After the Birkman

It’s Time for You to Fly!

So you’ve taken the Birkman and you’ve made some interesting discoveries about your strengths and aptitude. Now what do you do with that information?

I promise to help you all I can—but you still have a lot of research and options ahead of you. It’s very important that you are 100% invested in creating your perfect future and be willing to do the work it takes to get there.  Just as we appreciate the things we worked and saved for much more than the ones that were simply handed to us, it’s important that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do what it takes to find your passion. I promise that feeling of accomplishment will be worth every second of effort. Think about your first car. Did your parents hand you a set of Mustang keys for graduation?  Or did you mow lawns during several  hot summers to save up enough money to buy that old clunker? If you were like me, you worked…and drove that 1963 Ford Custom with pride. Ok, maybe “pride” is a bit of a stretch… but I did take care of it and was grateful that I didn’t have to bum rides my freshman year in college.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s best selling book “Outliers: The Story of Success” he posits that incredibly successful people have utilized a magical combination of both luck and hard work. People as varied as Bill Gates of Microsoft and The Beatles all had to “pay their dues” and worked much harder than the average person would ever consider. (Gladwell estimates it takes about 10,000 hours to become an expert at something.) Most people would find it impossible that anyone would want to spend that much time doing anything no matter how enjoyable.  Luckily for Bill, Paul, John, Ringo and George they discovered early on in life what it was that made them tick and devoted themselves to their passion.

It’s this simple:

1. The more closely aligned your path is with your interests the LESS it feels like work.
2. The less something feels like hard work  the MORE you enjoy it and the more hours you spend devoted to it.
3. The more hours you spend doing something the more proficient and expert you become.

These three things will guarantee you success more than anything else. (Ok. A little luck doesn’t hurt either. More about that later.)

Career changers starting their over in their 40s and 50s after years of working and struggling realize how energizing it feels to finally be on the right path. Even though they may never be the next Lennon or McCartney they can still reap the benefits of finding a career that brings them joy instead of stress.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive, you were only waiting for this moment to be free.” –The Beatles, “Blackbird”