We all know people to whom success flows effortlessly. Every time you turn around, they’re announcing another professional win or career advancement.
While it’s tempting to envy those who always seem so professionally lucky, they’ll be the first to tell you the truth: they make their own career luck. Here are six ways you can, too:
1. Get Clear On What You Want
You can’t go after your goals if they’re fuzzy. Or no longer relevant. Or worse, not even yours. Instead of defaulting to what you “should” want according to others, take time to reflect on what matters most to you right now. Remember, having clarity and specificity around your goals is essential to devising a plan to achieve them.
2. Change Your Environment
Once you’re clear on your goals, you need to align them with an environment that supports them and helps you stay away from the things that can derail you. This starts with understanding how you’re spending your time and where and with whom you’re investing your attention. Ask yourself if this choice helps you move closer to your goals or prevents you from achieving them. Since time is a limited and non-renewable resource, invest yours wisely by prioritizing and focusing your attention on what matters most and setting boundaries to protect it. If the people in your world are holding you back from accomplishing what you need to do, let them go and find a new inner circle of those with positive energy who support your goals.
3. Let Others Know About Your Goals
Once you level up your inner circle, communicate your intentions, ambitions, and dreams to its members. You never know who knows someone who can help with an introduction or referral, but they can’t assist you if they don’t know you want their help. Raise awareness about your goals because the more you let others in on what you want, the better your chances are of getting it.
4. Put Yourself Out There
Even if you have clarity around your goal, you can’t expect opportunities to come to you; you must take action. Get into the habit of continually putting yourself out there by moving past your comfort zone and embracing new challenges.
You naturally adopt a growth mindset by saying yes to new opportunities and leading with your curiosity. Saying yes also creates an environment where it’s safe to try, fail, learn and innovate. When you freely say yes, you become more risk-tolerant and encourage innovation by trying new things and using the successes and failures as learning opportunities.
5. Invest In Yourself
Those at the top of their game know the best investment they can make is in themselves. These people are lifelong learners who read, watch, and listen to acquire and assimilate new information. They understand that it grants them access to insights outside of their area of expertise, which can fuel creativity and innovation, adding to their value. They also prioritize and seek the wisdom of coaches and mentors to guide their professional journeys, share feedback to help them grow and keep them aligned with their goals.
6. Do The Work And Stick With It
There’s no way around this; you have to put in the time and effort to go after what you want. Professional success doesn’t happen overnight, nor are there any shortcuts. Hard work is the hack, and as unsexy as it sounds, consistency staying focused on what you want and doing the work, day in and day out, is what ultimately leads to career success.
You don’t need a professional four-leafed clover; you’ll make your own career luck when you do these six things.
(Source: www.forbes.com)