that too willingly. That something extra need not necessarily be your expertise. You should never ever think that something that you have not done before will be difficult going.  If you love shouldering additional responsibilities and enjoy doing so, success is already yours. Success in this context means further progress and by and large, increased job content.

·   Explore:  People get to know those who seek to work in demanding and testing environments. You should be on the lookout for vacancies and arenas of fast progress that are apparently challenges by themselves. For this, you will have to do keep making enquiries on a continuous basis and take a plunge at an appropriate time. In doing so, your aspirations, open mindedness and alertness will be come to the fore and be noticed. Worst comes to worst, you may not be selected, but the very fact that you went through the process manifests progress in a wider term.

The very object of progress is to shed your easy-going mindset and unconcerned, relaxed attitude. It also implies shedding all apprehensions that you may harbour. Apprehensions entail fear and serve as impelling agents for interim periods only; they have a quick-fix quality which does not boost progress. Progress and growth, conversely can broaden your horizon and expand your expertise base. In fact and in all likelihood, you are able to reach a position that did not even dream of.

It is the same case with all career openings and prospects – you definitely require a line of attack and plan of action. If your progress is unrestrained and uninhibited, you may feel good initially. Thorns are always soft at first; their pricks can be felt as they grow. Similar is progress. Steady growth always calls for homework and grounding together with assistance and encouragement. Needless to state, to be able to achieve this, you need to be imaginative and farsighted. If you have a smart adviser or an sharp boss who can be relied upon, you will move forward faster than usual, feeling more confident and more positive.

Therefore, if you were to ask yourself the question, “Where am I as concerning my progress?” the answer ought to be coming out straight and with no ambiguity. And never ever forget that it is the man who can move forward once the exertion becomes agonizing is the man who invariably emerges successful.

What is your workplace & work attitude?

People at the helm of affairs are often asked this question. What is the type of response that is anticipated to such a query? Those who seek to know information about your philosophy towards work look forward to an out of the ordinary reply, particularly if the person being asked is one who thinks about understanding and recognizing himself competently, efficiently and proficiently.

If you have carried out an evaluation of your career at any time, you will be able comfortable taking on such a question. There is no right or wrong answer, but only a candid one; people who ask this question are quite adept at discerning deceit and duplicity. You will be able to send a good signal about yourself if your answer is smacks of passion and robust work principles.

Therefore, if you intend to make an impact on the other person, you should be truthful in portraying yourself. It is a rather difficult effort in enunciating your attitude towards work, however, the ones that strike an impression are:

·   Camaraderie:  This implies being keen to be part of a team and work with others. There are distinct advantages in being part of a team. A plethora of ideas come your way and you arrive at decisions collectively. Since you work in concord, you can chase your dreams with ease and help others to do so likewise.

·   Concern:   You could well be a genuine well-wisher for others and ever-willing to come to their aid in their bad times. Whether you do so with a motive or not, is another question, however there is nothing wrong if you expect something in return because after all, you are working and working has aspirations attached to it.

·   Inspiration:  Your output is contingent on your motivation level; this entails working hard and displaying integrity. If you are stanch in your outlook and loyal in your approach, you will be able to maintain a high degree of self-motivation; the result will evidently be excellent work outputs.

·   Ingenuity: You have to be adept at managing things and accomplishing your and organizational goals. Ingenuity implies using available resources optimally, be they integral or outside. In other words, you have to be adroit enough to utilize them imaginatively and innovatively.

·   Poise:   ‘Work while you work, play while you play; that is the way to be happy and gay’ is a new mantra that has gained popularity. You should be able to strike a good balance between your workplace and domestic front; it is only then that you will be able to kiss success. Some physical exercise at the end of your day’s or spending some moments with your family can be very stimulating.  

·   Exclusivity:   An organization is what its employees make it. The chairman or managing director has little role to play except for showing the path; it is the people down the chain who march on it and make the difference. Therefore, if you can add exceptionality and matchlessness to your work, your contributions will be acknowledged.  

·   Devotion:   This implies putting in your best – the best of your knowledge and expertise to deliver results. On its own, a dream cannot transform into an actuality; what is essential is hard work, resoluteness and a sense of purpose. Life invariably calls for struggle, but all of us tend to not do our utmost, but that is what catapults you forward.

·   Concentration:   You will always be under pressure to meet deadlines. Your spotlight and focal point has to be your work and work alone. Most of us have no idea of the colossal capability and competence that comes to us when we focus all our faculties and resources on achieving supremacy in any single facet of our lives.

·   Headship:  Being a leader means helping those who are nor performing well to do things satisfactorily and impelling those who are doing well to excel. There will be many who would yearn to climb the ladder of success but there will be very few who would know whether this ladder is leaning against the correct wall. If you lead by example, perhaps you will. 

