Living the life and career we want means taking ownership and making our own luck.
If we pay attention, insight comes at us from all directions. In a recent special Chris Rock does a bit about jobs vs. careers, really nailing the difference on the head. And because he made me laugh hysterically while doing it, I still remember the message.
Chris’ skit talks about his former job as a shrimp scraper at Red Lobster and how he played the "I'm not going to look at my watch" game for hours (who of us can say we never played that game) only to give in after what seemed like an eternity and realize that only 10 minutes had past! Chris took risks; faced fears followed his dreams and built an amazing career.
Working at a Job vs. Having a Career
According to the book How Remarkable Women Lead, one step is just crossing the line “When you choose to cross that invisible line from being a person to whom things happen to, to becoming a person who makes things happen…choosing to act on opportunities that carry risk, and facing your deep-seated fears…there’s no going back.”
Once you’ve tasted the joy of autonomy, influence, and a sense of meaning it becomes a defining moment. Crossing that line has had a huge payoff for me, and I’m not referring to money. When you have a career that you have chosen, worked hard for, and love, it never feels like work. It's only when you have a JOB that time never passes fast enough.
There is always a downside. A career may not mean stability, and for me the fear of failure doesn’t ever go away completely, but I've learned how to stay ahead of it and have people to call for that extra shot of positive thinking when I need it!
Any thoughts on the subject, would love to hear from you.
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