CONCLUSION

There is really never a true peak or top; there is only a point at which you realize you are content or you walk away. If you follow the lessons in this book you will be able to do either of these at a point of your choosing. You will be successful. You will be fulfilled.

An old Confucian proverb states, “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand.” That applies to this book and its seven lessons. Instead of lengthy chapters, you were provided with quick lessons that you can begin to apply immediately. On the surface, the exercise at the end of each lesson seems straightforward. Do not fall into the trap of thinking it is a waste of time. Far from it: Doing these exercises will awaken a period of discovery that will guide you forward. Real success will occur when you begin to apply the new strategies from each lesson in your life every day.

You should consider this book as the starting point in your journey, where you move past remembering and on to understanding. Reading this book will serve as the beginning for you to establish or reestablish the trajectory you seek. It will provide your foundation moving forward. Goal setting, locus of control, expectancy theory, and all of the other topics covered are not independent phenomena. They work together. When you set goals, you reach goals. When you reach goals, you build confidence and self-efficacy. When others see you succeed, they build an expectancy that you will continue to do so. You will create a very powerful loop to accelerate your trajectory. This is important to remember, because few ideas in this book when standing alone will start you on a path for marked success. That will happen when you understand and apply the many connecting points across all of these areas. Independently each lesson will nudge you forward; collectively they will propel you forward.

The world is full of people who have unorthodox but amazing trajectories. Some follow a straightforward pattern, while others are hard to describe. Our world at work is no longer predictable. It's not enough anymore to just put in your time and wait for a promotion. You will need to make strategic moves in your career. Sometimes this will involve risk. You may even take a new job that in the past would not have been viewed as a true promotion, but that will lead to enhancing your skills dramatically. Opportunities for lateral job changes, moves into other functional areas, and even being offered a job on another continent are all examples of different career steps you may encounter and must be prepared for during your career. Careers are not as predictable or linear as they were in the past. The skills you learned in this book will prepare you to excitedly take on any challenge or opportunity you come across.

This changing landscape of career expectations has made it next to impossible to map out any career trajectory with absolute certainty. Every career will have bumps and surprises along the way. By building a plan for your trajectory, though, you can mitigate those problems by moving through a series of manageable steps that are much more within your line of sight and immediate control. You may even find that once you get to that next step in your trajectory and learn from it, you will decide to move in what was a previously unthought-of direction.

By now you should be feeling more confident in your ability to reach your trajectory and feel excited about what lies ahead for you. Change and adaptation will be two of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal. Many experts in the field of human resources rate these two attributes as among the most important factors that will drive success in 2020. Raw technical skills are important, but can get dated quickly. It is for this reason that change and adaptation are so important to keep you current and relevant in your area. Be a constant learner and always seek opportunities to learn and expand your skills.

Many of you will recall the classic board game called the Game of Life. In it you must traverse various stages of life, with the goal of retiring with the most achievements and cash. You begin the game by placing your game piece in a position to “start your career” on the board. As you progress through the game you must select from a variety of choices related to your life and career. Along the way you encounter different obstacles, which could involve getting fired, experiencing a midlife crisis, or other challenges. Of course, this is just a game—but the lessons apply. The goal is to overcome obstacles and setbacks that occur and still win. The Game of Life is in many ways comparable to what you will do with your trajectory. The latter will just be on a grander scale and have more consequence.

If you take away one thing from this book, it is to remember that you own your trajectory. The best thing you can do to prepare for your future—your trajectory—is to shape and influence it yourself. Everything we have discussed in this book is under your control. There are many books that will tell you how to get a job in a tough economy, how to bounce back after getting fired, and so on. However, those books all address something that has already occurred. By applying each of the seven lessons in this book you will set yourself up to avoid ever being in such a position in the first place. It can be said that those who fear losing their job the most, have the most to fear. They fear losing their job because they have not prepared for and adapted to change. They have not stayed current and avoided stagnation. Accordingly, these individuals will be among the first to be let go should there be an economic decline, organizational restructuring, or some other event that will result in the evaluation—and possible elimination—of some jobs. If you create a legacy of high and sustained performance, you will have less to fear.

Along your journey remember to pause for reflection and introspection. What have you accomplished recently? What have you not accomplished that you had expected to? Are your goals still the same now as last year? What have you learned? Are you living your life in accordance with your goals, priorities, and values? Doing this can be analogous to looking in the rearview mirror when driving. If you only look ahead you miss things behind you that are important. If you only look out the back window and focus on the past you will miss that which is important and right in front of you.

If you do not pause occasionally in order to consider what you are doing, you will impede your ability to stay on your trajectory. If you don't take time for reflection you may easily allow yourself to fall into a routine. When that happens you become a victim of your own habits, which you must not let constrain you. At the same time you should not spend too much time looking in that same rearview mirror. There is a reason that the windshield is bigger than the mirror: It is more important to focus on what is ahead of you than on what you left behind. You learn from the latter, occasionally look back to ensure that you don't repeat mistakes, and then look ahead.

I will leave you with this: Be true to yourself. Be true to others. This will be the authentic you. If you do, you will own your trajectory. Now go get it. Live your trajectory.