·   Vision:   True vision means imaginativeness in scheduling things and vital judgmental disposition.  Your inkling helps you to discover new-fangled wisdom. That is what creativity is. You need to apply inventive methods to move forward and if you do not, you remain where you are. You need to have a vision.

·   Experience:   There is a vast difference between an error and a mistake. An error becomes a mistake if you repudiate any move to rectify it. You learn to learn from your mistakes with experience. Remember that if you do not learn from your mistakes, there will be many who would do and get ahead of you.  

·   Farsightedness:   Life is all about being forward-looking. People who peep into their future may switch careers at the drop of a hat, but then they are also quick to learn new things. Such people invariably go where they dream to be at. Their eyes always remain wide-open for the consequences of their actions.

Taking into consideration the above, it is you who has to make your mind up on the type of attitude you harbour. And once decided, stick to it. If someone asks you describe your work attitude, you ought to do so in a deliberate manner quoting examples of happenings and relating to the philosophies identified by you. Remember that any person will be overwhelmed by your responses, provided you are candid about the whole thing.

But there is one attitude that surely boosts your chances of success – a practically sensible readiness to find your feet and fit in the workplace atmosphere that spend half your day in. Develop it along with the ones highlighted above and you will emerge a winner.

Careers that help change the world

There is nobody who does not want to do well in life. We all select our careers based on our desires, hopes and ambitions. But there are few careers that call for an altruistic disposition; they relegate the self to a position below others. Noble as they are called, such careers can be embarked only through unselfish and self-sacrificing service.

We all set sights on something or the other in life. If you do not have a goal to pursue, you are walking the earth without purpose. The decision to do something in life is taken fairly early as also how to go about doing it. Factors that bring about that judgment are authority, money and eminence, to name a few. But there are some people who are prompted to do something for humanity and their country. They embark on careers that help change the world for the better. Such careers are many; explicated below are six of them; their sequence however, is not indicative of their importance:

·   Teachers:   “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops” so said Henry Adams. There is no nobler employment than teaching because the growing generation gets educated. It was Socrates who edified Plato. Teachers provide that impelling force to students; there is no denying the fact that they cannot do this sans a high degree of perseverance and dedication. A teacher’s career is indeed very demanding and exigent.  Being caretakers and guardians of malleable minds, their endeavours have long term consequences; new discoveries and glories brought about are all because of the hard work put in by the teachers. If parents are respected for giving life, teachers deserve more than that because they teach the knack of living well. They say that education is the mother of leadership; by the same analogy, teachers are the leader of leaders.

·   Nurses:   They say that nurses are the best blessing of humanity. Being the very heart of health care, they are angels in comfortable shoes. Nurses help people pull through sickness by taking care of them by way of ensuring timely administration of medicines and diet as also facilitate upholding their optimistic outlook. The profession of nursing would be a dream job if there were no doctors, because nurses mete out sympathy and empathy without even a prescription. All nurses are an epitome of compassion and everyday touch a life or a life touches theirs. The profession of nursing is not made out for everyone because a nurse is required to engage worldly tribulations with zeal so that the health and welfare of the world is preserved. Truly, the profession of nursing is the noblest of all. 

·   Therapists:   Men and women who help others lead a better life through by inspiring or spurring them in any way to build up their skills are therapists. They come to the aid of people afflicted by sufferings and anguish so that they can manage their lives well. There could be several factors that diminish the very will to carry on amongst people; sorrow and despair, irrespective of what about them are the prime reasons. Helping such people cope with their angst is indeed an extraordinary task. The scope of work of a therapist is extremely wide and very satisfying. Many may not know, but there are adequate pecuniary benefits in a career as a therapist.   

·   Scientists:   We do not realize that when we are comfortably tucked in our beds, there are some who are conducting experiments in laboratories and research centres. New medicines, faster modes of travel, safer homes, improved amenities and healthier foods etc that are regularly being brought about are all because of the tireless efforts of scientists. Notwithstanding that the scientific community is compensated well in terms of money, it is their drive and zeal to better the conditions of humanity as a whole that is significant. Archimedes was not blowing his trumpet when he said, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” This famous quote manifests the capability and resolve of a scientist.

·   Arbitrators:   Arbitrators are professionals who make certain that disputes between people or groups of people are resolved by finding a middle ground. In other words, they negotiate to bring about agreements among disagreeing and clashing parties. Occasionally, one side remains inflexible and refuses to adopt a policy of give and take; such adamancy is on account of professed self-esteem or perceived pre-eminence. An arbitrator thus functions as a go-between and listens to the complaints, accusations and objections of both sides; and then suggests a compromise formula.

