9 Secrets to Career Success: Self-Awareness as a Starting Point for Success

                 Knowing and understanding the 9 secrets to career success is easy. But to practice them takes time and effort. What you need to do is to read and contemplate the issues and questions raised in these 9 secrets of career success.

                  Now, are there really secrets to career success? That should be something you decide when you finish this article. You will learn to know how to gain success in your career whether you are stuck in a rut, thinking about quitting, or positively thinking about your career path. These secrets will hopefully point you in the right direction.

The 9 secrets of career success are divided into 3 main segments. Namely, Self-Awareness, Grow Yourself and Purposeful Effort and Time.

1. Self-Awareness When you are self-aware, you will eventually define what success means to you. Success means different things to different people. Some people may deem having a lot of money as being successful. Some people may deem being able to find time to spend with their family as being successful, even though they may not have a lot materially.

           Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson’s article Success That Lasts (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) broke enduring success into 4 components:

1. Happiness: Feelings of pleasure or contentment about your life 

2. Achievement: Accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for 

3. Significance: The sense that you have made a positive impact on people you care about 4. Legacy: A way to establish your values or accomplishments so as to help others find future success

How do you define your success? If you do not define your success, how would you know you have success?

2. Know What You Want

                      Do you know what you want? Many people know what they DO NOT want. When you ask them what they want they generally tell you what they do not want. They are not the same. Just because you know what you do not want doesn’t mean the reverse is true. Think about it. You don’t want a stressful life. But does it mean you want an exciting life? A calm life? An action packed life? A fun life?

                  Search and be true to yourself. Do you really know who you are? How self-aware are you? If you are not very self-aware then how can you possibly truly know what you want to achieve career-wise? Being successful in your career takes genuine painful self-assessment. Face yourself and ask – what is it I am good at? What motivates me? What keeps me awake late at night? Know yourself and you are on the path to success. This is key to the 9 secrets to career success.

3. Have The Wisdom To Understand

                       You read in many places that if you do what you love then you need not work another day of your life. That is true. But it is also true that we can learn to love what we do. So, you do what you love or love what you do? Too much attention is given to doing what you love. Too little attention is given to loving what you do.

                     Let’s face it; there are many successful people who are successful and happy in their good honest living. These aren’t exactly what they love to do initially. But they took the time and effort to learn and eventually love what they do! Have the wisdom to distinguish a hobby and a vocation. And have the wisdom to know how much you are willing to sacrifice in order to turn what you love into a job that earns a living. They aren’t the same and they take great sacrifices at prices that you may not be willing to pay.

To learn the 9 secrets to career success, first learn self-awareness. When you are self-aware, your journey to career success can begin.