As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nature arms each man with some faculty which enables him to do easily some feat impossible to any other.”

When we are younger, most often, we do things effortlessly and are willing to take risks or be unafraid to make mistakes. Combined with a can-do attitude, we could accomplish anything we set our minds to.
 
If only there was a method we could capture our formula of success from earlier on in life. These experiences become the foundation of our learning which are generally forgotten with age or when in transition or in a life altering situation. If only we had a method of capturing and recording the components of our success formula that will help us manage change.

In our fast-changing world, there is no such as forever when it comes to our career. An average person changes four careers (that’s careers, not jobs) in their lifetime, which leads qualified and educated people to ask ‘What makes me who I am today’ and ‘What job best suits me today’!

Career building is a journey with a map. And your DNA of Success provides you with two maps to become ‘consciously competent’.

• Your Inherent strengths – the engine that drives your interest and passion.
• Your Personal values – that helps you make a choice

Together they provide the compass of our career journey and answer the first question ‘What do I want?’ which leads to the next question, ‘Can I do it’ and ‘How can I do it best’ to become consciously competent.

Michael S. Dukasis succinctly stated: “Our greatest strength comes not from what we possess but from what we believe, not from what we have, but from who we are.”

Why is being consciously competent so important? Let’s take the example of a woman who we’ll call Valerie. Valerie was planning to take a vacation for the longest time. When her boss asked her when she wanted to go on her vacation, her reply was, “I don’t know, I’m planning one right now.”

And that’s all she did. Plan! She researched, went through travel books, looked for cheap all-paid vacations, explored deals on last minute flights and blissfully mused about being on vacation. She wanted to be like her friends and colleagues who knew where they wanted to go and plagued them with questions about their travels. She obviously did not know what kind of vacation was worthy of her time and money.

What is wrong with this picture? She was taking all the right steps, wasn’t she? So what was missing? An internal map or compass to guide her towards a fulfilling vacation.

It was part of a bigger problem: she had little or no idea of her Life Map and its components. She had not taken an inventory of her interests, or reviewed what got her to this point, what made her do her job well, perhaps she wasn’t even sure what made her happy. Therefore, she was not able to answer the question ‘What vacation would suit me best?’.

While not a huge deal in itself, this indecision actually had far reaching effects. It affected her self image, and she became a standing joke in the office. Her boss observed that Valerie did not demonstrate leadership qualities often, as she did know what she believed in enough to take a stand.

As you can see, Valerie’s vacation dithering is a symptom of a bigger issue - lack of purpose. Everything in life has a purpose: knife to cut, phone to communicate, stove to cook, heart to pump, bee to pollinate. They each do one job really well. Why should Valerie or anyone be confused about their purpose? Because she, like most people, did not understand that Success is achieving the results you seek, while living what you value most each and every day and manifesting them through your strengths, passion and interests. Success is also the direct result of taking the right actions, the right way, at the right time for the right reasons by exploring what makes your tick.

Life and time are precious, don’t wait. Go and find your DNA of Success, which in turn will provide you with the compass to get the results you want… whether it is finding a suitable job, raising a child or taking a vacation.
 
So next time you ask the question ‘What job suits me best’, just remember to ask a simultaneous question: ‘Am I consciously competent to make successful career choices or am I pursuing a career by default?’

Keep exploring!

^{• Anita Sachdev is a workshop facilitator, life coach, writer and keynote speaker. Her company, I’ve Made It, offers programs created from the stance that each of us is already an achiever, but may not always know it. Her approach revisits past successes and teaches how to use those techniques to “make it again”. For more info, call 905.565.5958 or visit www.ivemadeit.com.}