·   Campaigners:   There are people who toil hard and endeavour to make our world an improved place so that we can live in peace. They do not have vested interests and neither do they crusade for personal benefits. All that they seek is an enhancement in the overall standards of life for mankind as a whole. Issues that campaigners fight for can be gender bias, education, environment, poverty and alcohol & tobacco consumption, etc. The important part of a career as a campaigner is that the results of movements have global relevance. For example, if somebody is taking up issues pertaining to environmental pollution in Australia, the impact of the campaign could well be across seven seas in India. A career as a campaigner actually calls for a lot of commitment and monumental forfeiture on the individual front.

If you have that urge to make a difference to the life of others by doing something for them, discarding all cynicism that you may have is the first step  in that direction. You should be well prepared for a multitude of confrontations. You ought not to be asking yourself what the world around you needs. On the contrary, you ought to be seeking to know what impels that fiery approach in you because the world needs people who are alive.

Don’t be a stickler for self-imposed rules

Childhood, schooldays, college times, youth and old age or home, workplace or any other place – all phases and junctures of our life are experiences that serve to teach us something or the other. And one issue that invariably plagues our mind repeatedly throughout this journey that is life is whether we should be pedants for rules or not.

We all have divergent views on the question of being a stickler for rules. Some amongst of us would be martinets and not willing to deviate from them. Some of us would be habitual offenders and get pleasure from doing things the way they are not supposed to be done. And some would consider situations as they come and then take decisions. But as a rule, we tend to adhere to rules, albeit unconsciously.  And more often than not, quite a few of such rules are self-imposed, the basis for their necessity not being known or comprehended. These self-imposed rules impact your career and success in it the most.

Rules are of three types:

·   Official rules:  These are always well enunciated and cannot be breached. All countries have their own laws and it is expected of citizens to not violate them - be they criminal laws or civil laws. That disconcerts many who tend to believe that indulging in acts of swindling, prejudice, aggressive behaviour both within and outside home and persecution are not really decadent activities. But the fact is that such people are lawbreakers. And so are many who, as a habit, violate traffic rules or copyrights. Offenders have to be proceeded against and invariably are by law enforcing agencies.   

·   Community rules:    These incorporate intricate matters like moral principles, beliefs and values. The truth is that community rules are more or less one-sided and to that extent, can be regarded as skewed vis-à-vis official rules. You may have strong viewpoints and reservations on certain matters but there are some situations that will bring about an altered outlook and opinion. Community rules are contingent on situations and perceptions. All of us break them some time or the other, repent for having done so on the premise that to err is human, absolve ourselves and eventually forget whatever we may have done – that people who may have suffered on account of you still remember you is a different matter.      

·   Self-imposed rules:   These are those that people at every workplace talk about and you get to hear at every workplace. There are some supposed principled men and women who assert that they would never find any middle ground as far as their main beliefs are concerned.  There are also others who swear not to indulge in backstabbing or backbiting. And how can you not notice some who avow not to tolerate particular types of colleagues and bosses. These contentions are what are known as self-restrictive or self-restraining conduct. Ironically, we do not have justifiable rationale for such affirmations and paradoxically, we cannot visualize the results that may follow. 

Self-imposed rules can be devastating. You do not need to do a deal with your values to move up in your career. But you will not have to let go a lot, including your individual necessities and consider as above all your organization’s interests. Perhaps you may not be as righteous as is warranted; on the contrary you may be self-centered and self-seeking and fearful to relinquish that much command. It is also likely that you may be terrified of breakdown or letdown. As far as backstabbing and backbiting are concerned, every workplace witnesses them and people who claim they do not indulge in them are the biggest culprits themselves. And people who swear not to tolerate particular types of bosses or colleagues are the tetchiest characters themselves.

The truth of the matter is that all self-imposed rules are neither based on principles, morality or morals. They are all about attempting to have power over everything that is muddled, disordered and bloodcurdling surrounding you. Self-imposed rules are sort of illogical and subjective confines; and by subscribing to them, we tend to mislead ourselves to a stage of misbelieving that we hold the reins. Little do we realize that the only thing that we attain in the bargain is an impediment to our own success. And by delaying success, our very inherent capabilities suffer a beating. That is precisely the reason why self-imposed rules are also known as self-restricting conduct.

The best way to break such rules is by letting presence be illuminated. What is presence anyway? It is the state of mind (state of no mind in fact) where our observations are inert and reactive and resultantly we hang up all scrutiny and decisions. Eventually the power of stability and direction gets lost. .  

Therefore, should you be a pedant for rules? Well, if you seek to be successful in your career, remember that official rules are not meant to be violated under any circumstances. With regard to community rules, you can use your prudence to decide what to do or what not to do. But as far as self-imposed rules are concerned, no one ever asked you to make them, leave aside accepting them. Therefore, they need not be formulated at all and secondly but more importantly, they do not call for any adherence.