How to Take Control of Your Career in 2024
Most people live their lives like an extra in their own movie.
They just roll with the punches and let life happen to them.
They dream of the career they want, but instead of taking action, they wait for it to happen.
But that’s akin to waiting for Prince Charming to knock on your door...
It only happens in fairy tales.
Here’s the good news:
Even if you have been on the sidelines of your career this year, you can change it!
You can stop outsourcing your success and waiting for someone to save you, and start managing your career like a CEO.
You can take control of your journey and start directing the movie.
Stop Outsourcing Your Success
The most successful people I know had one thing in common:
They were all entrepreneurs with corporate jobs.
Here’s what I mean:
Even though they were employed, they managed their career and lives like they were the CEO of a one-person company.
They applied entrepreneurial thinking to their career and became extremely successful.
So instead of taking a passive approach and observing their career from the sidelines:
It’s just the way it is
I will just do my job
I hope one day my boss will notice me
I’ll just wait for my turn…eventually, I will be promoted
I hope that my company will open up the headcount next year
They started thinking like a CEO:
I can change anything
How can I create more impact?
How can I get on my boss's radar?
How can I guarantee a promotion in the next year?
What can I do to make a case for a promotion, even without the headcount?
They stopped outsourcing their success, waiting for someone to save them and instead built the career they desired.
To be successful in the corporate world, they learned how to think and act like entrepreneurs.
How to take control of your career
From my experience, people don't take control of their career journey because they don’t believe they have agency over their careers.
They think someone else is in control: Their manager, the company, the economy…
They assume they have no impact or say, so they accept the circumstances.
But that’s a misconception.
Here’s how I know.
Have you ever heard of the 4-minute mile?
For hundreds of years, people thought it was physically impossible to run a mile in under 4 minutes.
Doctors actually thought a runner's heart might explode if they tried.
Because no one had ever done it before, it seemed like an impossible feat, one that was more than the human body was capable of achieving.
So for years, no one tried…
Until Roger Bannister decided to try and break the world record for running 1 mile.
On May 6, 1954, he ran the mile in just under 4 minutes, and guess what? He didn’t die! And on that day, made the impossible possible.
The most amazing part of that story, however, is that within 4 years of running that 4-minute mile, 20 more people recorded a mile in under 4 minutes.
Think about it: For centuries, not one human ran a mile in under 4 minutes and then once one person proved it was possible, 20 more people did it.
Now, did the human body magically evolve over those 4 years so that people could run faster?
No, people finally BELIEVED it was possible because someone else had done it. And in their minds, the switch flipped from impossible to possible
A mindset shift made all the difference.
The same principle applies to your career.
If you believe you have no control over your career, you won’t even try.
But once you realize you can manage almost every aspect of your career…
That’s when you:
↳ Receive two promotions in one year (even though everyone told you it was impossible)
↳ Get promoted outside of the promo cycle (even though it’s against the ‘rules’)
↳ Are offered a leadership role without asking (when there is no headcount or job description)
↳ Create a role that doesn’t exist to align with your goals (even though no one has done it before)
These are all real examples from my clients, by the way.
If you want to take control of your career in 2024 it starts with your belief system.
Realize that you have control, the power to make it happen, and you don't need to wait for permission.
A CEO wouldn’t hope, wait, or dream of making their company a success.
They would make it a success. They would set up goals, find creative solutions, and take action.
This is how you build a billion-dollar company, and it's how you build a successful career.
Take the first step
Our brains need proof to change our belief system.
If the 4-minute mile story wasn’t enough to convince you, I have a hack that will help you.
Find a role model. Someone who has done what you want to do. Maybe they leveled up really quickly, maybe they are an exceptional leader. Maybe they started their own business. Find a real human being who defied the odds. Use them as proof that it can be done.
Because if even one person can do it, it is no longer impossible.
And if it is possible, there’s nothing stopping you from taking action.
I believe in you and I’m rooting for you.
Maya ❤️
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