A Million Careers in One Life

To be able to look back upon one’s life in satisfaction, is to live twice - G. K. Gibran

​One question that I ask my young clients and typically produces a grin like a Cheshire cat followed by elaborate details is: When you look back at your life, what would you like people to say about you? They are very excited about what they would like to accomplish that I have to ask them to slow down.

This flow of information stops when I ask: How are you going to accomplish all of this in one lifetime? 

The good news is when you are young, you have ample time to plan and execute multiple career journeys. If you wait too long, you could still possibly accomplish some of your dreams. While my theory is that it is never too late to start working on your dreams (I recently completed one of my dreams; a doctorate degree), I consider creating a bucketful list of dreams, as soon as you can dream them, an excellent idea.

The next step is, what to do with your dream/wish list? This is where creating your own personalized career management plan will come in handy. You can use your list to unravel your plan. Start with your top dream and set short, mid and long-term actions – which can also be divided into subgoals, objectives or steps – to make your dream a reality.

Your dream will determine the length and difficulty of your goals. For instance, getting rich by 30 will require more planning, more effort and more time than making it to your favourite ice cream store every Tuesday. 

Creating your initial list may seem like a lot of work. Please do not sit down and try to write it in one sitting. Rather, let creating your list be relaxed and casual. For example, if you make it to your favourite ice cream store and as you are enjoying your ice cream, you find yourself thinking – Hmmm, I would love to own a place like this; stop eating and note this down somewhere - your phone or even your ice cream napkin will do. Or, if it is snowing outside while you are sitting indoors and savouring your favorite ice cream flavour, you start wishing you could be living somewhere tropical where it never snows, write it down. Before you know it, your list will have a few dreams on it. 

Now you are ready to unravel your personalized career management plan. How your plan will unfold, will be determined by the goals you set for yourself and your perseverance to stick with them. Now go get that ice cream (or your favorite snack) and launch your dream list!