To get the most out of your
career, you have to track down your true calling and put it into play. Here’s
how to get started.
If you’re
looking to peel back the layers and infuse more meaning and influence into your
work, here are 10 tips to get you started.
1. Don’t
seek success. Seek meaning. Success is a result. If you put too much weight
behind it, you lose sight of the real driving force, which is to live your
purpose and create meaningful work for you and your clients. You should first
show up to serve others. Then, the successes that follow will be that much
sweeter.
2. Have some moral courage.
If something doesn’t feel right, change it. If you’re
working at a company or for a client and your values don’t
align, or you’re compromising who you are, then it’s
time to rethink where you are and what you’re doing.
3. Don’t
be a slave to the ordinary. This is a mantra that Motto has adopted. In life
and in business, you’re always presented with opportunities to either fit
the mold or break it, to fall in line or buck the status quo. You may know, in
theory, that “different” is a competitive
advantage, but fear of failure keeps you bumbling around in the sea of
sameness. In order to be remarkable, you can’t be a slave to the
ordinary.
4. Don’t
have an excuse for your life. You never want to look back on your career as you
watch someone else at the top and think, that could’ve
been me. Your passion can never be substituted, so go bold, dream, and don’t
make excuses. Commit yourself to your purpose and give your heart fully to it.
5. Remember the fire in your
belly. My parents have always been influential in my life because they were
also entrepreneurs. I grew up with an entrepreneurial spirit that practically
made it impossible for me to work for someone else. Over the years, they’ve
both given me incredible advice, but there’s one thing they’ve
said that’s always stuck with me. Any time I’ve
become discouraged or at the point of giving up, they’ve
reminded me: “You can go on, and you will. Remember the fire in your
belly—it will be the only thing that sees you through.”
6. Do what you love, but
follow the money. Every business follows a path, and that path will undoubtedly
include various obstacles and reroutes; it’s the nature of
business. There’s a difference between having a job you love and
having a business model that you love and is scalable. Remember to work
strategically, and to get paid—it’ll
allow you to keep doing what you love.
7. Figure out what you stand
for and what you believe in, and use that as your point of difference. In a
crowd of designers, how will you stand apart? If you’re
guilty of leading with what you do, start with why you do it and articulate
that on your materials, website and social channels. Find out where your
talents and values meet, and use that to leverage the power of your purpose.
8. Champion a movement. This
tip is for you and your clients. Extraordinary individuals and companies devote
themselves to an issue and see it through. You shouldn’t
be swayed by quick fixes or cheap marketing tricks. Everything you do should
reflect your mission.
9. Approach your work as a
lifelong experiment. You‘ll hear advice such as, “Do
one thing and do it well.” In my experience, this couldn’t
be further from the truth. Purpose is what guides you. What you do and how you
do it are simply expressions of that larger purpose. If you’re
a person with varying interests, you should never limit yourself to just one
focus. It will drive you mad and you will likely become disenchanted.
10. Craft a motto. A motto
serves as your guiding principle and spirit of the cause you’re
advancing. I’ve asked so many entrepreneurs what their motto is and
often hear, “We don’t have one”
or, “I don’t know.”
By defining what you believe in and encapsulating those beliefs into a brand
motto, it gives you, your team and your customers an inspirational idea to
rally around. And that is the essence of purpose.
Wish you all the best as you find your purpose. Mine is helping other people grow, Abdol gallery finds joy in bringing people joy. Helping others succeed is work done, helping to promote, produce, advertise or innovate that idea, dream or desire is the true purpose of Abdol gallery.
No comments:
Post a Comment