Rebound from a wrong career path

If you look around you, you will see many people who are fenced in a job or career that is not meant for them. There will be doctors who ought to have been engineers, scientists who should have been HR managers, police officers who would have excelled as professors or lawyers who would have been better off as fashion designers or journalists who have been happier had they been in the army. The spectrum of square pegs in round holes will be endless.

There are several reasons why people get onto and more significantly, continue to trudge wrong career paths. Importantly, money as a criterion is one of the least consequential factors; this is largely because unless you are actually at the survival plane, it is more often a justification to veil profound matters. There are are principally four reasons why people embark upon wrong career paths:

·  Premonitions of the heart: People tend to not place reliance on their gut feelings that convey several messages in varied ways. Gut feelings are the sixth sense that caution you about something likely to go astray or prompt you to go on a particular route. Occasionally, they may also tell you in no uncertain terms to turn your back on an issue and stay put wherever you are. They are something like a traffic signal – red ordering you to stop, amber prompting you to get ready and green charging you to move on. You may let your logical brainpower holler down your prudent instinct, but the fact is that the latter is a highly developed forewarning structure. You should not ignore the premonitions of your heart because they manifest true good judgment and astuteness.They will invariably show you the way to please yourself and remain pleased.

·  Advice of others: You should catalogue things that you love to do and derive pleasure from – things that should not be a great effort to compile but any struggle involved in achieving them serves as a source of pleasure. It is alright to be not unnecessarily swayed by extraneous influences; and make and live the dreams of others your own. But the point is that you cannot afford to ignore the advice of others either because following it signifies approval; and when it comes from people who you hold in admiration and esteem for their sagacity, you simply cannot allow yourself to turn your back on them. However, the suggestions and counseling that you may receive could eventually prove wrong and even imprecise; and lead you to a perplexing situation where you get stuck in a career path that is swampy.

·  Failure to own up erring actions: In a large number of instances, the factual difficulties which prompt people to keep move moving on an incorrect career path are engendered by them alone. If at you have erred somewhere, you need to take a holistic look at the circumstances and take corrective actions, rather than bashing on regardless. At an appropriate juncture, you could seek directions so that you preclude the possibility of going totally off-course, utterly off-target and completely off-beam. Do not carry the load of your mistakes on you, sooner or later you will crushed by their very weight. It is always better to place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones to surmount them. Remember that your mistakes should serve to inspire you and not be alibis. If you erred in taking a wrong career decision, let not pride or arrogance in any form hold you back from admitting to the fact and taking a counteractive action.

·  Experience & qualifications going waste: There are many people who were passionate about their respective careers to start with but over a period of time have spaced out from them. If that be so, it is understandably difficult to bid adios to the chosen careers. The career path will seem to be one that cannot be altered because of the time and toil that you would have put in; you may not like to let your experience and qualifications go waste, more so when you stand reconciled with otherwise unhappy circumstances. You cannot afford to live life like this; you know that you have erred but have failed to draw any lessons. After all, life is all about learning. Remember that life can only be understood backwards, but it has to be lived forward. Let not any apprehensions have the better of you.

You could be on a wrong career path, but you can always rebound from it. You have to be alert to the traffic signals and various signposts on your career highway. Since life is always a balancing act, you need to keep your head up and feet on the ground. 

Career planning for effect

“The past is not your potential. In any hour you can choose to liberate the future.”

--- Marilyn Ferguson

From the point of view of personal and structural advancement, career planning is extremely significant. In its rudimentary form, it denotes a continual practice to gauge inclinations, knowledge, persona, fervency and capabilities of a person vis-à-vis measures required to be instituted to bring about definite improvements in his or her present career; or to generate appropriate modifications pertaining to a careerchange.

Under normal circumstances and idyllically, success of any person in the pick of his or her career and subsequently getting a job is measureable by a number of factors. Firstly, all faculties and knowledge should be well-utilized; and secondly, besides success in the job, immense contentment and self-esteem should be clearly derived from it. Therefore, effectual career planning is inescapable for both the individual as an entity and the company he or she serves with. As regards the organizational interests are concerned, career planning facilitates recruitment of the best candidate for a job and wherein he or she gets to be assigned most apposite tasks.

