Training objective
The objective of this practical and simplified mini-training video is to show you how to create a future that is true to yourself so that you can live a purpose-driven life.
What you’ll learn
The importance of creating your future, why you need plans and the strategies that you can embark on for living a purpose-driven life that is true to yourself.
Transcript
[Slide 3] People don’t plan to fail, but they fail to plan
Many people have fundamentally believed that it is impossible to live out their passion through their jobs and careers. But this is not true.
You can uncover your hidden potential, be true to yourself, and be the absolute best version of yourself. It’s possible to grow and make positive changes for the long term if you intentionally create that opportunity for yourself and not let time pass by.
People don’t plan to fail, but they fail to plan.
While you may have heard it all before about the importance of planning, there are no shortcuts to success and living a purpose-driven life. It takes hard work and commitment to get there. Planning enables you to create a positive future. Hoping and praying is not a viable strategy if you want to be intentionally successful.
The value of planning should not be underestimated, especially for young people. Being at their prime age to intentionally set themselves up for future successes, career planning is vital for them to intentionally build a solid foundation for their future successes to rest on.
Every house needs a strong foundation. The foundation of a three-level house is much stronger than a single-level house.
And every house building project requires planning and architectural drawings. The planning that goes into a three-level house is more intense than building a single-level house.
What if I told you that the house you wanted to buy was built without any architectural drawings – would you buy and live in it?
So, why is it any different for your own life and career?
[Slide 4] Importance of planning and building a strong foundation
Every successful person must have the right foundation to succeed.
When you have a bigger vision of success for yourself, you must build a bigger and stronger foundation that will be able to accommodate this bigger vision that you have set for yourself. This will require more in-depth planning and more sophisticated architectural drawings.
Therefore, to be successful in creating a positive future for yourself, develop a ten-year plan, a five-year plan, and a one-year plan. These plans can take many forms. They should be developed and implemented based on your personality style and circumstances.
Regardless of your personality style, you need to have some idea of your destination, how you are going there, and what you are going to do there. Imagine leaving your house for a vacation, without any destination in mind, without any planning, without any money, and without any idea of how long your vacation will take you.
This is where your ten-year vision, five-year focus, and two-year plan come in. Your plans paint the picture of what success looks like for you. They are the architectural drawings of your future success story.
Quality drawings will enable quality outcomes. Poorly developed drawings will only bring sub-standard outcomes.
[Slide 5] Visualize your ideal future and what success looks like
Use the power of visualization and emotions to form a mental picture of your ideal future.
A ten-year plan or vision gives you the required crystal-clear focus of what future success will look like for you when you arrive at your planned destination.
What you wish to bring to life should be first visualized and cultivated in the mind until it feels real. For the cynics, this is not positive thinking either, but redirecting the same mental energy you devote to your problems towards a better outcome.
Unfortunately, people spend more time than necessary observing what is wrong in their life instead of imagining what their ideal future could be.
However, visualization without action is futile because mental preparation and inspired action are both necessary to bring to life your desires.
Visualization is the seed fertilized in the mind, whereby action is the flowering plant that blossoms. One needs the other to manifest your goals and dreams.
Every house built must be fit for its purpose. Are you building a holiday house by the beach? Or are you building a city apartment block?
Your identity and purpose will form the basis of your visualization. The vision of your ideal future is based on the self-awareness of who you are as a person, your identity, and your purpose in life. This is where the understanding of your identity and purpose will enable you to live a life that is true to yourself.
An example of your vision could be to become a respected leader and advisor in STEM education and research.
Working backward from the vision of what success looks like for you, you then plan your current and future steps to get there, focusing on the most important things that matter most to you.
Everything you do from now on must bring you closer to your goals, your intended destination. Otherwise, without a vision and destination, you will drift aimlessly in life, not living the life you want, not being purposeful.
[Slide 6] Operationalize your vision and take action
Your five-year plan will help you develop the necessary strategies over time.
Based on your vision and destination, your five-year plan could look like the following, assuming you are in 2021:
By the end of 2026, I would like to see myself as a successful public sector executive in a relevant public sector agency. This role would need to have a focus on service delivery aligned with my purpose and values.
This may necessitate me to move away to another city. However, this is something I would need to work through with my partner and their own goals.
I would also like to be involved in the governance of a not-for-profit organization, perhaps at the board level.
[Slide 7] Break your strategies down into bite-size actions that suit your personality
Visualization and strategies are great, but if there is no implementation and action, success will never come.
Finally, your two-year plan will give you the necessary clarity and focus to take action by prioritizing your time, resources, and actions on the most important, not the urgent and unimportant that could easily distract you from achieving your goals.
Your two-year plan could look like the following:
I would like to have transitioned away from public service towards a non-Government organization, be it the private sector or not-for-profit. This could either be through consultancy or the delivery of research, analysis, and evaluation services.
However, the focus of the work should be aligned with my values and purpose.
If you are serious, you could also develop a one-year plan, which could look like the following:
It’s important for me to continue in my current role, to build my skill set as a manager.
I have identified more tangible goals for this year.
1. Grow my professional network by five people by June next year.
2. Conduct information interviews with selected professionals who can give me greater insights into my vision and what courses to undertake.
3. Identify and explore at least two different new career directions by the end of the year.
4. Undertake further training and education, seek further assistance to improve my skills.
5. Intentionally improve my resume and LinkedIn profile.
6. Join Toastmasters and complete all 11 specialized learning paths.
[Slide 8] Intentionally build your resume with tangible achievements
Once your plans have been developed, you need to implement or execute your plans. Effective execution of your plans will be the key to your success.
Seek out the appropriate accountability partners, coaches, or mentors to help you implement your plans.
Now that you know your end game, that is to become a successful “public sector executive”, you need to envision how your perfect resume should look like.
Given that resumes must show and not tell recruiters about your quantifiable achievements, you need to intentionally create those opportunities or achievements over time so that you can document them on your resume.
When you do not have tangible achievements to show on your resume, you will not get the job you want.
If you need to show the achievement of a “public sector executive” who have successfully “broke through 20-year-long red tape to orchestrate the construction of a new and modernized hospital and eliminated the need to travel as much as 1,000 km for crucial healthcare”, you have to actively and intentionally seek out those type of opportunities during the ten years.
You may also need to acquire the right skills and experience as the pre-condition for performing the work by enrolling yourself in a course to upskill. This may require additional expenses on your part.
Hence, the importance of having a long-term plan with a clear destination.
[Slide 9] Intentionally developing the right skills to achieve your goals
Once you know your destination and have developed your plans, it is time to work backward from there.
Identify what skills and experience you currently have and what skills and experience you must demonstrate as a successful “public sector executive”.
Act to intentionally acquire those skills and experience that you lack or don’t have over the next ten years. In essence, taking proactive action to close that skills and experience gaps.
Performing a gap analysis of your skills and experience is so crucial to your future success. This will give you a roadmap for you to take the required action to succeed rather than hoping for the best or reacting to the situation.
Create your future. Seek out opportunities. Take risks to succeed.