Being in a dead end job

Sometimes we think we know what we want

Let me tell you about the cfo who absolutely hates his life.

The one who has to report to his shareholders.

The one who doesn’t sleep for days and gets anxiety attacks in secret.

The one who gets a finger waived in his face and questioned.

His mind is constantly racing. No peace.

When his family is with him, he’s not really present. He lives in his head. From one deadline to the next.

But he gets the big salary. He drives the nice car. He lives in the exclusive estate.

Is it worth it?

For most of us, we need to really experience it first before truly understanding.

It goes back to that age old question that was asked thousands of years ago: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

From the outside this would be most people’s definition of success.

These are the people we invite to our conferences to do keynotes. The one’s we ask to be our mentors. The guys we ask for business and life advice.

It’s time to be honest

We don’t know what success is.

For the last 5 years I was pretty “successful” by my own definition.

I was my own boss. I could pick my daughter up from school most days.

I was earning a bit of passive income. I was creating.

I wasn’t earning what I envisioned though. And many of my business ideas didn’t take off.

But I was there for my wife, my kids, my community and I was off the hamster wheel, deciding.

Find your definition. Really spend the time.

Because something will need to be sacrificed, as with all seasons of life.

A year ago I discovered a business that challenged me. It stressed me out. But I absolutely loved it. That’s a key for me. It consumes my thinking because I’m fully invested.

If your job is just a job, you will slowly move into feeling like something’s missing. And later that likely escalates to a degree of depression.

People make all the difference

When you have a great team, the battles become easier.

I’ve worked with some awful people and strange environments that only reward financial targets. Shallow places.

These days I work with people who are authentic.

They are tough when things aren’t going well. They are human beings and we laugh together. And there’s ambitious targets.

Honesty is so underrated, yet one of the most attractive attributes a leader can exhibit. Rare to find in your traditional corporate.

Fight for your life and be remembered

In 2004 I played a national basketball tournament. Deep down everyone knew which province would win. We weren’t that team.

We made it to the final against the expected winners.

I wasn’t the most talented. I was defending their best player.

But I was diving all over the court, playing really hard. He was struggling to find any rhythm.

The game was close. We surprised everyone.

We lost by a very close margin in the end.

The crowd was entertained and we received an incredible ovation.

We lost, but it was one of my fondest memories. We played as a team and went to a level we didn’t think we could reach.

I was an example to my teammates. I wasn’t ashamed to do the dirty work.

During timeouts I would tell our best shooter; “shoot the ball, you’re a great shooter, we can’t do this without you”.

I am exactly the same way in business in 2022. I may not know it all but I have people around me who are better at certain things.

And I tell them.

Pride is a big stumbling block to organisational and team growth. Posturing eventually gets exposed.

None of us have it all together.

Consistency gets you moving

Consistent actions like; saving, exercising, learning, are game changers.

Before consistency comes – discipline. and before discipline comes - a decision.

Most of us haven’t made a decision, but we are taking actions.

Get to know who you are and decide what you want.

I decided to be a writer a while ago. Most weeks I get anxious and nervous as my blog deadline approaches. Many times I have no topic. No time. I question my ideas.

When I’ve had a busy work week or there’s a personal issue it becomes particularly difficult.

But I absolutely love the thrill of it. It’s in the journey.

Decide. Then see how you “dive all over the court” by default