Do what you love
The usual counsel is that you love what you do. But that is getting out of fashion. These days, you have to do what you love. If you love what you do, that is forced love and it never lasts. What lasts the distance is you doing what you love. Such love is innate and has the backing of inner energy.
If you see what you do as a hobby, you will never get tired of it. Those who love football are never tired of watching it. Those who love to play the game of draught are not fulfilled until they get into the game. If you see your work as a chore, you may require external motivation for you to keep at it but if it is a hobby, all the motivation you need to do it is inborn. So, pick a job you know you love and you will not work for the rest of your life. This is critical to success because there would be time that things will not go the way you want. When such happens, it is your love for the work that would keep you going. If you do not love the job strongly enough to stay with it when the situation turns topsy-turvy, you are not likely to be exceptional at it.
Rein in your ambition
Don’t get this wrong. It is very good to be ambitious. Everyone should aspire to get better, go higher, earn more and want more out of life. Be that as it may, your ability to put your ambition in check may determine whether you get what you want or not. If you wear your ambition as an epaulette that everyone sees, you may be setting the system against yourself and turning the tide against your ambition. Your boss may like you, but he does not like himself any less. So, if you are keen on taking his job when there is nowhere for him to move and he is not willing to leave, he might be forced to move against you at least to keep his own job. Keep your ambition in check always. It will keep you safe.
The first law of power in Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power is that subordinates should never try to outshine theirbosses. Don’t ever compete with your boss. Never make your boss feel unsafe with you. Never allow your ambition to push you to the extent of exhibitingyour boss’s failings. Those who do so always have a sorry tale to tell. Remember that oftentimes, your recommendation for the next level will be made by your boss. If he does not feel safe with you, he will can you.
Do more than is required
If you meet your target, you have earned your pay but you do not deserve a raise. To qualify for a raise, you have to exceed target. Those who will go far in their careers must set their eyes far above the benchmark set by their organizations. The benchmark is nothing but what it is a benchmark, the minimum standard acceptable. If you make the acceptable minimum standard your pursuit you will be a mediocre. To be more than you currently are, you have to do more than you currently do. If, like your colleagues, you limit yourself to the benchmark, you will not be different from the rest. But don’t forget that you want to reach your career summit. If that is your goal, then you will have to do more than meeting set target.
Bring creativity to your work
Bosses do not want robots or zombies as subordinates. A robot does exactly what it is told; no more, no less. Bosses want subordinates that will make life easier for them, those that will think for them and help them to ease the burden of leadership that they bear. So, to distinguish yourself and make it easy for you to grow in your career, bring creativity to your work. When you are asked to carry out a task, think beyond the limits of your task and proffer solution that are not limited to what you have been asked to do. Look at the opportunities as well as the implications in the task and let these be known to your boss. However, your boss does not have to agree with your views. If he does not, don’t let that stop you from doing the same thing next time. Remember that he is the boss and has access to more information than you do. So, if he does not agree with your suggestions, he must have his reasons.
If you are creative, you will solve problems. The world cannot shove aside anyone who has made it his business to solve problems.
Generate revenue or save cost
One thing that many career people lose sight of is that they are supposed to generate revenue. It is out of the revenue they generate that they get a share as salary and allowances. So, to guarantee your rise in the organization, generate revenue. But there are some professionals whose duties donot put them in the frontline of revenue generation, should you fall into that category, ensure that you save cost. Both revenue generation and cost savings impact the company’s bottom line. Company executives are particular about the bottom line, so anyone that helps them to buoy and boost the bottom line will be in their good books and these would be remembered in the day of reckoning.
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