What Change In Your Life?

"You will be exactly the same five years from now except for the books you read, and the people you associate with." At least that is the way that I remember the quote.

How many times in my life did I waste time by not reading the instructions? If you added up the minutes and hours, it would probably total days. Well how many days, weeks, months, and possibly years did I settle for mediocrity when excellence could have been mine had I read the right books, watched the right video, or listened to the right book-on-tape?

And what about the people I hung out with? If I spent most of my lunches with someone really negative, should I expect to grow professionally? Certainly not.

Want change? Then make up your mind and change. Become the best at what you do by reading and learning all that there is to learn about your area of expertise.

Here's a secret I've learned, and I gladly share it with you here. If there is some subject matter you need to learn more about, perhaps even in a short amount of time, try this. Simply Google the subject matter along with either "ppt," "pps," or "pdf." Example, you want to learn about how RFID systems work (you know, those electronic "radio frequency identification" tags used by all the big stores that sometimes set off an alarm upon exit), simply type RFID ppt (no quotes) in the Google search box. This will open up to you a wealth of PowerPoint presentations offered on the subject. Using "pdf" will also find presentations or "white papers" written on the subject also.

Searching www.amazon.com can also help you find books on the subject.

But what about the people you associate with, how do you change that? For the purpose of this post, I will keep my answer to professional matters. Feel free to email me, 2duane@bellsouth.net if you'd like answers for the not-at-work you.

I am a firm believer in the power of mentoring. Certainly formal, but even more so on a non-formal basis. Think about what you want to be five years from now. No, really think about it. Find some place to get away and really think. Bring a legal pad and begin recording your interests, those things you are passionate about in your job. Want to be a manager? Like dealing with people-problems? Want to be CEO? Do you have strong problem-solving skills?
Want to be lead engineer? Are you the best in your engineering discipline?

After you have decided what you want to be/do, find someone already doing it, or someone that has been recognized for their accomplishments in this area, and do this radical thing. Ready? Ask them to mentor you. That's right, ask. Email them with a lead-in like, "I have really given a lot of thought to my career goals, and have decided that I want to be you in __ years--would you help me?" Before you do so however, be honest with yourself--have I really demonstrated that I possess the skill-sets and desire to grow? If you can answer yes, I would say few people would say no to you. Especially if you ask that the mentoring be done on an informal basis. Formal mentoring programs are best for formal agreements to move you into a growth position. Lots of pressure on both parts to succeed here. Informal programs like I am suggesting eliminate that pressure while helping you grow anyway.

Already satisfied with your career or life? Great. Want to grow? Here's to the new you.