It is necessary to delve into various facets pertinent to self-assessment and preparation. The following aspects are indeed significant and warrant attention and contemplation:

·  Self-evaluation:  Concerns, inclinations, disposition, aptitude and knowledge varies from person to person. Their discernment is a vital component of career planning as it eventually helps in successful accomplishment of assignments and projects; and derivation of pleasure from doing a particular job. Self-evaluation lets men and women to comprehend their individual penchants and predilections as also disinclinations and antipathies. It also goes without saying that an individual’s persona has a telling effect on the good performance of any assigned task. To illustrate the point, an assignment requiring intense interaction with people cannot be undertaken by a person who why temperament is reticent and timid; on the contrary, an extroverted and sociable personality will be able to deliver results. There are several self-evaluation tools that are available and which facilitate unearthing of abilities and makings of individuals by themselves as also by establishments. Needless to state, these latent aptitudes can be fostered further through suitable guidance and tutelage.  This aspect is extremely significant because on the basis of identification carried out, learning and development activities can be programmed.  For a greenhorn, getting to know details about a specific career option and everything that it entails or goes into it definitely helps in going on the correct career path. Such details would invariably pertain to among others, qualitative requirements and job imperatives. Self-evaluation also facilitates in ascertaining and identifying principles and standards of people and their effects on career planning, to include the veracity of option exercised. In short, self-evaluation makes certain that there is a seamless balance between an individual and his or her functions.

·  Career & job evaluation:  In contrast with self-evaluation that helps an individual to comprehend his capabilities and suitability for a specific endeavour, an estimation of career and job facilitates job hunt. Information pertaining to company profiles, employment definitions and working situations in respect of specific jobs can all be acquired through networks and other sources like field professionals, internet and print media; and used for purposes of looking for suitable jobs in consonance with attributes possessed.

If you do proper career planning, you will be able attain both personal and company distinction; a positive fallout will also be in terms of hiring of suitable candidates for correct appointments. Resultantly, attrition of manpower will be precluded and retention of efficient individuals facilitated; a major outcome of the foregoing will be a marked increase in motivation levels, job satisfaction and productivity. It needs no emphasis that contended employees invariably contribute to the overall growth of any company. It should be remembered that good career planning assists both individual employees and their employers to discern likelihoods of progress on all fronts and formulate effective learning and development programmes. And when appointment holders leave an organization, for any reason whatsoever, succession plans automatically fall in place.

They say that all careers are wonderful, but you can't curl up with them on a cold night.They also say that there are costs and risks to any platform of action, but they are far less than the extensive assortment of risks and costs of relaxed dithering. Since there is no security in life, only opportunity, you have to do proper planning. And your career is no exception.

Make a master plan for your career

In the current times, when a career has become a rat race, it is quite an off-putting fact that people do not understand the nuances of career planning. The issue of career planning entails a cautiously planned process intended to facilitate achievement of objectives in a selected line of work. With intense competition and emerging job tendencies, the need to do proper career planning has assumed greater significance than ever before.

The foremost question is why it is necessary to have career objectives. Discerning and choosing them are inescapable for arriving at a conclusion regarding what you intend doing to sustain yourself. A career objective puts you on the correct course and encourages you to attain whatever you seek in your work-field. You should not be found wanting in your efforts.  

In the light of the above, your career objectives will gyrate around your particular job arrangement or arena. They will be contingent on your desires and the methodology you use to fructify them. As an individual out to get a job, you ought to be unambiguous about the pros and cons of various pursuits – education, technology, finances, administration, fine arts, vocational endeavours and law, to name some of them.   

            The process of formulating your career objectives facilitates exploring your inclinations, talents, expertise and capabilities – both latent and otherwise. While electing to decide on a particular career, you will have in front of you a plethora of prospects. Your career objectives serve to direct you on to the correct pathway and prevent you from taking circuitous routes or switching jobs. Having decided on a career, it is essential that you also decide a pragmatic approach to advance your career and realize your objectives. The entire career planning process is cyclic and has to be affected on a continual basis so long as you remain in work.

The second important issue is to understand aspirations; and if you fail to meet them, the related disenchantment that may follow. When you set objectives, you look forward to positive results. The results that you anticipate serve as inspiring factors all through your career advancement. While attainment of objectives or part thereof, will you give you feelings of pleasure and achievement, any failure is bound to disillusion you too, something that has to be anticipated too.

