Work for Satisfaction and Success

When I was growing up, every Saturday in the Bray household was the same. I would wake up to my sweet mother vacuuming my room around 6:30 a.m. As a teenager, I would have been out until midnight or 1:00 a.m. with my friends the night before so all I wanted to do on a Saturday morning was sleep in. That was not acceptable to my mother and was never going to happen in her house. Saturday was a workday, and next to my cereal bowl I would always find a chore list. This was nothing short of her form of torture; I didn't like her very much on Saturday mornings. But she knew a secret I hadn't learned yet, that there is power in work.

Work is one of the greatest tools you have for creating your own success. I constantly read in business magazines and blogs about those who reached success only to quit everything, in order to relax and “enjoy” the rest of their lives. They worked hard to make money so now they can rest and relax at the beach, have barbecues, buy sports cars, and vacation all over the world. Those articles are written in a way to suggest that the goal of every individual is to finally “make it” and be able to lie by the pool for the next 40 years enjoying success. Don't kid yourself, there are days I would welcome that life with open arms, especially while traveling for work when I'm squished on an airplane between a WWF wrestler and a sweet grandma who has one too many stories she wants to share. But I already know what happens to a life when the focus is on ease rather than industry. I have interviewed enough successful people to understand that the moment the work stops, the heartbreaking stories of unhappiness, boredom, addiction, failed relationships, and other hardships begin.

Work. And work hard!

It Is Better to Work Than Not to Work

Think about it, the passionate man or woman struggling and working hard to build or create something, chases a dream and finally realizes success. Then the realization comes that the joy was in the journey; it wasn't the end result. It is who you become, and what you experience while working and creating your career that provides feelings of progression and fulfillment, feelings of satisfaction and success. I believe in most circumstances it is better to work at a job you don't like than to be out of work. Some of the most miserable people I have met are those who have been unable to or have chosen not to work.

What if everyone quit his or her job. What if they were fed up, had enough, and were done with it! Who is going to be there to open the convenience store so I can get my Big Gulp? Who is going to be there to teach our kids math and spelling? Going to a Friday night high school football game isn't going to happen if there is no coach or referee. Our world would be a much different place if people chose not to work every day. You think you would love not having to go to work but that just isn't true! Even a bad job is better than no job because there can still be personal growth and development. There is always value in hard work. I hear statements from many who have been laid off, fired, or displaced to a different department.

“I miss my job and my friends. I understand now that I was a constant complainer and my behavior probably moved me up the list when they laid people off.”

“My job wasn't nearly as bad as I thought at the time. Losing it put everything in perspective.”

“When I moved departments, I was so glad to get out of that place. The funny thing is now I spend my breaks and lunches with people from that department.”

Don't think of your work as an imposition on your time and something you have to do. Look at it instead as an opportunity for you to develop, grow, and advance. If you absolutely hate your job and you are only biding your time until you can make a change, get everything you can out of that position. Learn and master the skill sets that will help you in the future. Take advantage of corporate development, knowledge, and skills acquired from your position as well as networking opportunities. You may look back and be grateful you had that job.

I know because I have been there. I didn't love my first job out of college. (Who does, right?) Everyone else thought I had a perfect job and couldn't believe it when I shared that I wasn't very happy. For the first few years, I was glad just to have a job, so I kept those feelings to myself. Realizing I wanted something different, I decided to prepare myself for the future. I chose to take advantage of every development opportunity my company had to offer. I got my MBA, attended every leadership development class, and did everything I could to prepare myself for the next step. I look back now and love that company for who they helped me become.

Learn to Love the Work You Are Doing

You may hate the job, but you can still love the work. I look back at some of my jobs over the years and while I hated certain aspects of the jobs, there were other aspects I loved: the people, the opportunity to develop skill sets, and the value of seeing and experiencing both positive and negative leadership. Some of those jobs I hated are the very reason I am successful today. If only I could have understood the lesson that the jobs I disliked were developing me for future positions, that insight would have saved me from feelings of discontent. Learn from my mistake and consider how you may be benefitting from the very job you dislike. (At the very least, hopefully you are learning to love the work.) Michelangelo, the virtuoso painter and sculptor, sums up my thoughts when he shared his insight about work, “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”

These last few chapters have covered self-analysis, job analysis, and creating a career plan, all of which will help launch the career you want. We will now switch modes from planning and strategizing to the actual doing. This point in the career plan is where many of my clients freeze. They love planning what career they want and who is going to help them get there. They enjoy diagnosing their job strengths and uncovering the barriers holding them back. But when it is time for the rubber to meet the road and time to get to work, the engines often stall. Nothing great will ever happen by merely planning it; we also have to make it happen.

Career Plan Step Eight is a listing of the top five most important things you need to do to achieve your strategic plan. At this point, you know where you want to go, so it is time to get the feet and brain moving to make it happen.

The First Few Steps

As you begin to put the career plan into action, you will have some negative companions the first few steps of the journey. All the fears you have carried and all the barriers that have held you back are going to make an attempt to stop you from the very outset of your journey. I am sending up the warning flag so you are not surprised when they show up. The secret to bypassing them is to focus on the work at hand. Knowing the five most important things you need to do to achieve your plan will ensure that you get those things done first. Your focus will be on the things that will make you successful. So with your career plan in hand, write down the top five things you need to do to achieve your plan.

Don't skip this part and assume that you already know what to do. It may be clear in your mind, but by writing it all down, you can determine if the steps are in the right order and get an idea of the time you will need to complete each step.

For example, if you know you want to get promoted and your company requires an MBA, you are going to need to further your education. So the first step would be to find out if your company reimburses for schooling and start looking for an MBA program that fits your work schedule. The thought of navigating all of this will change when you take the time to write down the first steps you need to take.

Another action item may be the need to enlarge your network. There is a department in your company that you would love to work in, but you don't know the boss. The action item will be to get to know the leader and begin to build a relationship so you can start conversations about possible openings in the future and ask what skills sets and competencies you can be working on right now to make you viable for the position. (The secret is to get the job long before the opening is ever posted!)

Take a moment to identify the steps you need to take.

Top Five Important First Steps to Achieving Your Career Plan and the Deadline for Each Step

Hard work is the secret sauce in creating the career you want. Work will be the key to your success. I often get asked how I earned an MBA and two Ph.D.s. My answer is simple, “I worked.” While everyone else watched reality TV at night, I took a class. While many of my friends golfed on Saturdays, I wrote term papers. There were moments I regretted my decision, but I knew if I was going to get where I wanted to be, I needed to make some sacrifices. So I did. I plugged along and worked hard. I was never considered the smartest in the class, never the most eloquent speaker, and I rarely earned the highest grades. But I loved what I was studying and knew it would prepare me for future opportunities, so I kept on working. When things look like they aren't going your way, get to work and things will turn out just fine. Let me close the chapter with one of my favorite Oklahoma sayings, “Go get'er done!” Remember, it's up to you and no one else.