Dear (Contact First Name) ,

"I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life." ~ Steve Jobs

Are you interested in putting your career onto the fast track? Are you at a place in your life where simply 'being' isn't getting you where you'd like to go? You may have some habits in place that are not serving you well, so let's take a look at how you can become a beginner like Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, who thinks all individuals should push the human race forward while they push themselves.

Do you downplay yourself or your abilities? Promise me you'll quit that immediately. You need to begin again to discover what you do best and begin to focus on that. We can't all do all things well. We can each do one thing well. What is your one thing? You can build your career around it. They say that Einstein was phenomenal in theoretical physics, but didn't do well matching socks by color. You don't think much about his sock problem do you? No, you focus on his skills in physics. What do you want people to remember about your one, phenomenal skill? If you haven't discovered what it is yet, it's definitely worth the time to figure that out.

You can begin over in your career, unless you are already positive you are in the perfect career for you. Once you know what your one, best skill is, you can ask yourself if you're in the right career to develop, hone and sharpen that one skill. If yes, hooray! What can you do to strengthen that skill right where you are? If no, hooray! You get to find the best job where you can unfold greatness by using that skill. You can become the new kid on the block and use fresh eyes to help things grow...for the company, and for your career. Be sure you love this career. Love is the lubricating factor in life. If you don't absolutely love it, you're going nowhere.

Once you are in that best career for your skill job, the next step is to discover what will make you shine more brightly? Do you need more education? Do you need more experience? Do you need a mentor? If you aren't completely aware of what it will take to get you promotions so you can earn more money and earn promotions, there are several things you can do: you can volunteer for many tasks. You will learn a lot as you accomplish those jobs. Or you can do an analysis of others who are succeeding. What are they doing to succeed? What is their education? Does it matter? Once you have done this analysis, you can craft a plan. Be sure to set a timeline for its accomplishment. Ready? Begin!

Resolve not to become frozen in place by fear. Instead, decide that you will absolutely establish a rule to DO the things you are afraid of. If you have a fear of flying, fly. If you have a fear of social places, go to social places. If you have a fear of public speaking, speak publically. Once you overcome your fears, you discover two things: the fear of something is far greater than the actual doing of the thing feared. And you'll discover that you CAN DO the thing you fear. Well heck! Maybe you can do ANYTHING you point yourself at?

In your newly chosen field, in which you will excel because you are using your one best talent, who else has been tops in this field? What have they accomplished? Would you like to go beyond what they have accomplished? What would that take? What would you have to do? Can you accomplish this newer, bigger, better thing in your lifetime? How might you feel if you became tops in your group?

I think that if you think of yourself as a beginner, you will always stay fresh in your career. You will always be looking for the next new invention of "you." Every fresh new you will take the skills of the old "you" and using them, will form a better, finer, more talented, more accomplished you. You'll be free to become something grander and more successful; happy and accomplished; harmonious and self-confident.

"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected." ~ Steve Jobs

Warmly,

Maria