Another aspect is the start point of career planning and the methodology for it. Career planning essentially is set in motion when you start gathering information and make efforts to remain posted about the environment that prevails as pertinent to employment. The data base that you generate helps you in formulating your objectives and a line of action for their attainment. Therefore, if your data base is extensive and all-inclusive, you will be better equipped to plan for the accomplishment of your objectives.    

There is stiff competition in the employment market. Hence, it is more than inescapable to acquire additional qualifications and improve your skills. Attending training courses, participating in relevant colloquiums and expanding existing contact base are some ways by which you can do them. You also need to be cognizant of coping with various perilous situations and pressures generated by them. These factors are essential components for sustained career advancement.

The significant aspect is the importance of career planning to you. You should always bear in mind that it is not a ‘just once’ practice. It is a process that goes on and on till such time you remain in an employment – to include any pursuit even after you have superannuated. Only then, can you have true career advancement. You will have to apply mid-term corrections as warranted, depending upon fluctuating conditions.  

You will be failing in your efforts if you assume that your career journey will be a smooth ride. You must expect bumps and cater to negotiating them too. All solutions have an element of advance planning, which you need to dovetail in your career planning appropriately.

The most significant facet of career planning is its impelling attribute. You are encouraged to hitch your wagon to the star. However, you have to be at the wheel and acquit yourself with confidence. Your career advancement and career planning are like the two wheels of a bicycle; both of them have to be in motion when you pedal.

Enhance your dependability on the professional front

Do your employers or colleagues place their trust in your steadfastness and faithfulness? If there is even a small element of doubt, you are not fulfilling any objective or intent.

At any workplace, capriciousness and untrustworthiness are the most ruining tendencies. To be successful at work and in your career, irrespective of the position or experience that you may hold, your seniors, peers and subordinates have to rely and bank on you. In any organization, howsoever small it may be, undependable and anecdotal employees are not seen to be contributors to team efforts and success. To be popular and successful, you should be dependable; people should perceive you as an individual who would go all out to live up to all words given.

The ABC of getting rid of the career-restrictive tendency to be unreliable and untrustworthy is in the acronym ABC itself:

·  Actions:  All your actions should be undertaken with thoughtful planning, particularly those that you have volunteered for or are obligated to do. While planning, you should not set unattainable objectives because you run the risk of failure for which only you will be pointed fingers at. Since you cannot expect to have everything going tickety-boo, having some cushion in terms of time and resources will help. And this may even lead to performance in excess of expected level and hence you will make a bigger impact. 

·  Blunders:  To err is human and one should expect to mistakes – be they procedural or circumstantial. While we may all seek to excel, chances are always there that we may not attain desired standards of performance. The corrective actions that you institute are important and hence, you should invariably be sincere enough to deal with all such problems immediately. In case of you inability to rectify your mistakes, there is nothing wrong in rendering an apology; however, there should be no let-up in setting things right. And if you get stuck, do not attempt to cover yourself up; taking onus will project you in correct light. Introspection to discern the possible causes of your blundering action will help in precluding repetition.

·  Candour:  If you pledge to do anything, you should not retrace. Failing to live up to your word will destroy whatever little trust that people may have bestowed in you. Remember that trust is like a mirror; even if you fix it when it is broken, the crack will always be visible. Therefore, if you promise to do anything, the insinuation is that you are offering an undertaking in your individual capacity to take it on to the best of your capability. And if you are unable to keep your word, you will be remembered for breach of trust. Your promise is a sort of pact and its fulfillment will never be overlooked, but its non-fulfillment will not be forgotten for times to come. There, before committing yourself, you should make certain that you weigh all the nuances associated with it, including what it involves. In case you feel that the time available or aspirations are unworkable, you must say so. You may seek to put your competence to test, but definitely not to a degree where you run the risk of a breakdown. 

Dependability implies following through on our commitments. This means that we ought to

do whatever we say we will do. If people see us as dependable, they will count on us and when they count on us, we will also count on ourselves. Dependability is one of the fundamentals and an important one of teamwork and cooperation. At any workplace, your dependability will support your individual progress and allow you to be venturesome with an understanding that your colleagues will also be likewise if you stumble. 

            If people place reliability in you, it in no way means that you are highly capable or faultless. It simply means that people feel assured in your aptitude and rectitude. And it is upon these attributes upon which relationships are nurtured. It goes without saying that undependable professionals have to struggle to move ahead, both at their workplace and career.

