It's time to take action

Change is a scary thing. So scary that you might be tempted to maintain the status quo just to stay in your comfort zone. But change can also be one of the most liberating experiences, if you’re prepared to work at it and see it through. Getting into the habit of making small incremental changes leads to positive results that spur us on to making bigger changes; it’s a virtuous cycle.

If you have ever found yourself in a career rut, desperately in need of change, it is time to take action. So far, we’ve talked about soul searching, matching your abilities and talents to your ideal vision and tackling the negative behaviour patterns that keep us feeling stuck.

Here comes the exciting part: taking action.

Giving the vision life

The world’s biggest visionary leaders — Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison and Mark Cuban — started out by taking action, one step at a time. They also believed, unwaveringly, in their vision. If your vision is to explore and succeed in a new venture, say opening a chain of restaurants across the country, it is unlikely that you can simultaneously leap to this point. Start by identifying one location, doing research and talking to as many people as possible. Then visualise your plan and put it down on paper; a business plan is the perfect tool to use because it forces you to think of different scenarios and contingency plans. The power of talking to people running a similar business cannot be overemphasised.

Tweak your vision

Tweaking your vision means taking all the research you have done and integrating it into the service or product you’re offering to make it more responsive to the existing need. It requires being open-minded and flexible. The same applies when the change you crave is a career transition. Sometimes, having access to certain lines of work seems glamorous because we only see the result.

The grind that goes on behind the scenes could be the exact thing you are trying to get away from in your current state. But unless it’s a quantum leap, talking to many people will reveal to you ways of finding a career that creates intersection between your current work and the qualities that you yearn for.

Tips

•Identify what ideal success looks like for you and break it down into quantifiable steps.

•Talk to people whose career and business are along the lines that you aspire.

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