Seven Career Mindsets For A Turbulent World: Day 5, Shift 4: The Detail

The back-story? That's here.

• Shift 4: From satisfaction from job and pleasure security, to pleasure from the journey.
  

1. For our grandparents: the stability and pleasure of 'work is work and play is play'.
   
2. For our parents: the appearance of work/life balance issues but 'hang on for the early pension and retirement'.
   
3. For us: the realisation of no guarantees: enjoying the journey becomes more critical then ever.

Once upon a time, good citizens worked hard, played hard and were rewarded.  Then something called 'work/life balance' appeared on the scene as technology, globalisation and the consequent increased competitiveness in every sector called upon us to work longer hours. And then we discovered we couldn't even depend on those fantastic promises of ever-lasting leisure and a comfortable pension.

More than ever it becomes critical to enjoy the journey. More than ever we must own our long-term security plan. More than ever we must consider our increasing longevity.

1. The new retirement strategy becomes: maintain health plus the ability to earn into one's later years.
2. Maintain health=M-E-D-S or meditation (take time out), exercise (simple CV), diet (food for health, not just fuel) and good quality sleep.
3. Earn into one's later years=identify a skill you can offer which you enjoy which cannot be removed by a chip, call centre or cheaper location elsewhere on the planet.
4. Choose your career for the intrinsic enjoyment it gives you coupled with earning (and potential earning) capability not just for its 'approval' ratings.
5. In the New World of Work look for careers which are highly dependent upon soft skills such as leading or creative thinking or...These are harder to 'chip'.
6. You effectively run your own business. So what's your training budget? Your retirement fund? Your succession plan?
7. Work IN your business. But also work ON it.
8. Work ON your skills, work ON your creativity, work ON your stamina. Never let a day go by without investing in your business, your brand and the value you offer.
9. Create a plan.
10. Start today.