Dependability is one of your best assets as an employee. Dependable employees make impact and are often given promotions. When you lack dependability, it makes it easier for your employer to consider you as a dispensable individual. Therefore, it is inescapable to overcome this career-harming habit. You must seek to not be admired but be believed.

Be the No. 1

To be ahead of others and yourself is easier said than done. It entails immense toil and sacrifice; and many people may not have the staying power and resilience for it. The very thought of being the No. 1 is rather romantic but the costs involved in it are high.

Here are some straightforward facts that you can convert into action, should you seek to know what it involves to be the No. 1:

·  Aspirations & desires:  You should be clear about where exactly you want to be and what precisely you seek to do. There are many people who suffer from a fallacy that they know what they aspire for – to be the No. 1. What is the connotation of No. 1? Does it mean outclassing others in your field of work? Or does it mean being the best in your organization? Does being the best imply being at the helm of affairs? Well, it can imply all the three. You ought to understand that you could be the best but still not at the helm of affairs; the vice versa could be also true. Therefore, it is essential that you have to overcome your own shortcomings, apart from having well-defined aims that need to be trusted and concentrated upon. You have to have faith in yourself if you wish to succeed in attaining your ambitions. Querying yourself on what you are prepared to do towards the same is inescapable. Remember that being the No. 1 requires great effort, exertion and toil; it also calls for some excruciating self-evaluation. You ought to be able to do all this, even in the face of most difficult situations.    

·  Fruition of ambitions:  Most individuals do not take due initiative and fail to act. Thus they cannot become the No. 1. It is your work and exertion that can make you so. And doing all this is no child play and neither it is any entertaining venture. Being the No. 1 calls for serious endeavor, unswerving hard slog and continuous grappling. If you do not deviate from your ambition of being the No. 1, you will sooner or later be so. But it should be remembered that being a locomotive without any steam serves no purpose. You should not daydream or build castles in the air; on the contrary you should have credence and conviction with a matching action plan.  You should formulate that action plan on the basis of your personality, temperament, capacity to work and competence – all towards the ultimate objective of driving progress. Your engaging and triumphant outlook is also of great significance. An outlook that is unbeatable always prevails over various manipulative activities that go on in any corporate setup. Therefore, it is necessary that you conduct yourself with due enthusiasm, dignity and assuredness. If you are able to match this winning attitude to the plan formulated by you, half your battle to be the No. 1 should be assumed to have been won.

·  Failures are stepping stones to success:  In your march ahead to become the No. 1, you will encounter hurdles and occasional hold ups. Anybody who talks to you about being the No. 1 will invariably caution you about such impediments and the need to take them in the correct spirit. After all, life is no cakewalk and failures are an integral part of it. And when you suffer them, do not over pound yourself for them. You may err, sometimes because of reasons beyond your control and occasionally because of your limitations or inadequacies – well, whatever be the cause, there ought to be no reason for being disenchanted and surrendering your aspirations. It is possible that you may not be rated as per your expectation, but that should be treated as a usual hazard of any job. However, remember that whatever occurs happens for good and should be ruminated upon so that recurrence is precluded. All setbacks should be learning experiences and should not be retarding tools. You will realize your weaknesses and shortcomings; and will have to make efforts in getting over them.    

Being the No. 1 is much more than a scheme of action. It is sheer hard work and not succumbing mid-way; accepting failures is a part and parcel of it. However, it also means being aware that if ever you fail, you do so because you have simply not done enough. Don’t ever try to manipulate things; on the contrary, make efforts in trying to be as best as you can. But remember that when the best is possible, better is not enough.

Originate your career path

A career that matches you and your personality is indeed an excellent thing to achieve, but there are several complicated and risky aspects associate with it. There are thousands and thousands of people who have already traversed half their lifespan who are endeavouring to still hit upon careers that are just right for them. And there are also similar number of young men and women, otherwise fervent and zealous who too are engaged in similar pursuits.

The search for a career that is ‘tailor-made’ though not unusual today, is not very widespread. Every soul may not be out searching for a career that fits perfectly with their persona. But the few who indeed are doing so are a different category by themselves. They are characteristically inspired, imaginative, resourceful and innovative; and seek to give vent to their knacks and capabilities. If you happen to be one who has a persuasive imagination and an intense aspiration that is prompting you to look for an ideal or unconventional career path, in all probability, you are a affiliate of this guild.

