The Key to Career Success

One of the great American Success stories.

“I will come to America, which is the country for me. Once here, I will become the greatest bodybuilder in history. While I am doing this I will learn perfect English and educate myself. I will get a college degree so I can get a business degree. At the same time, I will make whatever money possible from bodybuilding and invest it in real estate where I will make the big money. I will then go into the movies as an actor, producer and eventually director. By the time I am 30 I will have starred in my first movie and I will be a millionaire. I will collect houses, art and automobiles. I will see the world. Along the way, I will learn to impress people and I will hone my mind to outwit all of them. I will marry a glamorous and intelligent wife. By 32, I will have been invited to the white house…”

“If you didn’t figure it out yet, this list of achievements belongs to none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“But what’s striking about this story is that it looks like this is a biographical sketch of a man so famous that his first name alone, is a household word.”

“But this is not looking back at history…This was looking forward to the future!”

“You see this was Arnold’s list of goals which he created BEFORE any of these things happened… while he was an unknown body builder from Austria, and before his latest scandal this year”.

George Butler, a long time friend of Arnold, said that this vision of the future was a very calculated “Master Plan.” “As I remember,” recalled Butler, “It was a campy mix of Nietzschean philosophy and a Soviet five-year plan. But before I dismissed it as one more weird thing we heard on a California beach, we scratched our heads in awe because Arnold, as we could see with our own eyes, was actually beginning to make it work.” – (Courtesy of Tom Venuto).

You see Arnold every year sets a goal and makes a plan and then implements the plan. Arnold did not succeed by accident or good luck. His success was a direct result of setting goals and planning!

So to create your own career success and future, you need to:

Set Goals

In order to obtain career success, you need to look at where you are ultimately headed. What is the job you really want? If you just want a part time job that will fit in with family, or you want to head up the entire operations branch, then both of these goals are perfect goals, as long as it is something that you specifically want and have chosen!

Once you have a goal, you need to break this goal down into tangible actions. If you need new qualifications, then set your goal to start this new training course. If you want a new job, then set your goals for the month. Perhaps you could aim for 2 new networking appointments, revamp your resume, or undertake some research on a sector that you would like to break into.

The point is that you need to establish what you want, create a plan, and then take ACTION!

Understand that you are responsible for the choices you make

If you want career success, then you have to accept personal responsibility for it. If you’re not prepared to accept that your life today is the product of the choices you have made so far, and that you are responsible for how you react to circumstances, then it will be difficult to succeed.

Once you understand both of these concepts, then you will consciously shift from the blame game to taking control of your daily actions in order to achieve your career goals (be it moving from a poisoned work environment, getting a promotion, through to getting a pay increase).

For example: You need to accept responsibility for selling yourself in order to get a promotion. That is taking action for establishing rapport with decision makers, for networking throughout the entire corporation, for offering assistance in order to show case your expertise, through to seeking out opportunities to become involved in or lead high-profile projects or assignments.

Realise that rejection is part of the job search process

Life can sometimes be tough and we all face many challenges. It’s very easy to use these challenges as an excuse not to set goals, plan, or take action.

When it comes to job hunting, the biggest hurdle you can face is coping with rejection. You see whether we consciously or subconsciously acknowledge it, rejection can be a ‘big kick in the guts’. But instead of wallowing in self pity, you need to continuously plan, take clear daily action, and use rejection as an opportunity to constantly improve and learn.