The Greatest Disability

What, do you suppose is the disability which causes the greatest barrier to success?  Cerebral Palsy?  Traumatic Brain Injury? Deafness?  Heart problems? Total Paralysis?

These can all be very serious conditions, but I believe that the MOST disabling condition is a lack of vision.  I don't mean physical blindness, but rather difficulties in seeing yourself, your skills/abilities, and the reality of the world and your personal situation.

All too often, people live in the past, then remember and re-create that past into their present reality. There is a now old, and great movie called Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/).  The synopsis is that a man lives the same day over and over again.  That is a terrible way to live-people are meant to move forward in their lives.    

Even more, an inability to have a bold, but realistic, vision of the future is self-limiting. Yet again, I quote the great Career Counselor and Philosopher, Yogi Berra "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else".

Now, when we talk about grand words and concepts like "Vision" to automatically assume that a long term, ultimate life or career goal is involved.  While that may very well be the case, it  is equally valid to take things in smaller bites, and think about your vision for next month. 

Good Luck and Best Wishes,

Chris

A Zig-Zag Life (Or When you come to a fork in the road, take it).

Over the years, I have come to a realization: We ask people to plan a career and a life based upon straight lines. What is your life goal? “You are clearly here, and you want to be someplace else, someplace better. So please define the straight line path from A to B.”

That is incorrect, most of the time.

I realized this from an experience in my personal life. I recently remodeled my house, and at the start of this massive undertaking, the goal was to make the house nice, and then either sell it or rent part of it. I needed to get the task done, and then see where I was at, and what my options would be.

So, here I sit, surrounded by wonderful, recovered hardwood floors. My house is nice. I can now either choose to rent the apartment downstairs, or I can sell outright. I started out with a straight line goal of “make the house better”. I invested time, energy, and money into the project.

Now I face a “Y” shaped decision point...Should I sell and cash a rather large sweat equity check? Should I sell the (now nice) house, and purchase another, smaller and less nice house with the profits? My straight line decision just became “Y” shaped.

Now, if I choose to sell and take the profit, I can live in a paid up (yet less nice home)....Then I face ANOTHER “Y” point...Do I simply live there, or do I seek another place I can remodel and flip for a profit?

You see my dilemma. I started with a straight line life goal of “Live in a nice place”. I wound up zig-zagging along through life. Suddenly, I am confronting Landlord responsibilities versus stable cash flow, or target markets for a potential house flip down the road.

This made me think that as Parents, Coaches, Counselors, and supports to others, we often advise ourselves and others to set a goal, and then doggedly press forward, no matter what.

However, I have come to realize that my life, at least, does not move in a straight line. Barriers and walls intervene. Life happens.

Walls and barriers appear. Now, I have often suggested that when a wall appears, there are three options:

1. Go Through the wall, knock it down.
2. Go Over the wall, transcend the barrier.
3. Go around.

That is the point of this article. We too often think of the “easy” and pat way of going through. That works sometimes, admittedly. Yet, I have learned that there is another way, and it does not involve blindly going straight ahead.

Please consider that life is flexible and flowing, and as such, straight lines are accepted, but they are not always the best choice. Zig-Zag just a bit, and when you come to a fork in the road, take it.

Just for clean-up, I have a renter moving into my house next week. She is a fine young lady, and I took the fork in the road when I came to it. Such is life.

Good Luck and best wishes,

Chris

(With a nod and a tip of my cap to a wise man, Yogi Berra)

Pass/Fail

My apologies fopr the delay in posting, I have been taking care of other assignments.  Tonight, I have carved out time because something interesting happened today.

Today, I was assisting a job seeker, and the topic of Pass/Fail classes came up.  Now, I often discuss the Pass/Fail situation, both with younger recent college graduates, and with older returning workers.  The discussion is much different for each population.  Colleges, Universities, and other institutions stress the GRADE POINT AVERAGE in many cases.  This is because colleges often teach that past performance is, in theory (they are incorrect, BTW) a predictor of future outcomes.

Please don't misunderstand me here.  If you are a 22 year old person with a fresh and sparkling Bachelor's degree, a good GPA is a valid item to list on your resume and in your Core Message to employers.  That is because you have no relevant, real world achievements in your chosen filed in all likelihood.  This high GPA shows that you can complete assignments on time, read, write, and speak English, and are competent in basic mathematics and such.  These are all attractive qualities to a potential employer.  Absolutely talk about your achievement with a prospective employer.

However, what if you are a 40 (or more) year old career changer?   This person has completed college, has a Bachelor's in say, Nursing, and an R.N. designation.  Does a potential employer REALLY care what your grade was in "Introduction to Anthropology 101" in 1997? Probably not.   They care if you are qualified (Pass/Fail=Yes/No).  More importantly, the career changer focuses upon other achievements, life accomplishments, and selling points.  At some point qualification and ability surpasses GPA.

I believe that for most people, that change over happens in the late 20's to mid 30's.

Regardless, I think this idea raises a larger philosophical question...Is Life an exercise in GPA (getting the highest possible score), or a Pass/Fail (get the qualification/achievement and move along)?  I won't pretend to know the answer to the question.  I think it cis a moving target, changing as we move through life, and our needs and values change.  I am open to discussion on this topic,

Good luck and best wishes,

Chris