This morning, I was clearing my drawer and something fell out of an old folder.
My namecard from my very first job! (Yes, that is a Pager number indeed.)
I picked it up and was swept by a wave of nostalgia – how quickly 25 years had passed! A quarter century later, my journey has brought me to where I am today, a place where I do what I’m good at and loving every minute at it.
But this journey hasn’t been easy and I’ve had my fair share of thrills and spills. In fact, I’d dare say more of spills than thrills. I wondered if I could go back in time to give career advice to that 1997 me, what would it be?
Here are 3 sagely advice I’d like to share with my younger self.
1. Don’t Worry So Much
When I started out, I used to worry about everything. What if my clients did not like the level of my service? What if a thunderstorm disrupted fuel supplies to my biggest client?
I would spend sleepless nights turning in bed over the slightest of details and look for things that could go wrong. Often, this led to catastrophic thinking that left me paralysed in fear.
Until a mentor told me, “Don’t worry over things you can’t control. It’s pointless.”
I saw the wisdom in his words and realised that you can never be in control of everything.
Ask yourself, “Can worrying about this change the outcome?” and if the answer is No, then stop. Focus instead on the factors you can control.
Instead of fretting endlessly about whether you’d achieve your sales targets, go out and meet 10 new prospects a week. That would be far more productive than chewing your nails or pulling your hair!
2. Harness The Power Of Inertia
This is a very powerful concept that I only learnt recently.
Newton’s first law states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest while an object in motion will remain in motion.
Many great opportunities were missed because of my desire to remain at status quo.
Like the time I hit upon the idea for a Group Buy coupon system back in 2000, a full 8 years before GROUPON started. But alas, I was too fixated on my job to make that entrepreneurial leap.
Sometimes, all it takes is a small step, be it exploring a new role, learning a new skill, etc. Just see where the momentum leads you.
Starting from rest is often the most taxing part of a journey but once you get over that initial challenge, you’d be surprised to see how easy it is to follow through!
3. Ignore The Naysayers
I used to be very concerned about other people’s opinions, especially those whose respect I valued.
Back in 2012, when I first thought of starting a Career Consulting firm, many people told me the idea wouldn’t work.
“There’s no market for it”, “Nobody will ever pay for career advice”, and the most hurtful of all, “You can try it and when you fail, you will come back and work for me” (The last one was from my boss, who was dissuading me from leaving the firm).
There will always be people who disbelieve in you, especially when you want to try something new and bold. Sometimes, they come from a place of care and concern. Sometimes, they don’t.
“Nobody would pay 7 bucks for coffee”, they scoffed at Howard Schulz, the founder of Starbucks, and “Commercial Space Travel is a Dream” they laughed at Elon Musk.
Boy were they wrong!
Do your homework and be bold enough to take the road less traveled!
Looking back, the biggest thing I’d like to tell my 25 year old self is this:
“Everything’s Going To Be Alright In The End”
If I could go back in time, would I have changed anything? I’ve asked myself this many times and my answer has always been a resounding NO.
I am today a product of every bump, bruise and knock along the way which has made me who I am. Although the journey was tough, I had many great adventures along the way and made many good friends. Had I made any detours, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
And if I’d changed anything about myself, I’d miss myself too much…so, no time-travelling for me.