People out on jobs could be visionaries, nonconformists or stickler; but most of them are in some form or the other disconcerted and agitated by the state of stagnation that is there in store for them at their work. Most of them would be astute figures and intelligent magnets; and pitched themselves into bigger mosaics. They thus seek to embark upon more consequential contests and experiments, something which their current work may not be holding out to them. Becoming engineers, doctors, lawyers or chartered accountants, to name a few dream professions do not facinate them. 

If you are to some extent a person who has an forward-looking avant-garde outlook, the normal ‘going to office in the morning and coming back home in the evening’ type of a job is definitely not your cup of tea. You could be higly learned and very well-paid, but the job will lose its charm if you sit confined in your designated office space always hankering to do something more superior and enchanting.

The fact is that if you have not been able to find a career that is just right for you, the best career path as applicable to you may not be a off the rack available option. You need not subject your self to any alteration or adapt yourself unnecessarily to a given environment. Instead, you should endeavour to do something that is distinctive and atypical. You must discover ways and means to put your skills and flairs to a better use in a career that is to be crafted by you.

For the more innovative and imaginative types, any conventional or customary method to find a career would give a feel of prolonged dilemmas and predicaments, though their intensity may not be much. However, there is another avenue that will help you do that.

Any person who makes every effort to have a more apposite career by and large exerts himself in a similar fashion in his other pursuits too. At home, he or she would be predisposed to customise everything – be it meals, layout or cleanliness – and pull out all the stops to attain a certain criterion or model that is different from usual prevalent ones adopted universally. A career is not different either; you can follow a set procedure or come up with an unique and unusual line of action. Therefore, if you are in a quandary in finding a career that matches you flawlessly, there is every possibility that you have faced or are facing similar snags in various other facets of your life. People who are discerning and choosy have a marked tendency to not get satisfied and gratified easily.

You can also take recourse to another method to draw near a career option. And that entails thinking like a stylist or an engineer rather than a locator. Engineers and stylists are creators and archtects; in fact, they are prime movers who have the capability and capacity to generate new career opportunities. On the other hand, a locator does not do that and simply goes in for any suitable option from amongst several that are readily available. The pertinent point is that opportunities and likelihoods will not come knocking at your door. You have to bring about their founding and ensure that you are drawn to them.

Statistics indicate that only one out of ten individuals is keen and prepared to reach out for a career that is actually imaginative and ground-breaking. This rare category of people are planners, designers and builders; and instead of looking at career options that are readily available, move on to originate something distinctive, exclusive and matchless. Are you one of them?

Aspire for a successful career

Are you aspiring for a fruitful, satisfying and successful career?  To be able to ensure apposite career progress and achieve success, you need to make appropriate preparations and have suitable plans to cater to all contingencies.

Since success is not available as a commodity that can be purchased off the shelf, effectual planning and execution are inescapable to accelerate the course of advancement. Here are nine imperative guidelines that will facilitate your career growth so that success comes to you at the earliest:

·  Explore various jobs pertinent to you:  Today, there are a plethora of agencies that can help you identify organizations where job opportunities exist. You have to establish contact with them. Getting in touch and spending some time with people engaged in pursuits that you are passionate about will also help. In this context, your contact base, something that you ought to be expanding continually will facilitate your endeavours.

·  Take up a work that you adore:  A career and job are not one and the same. A job that gives wings to your passion helps you to be successful in your career. You need to find out more about your work rationale to make a lasting impression on others. In addition, you should also introspect to find out how your intrinsic faculties can be best made use of.

·  Find out every aspect of your career & job:  As has been emphasized, professional triumph is a result of well thought-out preparation, expansion and organization. To be able to execute these actions, you should research every pertinent aspect of your career. Reading as a habit and participation in various organizational training events will make you an authority in your line and bring success early.    

·  Know your strong-points:  Career planning and advancement entails an awareness of your capabilities, vulnerabilities and inherent distinctive attributes of head and heart. It is necessary that you evaluate pursuits from which you derive maximum pleasure and satisfaction; for this you should examine your past – both academic and as related to your job. You may find all this baffling, but you can overcome all predicaments by seeking assistance of a career counselor to identify the best career option and the methodology to succeed in it.    

·  Perform optimally:  During the course of discharge of your duties, you should endeavour to be indispensable. You should shoulder additional responsibilities to create an impact on people who matter. If you build an impeccable image of yourself; the impression that you create will get tagged to your name and consequently become by and large a vital component of your career advancement and achievement.

