I had a great conversation with one of my clients about his career (he's a successful labor/employment attorney). We discussed how there are two types of people — those who have a 'cruise control' career and those who actively drive 'stick-shift' with their career.Not that there's anything inherently bad about a cruise control career. If everything is going well, you're:
- Making a lot of money.
- Work/life is in balance.
- Loving what you're doing.
- Moving up or getting clients at a nice pace.
That's great! You're in the fast lane on the career highway and you can click it into cruise control.Now if you're:
- Not making a lot of money.
- Work/life is out of balance.
- Not loving what you're doing.
- Not moving up or getting clients at a nice pace.
It's time to turn that cruise control off and start shifting gears to go faster or slow down and reassess your situation. When this happens, I tell colleagues, friends, and prospects to read one of these two books:
Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden (200 pages)
No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline by Brian Tracy (300 pages)
These books will help you move from a passive career focus to a more active career path. Check them out and read them this weekend — they're a quick read!