May 24 Magnitude of Success: Get a running start on your career leap NOW!
In times like these I often have to gently nudge my clients who become too fatalistic, reminding them that they still hold the cards in terms of their ability to change their internal perspective. To see your greater potential you have to first adopt a more panoramic and long-range view of the situation. If you want to take a gigantic career leap, don’t try to jump while standing still. You need to get a running start. That means that you have to plan your move to the next level one deliberate step at a time – intentionally building strategic internal and external momentum. When the moment arrives you will be the competitor best prepared to make a sustainable quantum leap.
Here are my five suggestions for getting that running start:
- Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
We often look to the successes of others and judge ourselves too harshly based on that, based on decades of internalized self-doubt and insecurity. Yes, we all benefit from mentors, guides, coaches, and role models. But nobody finds themselves or discovers new confidence and esteem by looking into someone else’s mirror or calculating their own worth based on somebody else’s yardstick. Change the negative voices in your head to encouraging ones that cheer you on and you’ll become a well-rounded winner in every aspect of your personal and professional life. - Success is a Journey, not a Jaunt
Unlike Bradley Cooper’s character in the movie “Limitless” we don’t become successful by taking the magical pill. Success happens in steps, increments, stages, and phases. Success is about forward momentum, and that’s a process – not an acute event. Career momentum doesn’t begin when a vacancy opens at the top any more than seeing the destination on a map means you have arrived. You have to evaluate where you are and then make an intentional journey. - Negotiating Traffic in the Fast Lane
While traveling your career journey use your rearview mirror to reflect upon your prior experiences and learn lessons from the past, but don’t fixate on them. The side mirrors help you check your current reality – and keep an eye on the competition racing alongside you. Acknowledge them for their accomplishments and celebrate their team contributions, because that makes you a respected and valuable leader. But remember that the whole point is to keep your momentum going forward. Don’t fixate on road hazards, speed bumps, and detours. Get the fuel you need, look to the horizon, follow your road signs and map, and steadily accelerate. - Your Sacrificial Map
You have to be extremely clear about where you want your career to go, but also decide what sacrifices you are willing to make to get there. No successful person ever got there without sacrifice. But the smart, totally fulfilled ones used their individual internal compasses to guide them so that they didn’t sacrifice anything more valuable than what they got in return. Define genuine success on your own terms and you’ll be rich and successful in the material, emotional, and spiritual ways that are truly meaningful and valuable to you and those you love. - Do You Live In Fear or Faith?
When you change your internal perspective the external universe you inhabit also changes accordingly. You have two basic choices in this economy. You can live in the fog of fear, afraid you’re not worthy of greater success or convinced you do not have the strategic skills to position yourself and compete. Or you can advance yourself through proactive faith and intelligent initiatives that you deliberately put into motion one step at a time.
Apply these vital concepts so that your next opportunity is not an unexpected and unpredictable event. Rather than having gravity work against you, leverage momentum to your advantage. Then success becomes an intentionally planned process for which you are already well prepared.
Want to learn more about my coaching style and the Predictable Promotion System™?
Did you ever wonder how you are expected to implement professional upgrades that nobody is willing to share with you and that are not written down in the HR manual or anywhere else? Or have you ever asked a boss what it would take to get that next promotion, only to have them tell you a mind boggling list of issues you need to overcome, without any advice on where to go for help? Would you like an experienced executive coach who is candid and frank but supportive of your talent and abilities? One who not only knows the unwritten rules of the corporate or entrepreneurial game but can give you the secret playbook?
If so, then feel free to schedule a FREE Get Acquainted Call so we can talk about ways that I may be able to help you advance your career success as a corporate leader or a high level entrepreneur. Call 800-267-3245 OR Click here
Sarah Hathorn, AICI CIP, CPBS is an internationally distinguished executive coach, corporate consultant, professional speaker, and the founding CEO of her own company, Illustra Consulting. A career acceleration and leadership presence expert, Hathorn created the innovative Predictable Promotion System™, a 10-step proprietary process she uses to coach managers aspiring to be directors, directors seeking vice presidential promotions, and VP’s eager to ascend to the C-suite. Hathorn served as a senior level executive for a Fortune 100 company for 25 years, and she has more than 30 years of experience mentoring high potentials for rapid career advancement and extraordinary success.
Illustra Consulting
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Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Hathorn Consulting Group, is the go-to-expert in working with leaders and companies to create successful corporate DNA. As an executive coach, consultant and speaker she collaborates globally with clients and brands such as Deloitte, McKesson, Kimberly-Clark, Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot and other leading organizations.
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