Your Decisions Define Your Career and Your Life

October 3, 2016 5518 Views

As I listened to leaders share their career journeys at a recent manager gathering it occurred to me that no two careers are ever the same. Each had a unique story; quite obviously so. Since the time, investment, education, location and environment among other factors differed with each individual Most so, their own decisions shaped how they converged at the same organization and in different places and levels!

One had travelled overseas to gain international experience and build ‘networks’, one had taken the route of understanding the business specifics of managing profit and loss accounts for organizations while another stayed on in one organization and grew from within.

The common themes that emerged from their talks were:

All had their respective plans in their minds
They had the passion to go after them
They took risks – at least that is what they perceived ‘doing things differently’ and ‘moving away from the comfort zone’ meant.
Made key decisions that were often contrary to popular views at that time
Made lateral movements as a route for progress
Enlisted the support of mentors, friends and families
Communicated their direction regularly
Were resilient in the pursuit of their goals
Acknowledged their failures
Put their learning to good use
They Were grateful for opportunities they received

To summarize, opportunities are taken and not given, one needs to focus on personal development and growth, take peers along and make a lasting impact on the organization

Overall, the key take-away for me was that the decisions you make define who you are and where you go. There are choices in life and while you gain some, you lose some. Knowing the difference makes you better than others. Finally, you only compete with yourself.