Success to me is...

Success is not measured by how many hours you put in or how many projects went in under your watch. It is measured by the legacy you leave which has rippled outward and the value you provided along the way through both your influence, relationships and achievements. 

Aim high. Build communities. Expect participation. 

Examining career choices

How do you know when it's time to re-examine career choices?

There is a lot of research that talks about a need for a catalyst to create change; we don't naturally seek it ourselves. This means that most of us wait until either we are dissatisfied with the current situation or a big event comes along that changes our perspective.

If that's the norm, why ask the question? There are two reasons why it's worth getting ahead of ourselves:

1. By the time we're dissatisfied or pushed to find an alternative, we're often feeling pressed for time or at a disadvantage. Either scenario doesn't allow for planning and reflection; it mostly calls for immediate action.
2. It should be the norm to reflect on our career, to ensure we're still engaged with our weekly tasks, to see if we are making progress against our definition of success. Otherwise, we're drifting with the current and not necessarily engaged in the moment.

Re-examining your choices doesn't mean the choices will be any different. Maybe it confirms them. Perhaps it allows for a tweak vs. an overhaul.

Choices should be active and periodically renewed. We renew our choices to stay in relationships, houses, activities, etc. and we should do the same with the items that take the most of our day - our careers & jobs.

It's always time to re-examine. It's not being unfaithful or uncertain; it's confirmation and assurance.

Which leads me to ask if resumes are up to date....

Success includes failure

We all seek success – however we define it.

Consider:  Success is not measured by how many hours you put in or how many projects went in under your watch. It is measured by the legacy you leave and the value you provided along the way through both your influence and achievements.

So success includes failures because we're not defined by the failure but in how we recover from it.

As I mess up on an hourly basis on my current assignment, it's easy for me to lose sight of progress - never mind any successes. Today, someone leaned over my shoulder and said 'Hey, we're having better conversations now. Good job.'

I had been fussing about how much there was to do still. He focused on the value he was seeing. 

It's a nice way to start the week....

Do this now and be successful!

It's everywhere and it's driving me nuts. Superlatives. Extra exclamations!! Promises of shortcuts and quick solutions. The cliche or quote to unlock the one 'aha!' moment that was holding you back (!!!!).

There is no silver bullet, no magic one-size-fits-all formula for success (however you define it).

The next time you see The Top Ten List to <perfection /success> or A Few Easy Steps to <perfection/success> or The <perfect> Way to Attain <success>.... or Be <better / perfect> with these Hacks! .... Pause.  Laugh. Enjoy the author's perspective. Keep yours.

Remember that:

• There is no shortcut for showing up and putting effort into a project or idea. 
• Mistakes are necessary. If we only needed the conclusions, there would be no new ideas or experiments.
• Your definition of success and your plan to get there has as much merit as anyone else's.
• Some days we don't need to be better... we just need to be.

Wandering through LinkedIn has its merits... I saw this quote on LI which articulated a piece of my frustration this week. Of course it was a quote; I'm not immune just tired of it.