The calls and emails are welcomed and come in droves…this time of year, and I gladly answer as many calls, emails, texts and video messages form people changing careers or starting new ones, the same advice keeps ringing true, whether you have been at this for two weeks or gasp, almost 40 years.
Expanding your identifiable skills, being enthusiastic and curious, learning from mistakes, listening to those around you, doing the little things to make a difference, saying please and thank you, sending notes and following up, doing your homework, over preparing and over delivering are all so key to making the move, or more importantly, being in the position to be successful for when the opportunity does come knocking, either in minutes or months.
I found those same themes playing true with many organizations, individuals, brands, leagues and the like looking to climb the ladder as much as those who are seemingly on top, and the struggle, especially the mental one, is no different at either end of the career or life ladder. This week’s NFL Draft served as another reminder of that high level road. Although I don’t know any of those athletes taking the stage or waiting for the call, their journey of excitement and uncertainty is one we can all understand, just like it is for many making that pivot to whatever field they are moving towards in the coming weeks.
In the final episode of “Man In The Arena,” Tom Brady and his dad spend a great amount of time going back and forth about identifying skills, continuing to learn and most importantly being driven to find joy in what one does. One of the most telling lines in Episode 10, which is all about Brady’s time leaving New England and going to Tampa, was about how his father motivated him when he was younger.
“He didn’t push me he held me up.”
Now some may say comparing someone struggling to find a first job against arguably the NFL’s GOAT is silly. In reality it really isn’t. It is a comparison of the journey that sports brings you on, and being self aware enough to realize at some point the road leads you a different way, and accepting that change and finding the path gets you to places you may not fully realize at first. We all get stifled a bit on the ride, but creating a recognizable spot in our own way, even if we don’t have all those rings of an elite QB.
In a world where the push comes first way too much older father Tom was able to identify and thrive off of the skills he had, especially when someone around them gave them a chance to shine. It is a struggle almost daily to find that person or that group, who will help prop you up. It is not easy. When the veneer of success on any level gets wiped away, we are left looking at our own road and what is on it, and many times is very bumpy, but these bumps, those cracks, are what makes it so enjoyable.
Not easy but enjoyable.
And the ride, and the work, is never ending.
That’s a good thing. Keep emailing and calling, let’s help each other.
The Entreprenurial Pivot: Three Founders Talk About When To Adjust and Learning From The Marketplace…