I was just let go a couple of weeks ago, what am I going to do? The economy is down, no one is answering my calls, the job boards have nothing, and the good postings have 100 or more people applying for that job. I can’t get an interview and the bills are piling up. My wife, she’s freaking out, we’re 5 years into our new house, and face the possibility of giving it all up.
Is this you? Or could it be you next week, or the week after? People are losing their jobs at an alarming rate, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Most economists believe double digit unemployment is inevitable. It’s daunting, nerve racking, scary, and definitely not happy times.
But the fact of the matter is that there are jobs out there, opportunities yet to be uncovered, amazing things that you simply haven’t considered. Doing those amazing things, fulfilling your dreams, is the key to happiness. So, what do you do, how do you get started? What’s my strategy?
Where Do I Start?
Well, that depends on your situation. If you’re out of a job, the most important thing to do is find work quick. If you’re in a dead-end job and it is sucking the life out of you, you need to set your sites. Ideally you want amazing work, a job that you love to do, and get paid well to do it. In any of these cases, there’s one thing for certain, you need to get going. So where do you start?
You start by getting off your duff and believing in yourself, that you can find amazing work. And if the next job you get isn’t the one, then you need to believe it’s simply the next step to your perfect job. The key is to NEVER give up, and believe in your dream, pursue that happiness you want, your efforts will eventually pay off. And you start by building a network and creating a brand.
Huh? Are you serious? I’m not a company, I’m a person.
I know that, but the fact is, that your chances increase proportional to how many people you know, and exponentially by how strongly they associate you with a particular talent, skill or expertise.
Build a Network, Create Your Brand
People say today the world is different, that it’s so much more impersonal. We’re all lost in this ever-increasing sea of these anonymous avatars on the Interweb. Well, they’re wrong. Things are the same as they ever were. Everything is about building relationships and getting referrals. Sure, the number of people getting online is growing incredibly fast, and it’s easy to get lost in it all, especially if you do nothing to reach out, become just a passer by, a wallflower.
The best way to build your network is to engage the right people. But what if you don’t know the right people? Well then, the best way I know to find the right people and have a real opportunity to engage them, is through social media tools like Twitter. I’ve personally found hundreds of new friends and business associates through Twitter. I’ll be writing more about this very soon, but if you want a direct line on how to get started, then contact me on Twitter. I’m the AppleInvestor, or email me.
Doing it the Zen Way
So the answer is, do what works. Do you remember that famous short book by Robert Allen, The One Minute Millionaire? The basic premise was, if you want to be a millionaire, do what they do, associate with the people they associate with, embrace their habits, etc. Well, this is a very Zen way at looking at life and your goals. In fact, the concept is taken directly from the word of the Buddha himself, in the chapter on Wise Men in the Dhammapada (the Buddha’s guide to happiness), I’ll paraphrase; A person who hangs with wise people, does what they do, then happiness will follow like a never departing shadow.