·  Maintain positive company: Your career advancement will invariably be afflicted with impediments. There will be both upbeat and pessimistic people at your workplace; while it is essential that you live well with both, staying away from negative people should be followed as a rule. You will thus be able to have an aura of optimism around you.  

·  Take care of your wellbeing:  Physical and mental robustness is inescapable to concentrate on your work and deal with allied strains and demands. Your lifestyle has to be healthy – and this incorporates a regular exercise regimen, healthy eating practice, holding off liquor and intoxicants, rewarding leisure and other collective and devout pursuits. It is important that the career objectives that you set for yourself are not misplaced at any stage.

·  Add to your catalogue of attainments:  So long as you remain in a career, the advancement process goes on. You must strive continually to add to your catalogue of achievements. This calls for a high standard of devotion. Simultaneously, you should be always geared up to clutch fresh prospects and thus move forward in your career and life.

·  Latch on to a guru:  Anybody who is approached for guidance feels elated. But you cannot approach just any person. Your mentor should be rousing enough to stand by your side in thick and thin; and for times to come. He or she could well be a part of your professional set of connections or from your social and domestic clique.

Remember that the purpose of life is a life full of purpose. And a successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. Be a person like that and you will succeed in your career.

Be ahead of yourself & acquit well in your work

It has been seen that as far as our individual output and efficiency are concerned, we generally do not address issues with clarity of thought. This is largely because of the fact that we have so much to do that bugs us, as a result we are unable to perform optimally and maintain ourselves at the top level of effectiveness. We tend to behave like a taxi driver who believes that driving his vehicle to the given destination in minimum time is all that matters.

Is being high-speed and hasty a good way and the best alternative? Well not always, because when you do things hurriedly, you do them unwisely and rashly. You tend to be lackadaisical and thoughtless in your approach. Consequently, you invariably fail to spot and overlook significant matters; and also go over the top of several things. The net outcome is that you are unable to grasp breaks, openings and prospects. 

The above notwithstanding, remaining ahead of yourself is an issue that is prized and whose discovery is necessary.

To be ahead of yourself is not synonymous with being impetuous and hurried. If you remain ahead of yourself, you remain more cognizant. The same taxi driver will be a better and successful person if he drives carefully, keeping the rules of the road and the density of traffic in mind.  In other words, you ought to focus ahead and consider each and every aspect that can influence your endeavours. Put in other words, this implies that you should be forward-looking and at the same time avant-garde. You have to be well-organized and effectual; and not abandon any one of them in favour of something else.  

The crux of the matter is that you have to be ready, set and primed. You would have completed all your preparatory actions, including appropriate and feasible monitoring procedures that are necessary. You would have mulled over things for all their probabilities so that you keep a check on not all and sundry, but issues that matter. You will harbor a watchful and attentive outlook simply because you have placed yourself at a spot where you have unencumbered thinking. Thus, you are automatically positioned ahead of the place where under normal circumstances you would be so that decision making is not only facilitated but also rendered better.

The inescapable requirement of remaining ahead of yourself is to be able to exercise complete control over yourself and your activities; this has to be a continual affair. You have to accord priorities to all activities so that you remain ahead. In no way should you accord precedence to the demands of others, unless they are essential for your own endeavours. If you get bogged down in attending to extraneous issues, rest assured that your day will be tense and distressing. This does not imply that you ignore others; what it implies is that you accord more importance and precedence to yourself. Your objective should be to try to finish off all pending tasks by the end of the day. And in case if you are unable to do so, you should be aware about them so that you can address them on the following day.

There are several other methods by which you can remain ahead of yourself constantly and unswervingly. The situation under which you operate will be different from others. Irrespective of any facet that you decide in which you want to remain ahead of yourself, the point to be always kept in mind is that you must initiate appropriate measures to be present there on numerous façades. If you remain ahead of yourself, you will improve upon your performance alright, but also realize that you position yourself in the lead more often than ever before.  

In a nutshell, being ahead of yourself means being pragmatically forward-looking. Your tenet should be to get up in the morning and look ahead to the things that you have on your ‘to do’ list; and completing them. You need not worry unnecessarily about things you have little control over. Instead, you should concentrate your mind on things that you can alter and avow to remain upbeat. And remember that success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.