Earlyface

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote
There are nine core categories of career success readiness that
need to be mastered for professionals to achieve the success and
fulfillment they long for (and these applies to any industry, field
or function, and any level, for both men and women).
These nine categories of career success readiness are:
1. Understanding yourself deeply
You can’t achieve success on terms that are personally meaningful
to you if you don’t know yourself.  Each of us has a distinct set of
values, interests, histories, standards of integrity, non-negotiables
and preferences that make up our own unique picture of success.
If you don’t know yourself intimately, the outcomes you’re
focused on won’t end up generating the experience of success you
want.
2. Using your natural talents
I learned this the hard way, as have many of my clients – just
because you’re great at a certain skill set doesn’t mean you enjoy
using it in your work. The most successful, fulfilled professionals
use talents every day in their work that come naturally to them,
that emerged early in their lives and they enjoy immensely. You
need to identify those natural talents that you use instinctively,
with ease and grace. Those are the talents to focus on in your
career if you want a lasting experience of success and happiness.
3. Engaging with people you respect and admire (including mentors
and sponsors)
You can’t create lasting success if you operate alone, in a vacuum,
with no one in your corner to support you. If you find yourself
isolated, with no role models, mentors, or sponsors, it’s a sign that
you’re not ready for the success you dream of. You need fabulous
people in your support community to help bolster you to the next
level.
4. Setting goals and making decisions that support you
The type of success most people want isn’t something that happens
overnight. It’s not a prize that just falls in your lap. Forget the
idea of a tipping point where you suddenly wake up “having it
all.” Success requires hard work (often tedious and painstaking)
and continued commitment. It also takes effective decision-
making and S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic,
and timely) goal-setting.
5. Committing continuously to your growth
A key to helping people grow exponentially is helping them
stretch out of their comfort zone and close their “power gaps.”
Power gaps are areas where people feel most insecure, vulnerable,
and ashamed. When people address, heal or revise those areas,
the growth is quick and astounding. What are the areas in your
life and work where you feel “less than” and insecure – and what
can you do to close those gaps today?
6. Relating in a healthy way to money, and having a keen
understanding of financial and business realities
Lasting success will elude you if you’re broken down in how you
view, and deal with, money. Many of us have a damaged
relationship with money, and are forever chasing or resenting it,
instead of attracting, embracing, and appreciating it. Money is a
form of energy, and if you’re blocked around it, so will be your
experience of success. In addition, if you’re running your own
business, you need a solid, emotionally-neutral understanding of
the financial and business realities you’re facing. A “Build It and
They Will Come” mentality without a solid financial and business
grounding is a recipe for disaster. (Here’s more about improving
your relationship with money.)
7. Balancing and integrating life and work (and dealing effectively with
stress)
I know so many people who’ve achieved outer “success,” only to
have sacrificed everything in the process. They wake up, often in
midlife, to the horrible realization that they’ve given up
everything that matters to them, just to rise to the top of the heap
in their field.  If you aren’t able to integrate or balance
successfully your work endeavors with your identity as an
individual outside of the work you do, you’ll suffer. And if the
stress and strain of your work is making you sick and sad every
day, it’s time to rethink your definition of success.
8. Being of use in the world
Thousands of people hit midlife and suddenly feel an aching
disappointment – they realize that what they’ve been clamoring
for in their 20s and 30s now feels empty and meaningless.
Perhaps it’s seeing the world through older, wiser eyes, or
experiencing the mortality of their parents and friends that
awakens people to wanting to do something more purposeful in
the world. Whatever the cause, midlife professionals often wake
up to the desire to build a new legacy that they can be proud of.
In the end, you won’t feel successful if your work is meaningless
to you.
9. Marketing yourself in a compelling way
Finally, in today’s times, because of the global competition we all
face, if you can’t market yourself and communicate powerfully
about your great talents, you won’t succeed in the way you hope.
Gone are the days in which you could leave marketing to
someone else. You have to know how you’re special and amazing,
and how you stand apart from the best of the best in your field,
and share that openly and confidently. You need to be your own
best advocate, and you can do it without being a braggart. You
just have to learn how.