What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question that we were asked many times by family and friends when we were kids. In those days answering the question was less about our competencies, and more about our interests, our television heroes and the role models around us. Some of us were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity and freedom to articulate our dreams, while others were told what they were to become. Regardless of which side of the aisle you are on, there are many of us today who are yet to lay that question to rest. We still hear its lingering echoes in our minds, but now it is not the voice of another questioning us but our own souls seeking clarity as we ask ourselves, “What do I really want to be when I grow up”.
I recently ran into an old friend of mine, who I will refer to as Bola for anonymity, and we spent time bringing each other up to speed on our lives. Bola, who is in her thirties, is still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. After majoring in one of the social sciences for her undergraduate degree, Bola went back to school to study law. When I asked her why, she said everyone told her she would be a good lawyer. Today, after more than half a decade of additional schooling, not only has she discovered that she has no interest or passion for the legal world, she still cannot articulate with confidence what her purpose or passion is. I dare say that Bola is not alone in this plight.
Every successful life or career is built by design. Design does not in any way mean that everything is planned to the “T”. Any successful professional, artiste, entrepreneur or leader will tell you that they did not start out having all the answers. A consistent theme in many success stories is that successful individuals “Stay True To Themselves”. They make decisions in spite of fear, and not because of it. They consistently choose to err on the side of purpose and passion, even when it means getting off the well-beaten path and going where others have not gone before. According to Steve Jobs, your heart and your intuition already know what you truly want to become and if you have the courage to follow them, then somehow the dots will connect.
The first building block for laying the foundation for a “Designer Career” is self-awareness and this was covered last week. The second building block is “Ambition”. This is a tricky one because it is often viewed in the negative. Newsflash for all, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH AMBITION! It is simply a strong earnest desire for some type of success, achievement or distinction. Without ambition there would be no space travel, no Apple, no Facebook, no Google, no Microsoft, etc. Without ambition, Michael Phelps would never have won sixteen Olympic medals. Many of us are looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games, an event that epitomizes ambition at its best. We commend the ambition and dedication of the men and women who compete in this event, but do we stop to ask ourselves how we can strive for excellence and distinction in the things that we do every day? Great careers are built on the desire of individuals to distinguish themselves and make a lasting difference. Ambition becomes negative when it seeks only to create value for itself, at the expense of others.
Do you have ambition? Imagine that ten years from now, you are featured on the cover of Forbes magazine. What would you like the article to say about you? What would you like others to say about you to the writer of the article? In what Industry or sector would you like to distinguish yourself? How would you like to have spent your time and life? What types of business or social problems would you like to have tackled? Whose job would you like to have at that time? In what areas would you like to be a thought leader? I have a friend who works for the Boeing Company, who shared her vision of the future with me. For her Forbes glamour shot, she sees herself wearing a white “designer” pant suit, standing in heels in a hangar, against a backdrop of airplanes and being described as a “Transformative Change Agent in the Nigerian Aviation Industry”. Wow! What a powerful ambition and a compelling vision.
What would you like history to say about you ten years from now? Ambition will infuse your life and purpose with motivation and energizing power.
Hews credit: The Nation
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