Deus ex machina

While landing a job seems like the light at the end of the tunnel, it's really just the beginning.

This blog post from one of my favorite blogs, careerealism.com, gets me thinking.

While it's focusing on millennials and talks about corporate America, the message is quite resounding - a reasonably good paycheck is no excuse to dwell in a cubicle. 

I wasn't meant to sit on my a** all day.

The corporate gig should be used as a training ground to gain leadership skills and work experience, with the end game being to branch out and start your own enterprise. 

Couldn't be phrased better in ordinary language. And in the words of my Guru:

Don't be service minded - be business minded

So my goal isn't to work for my paycheck, because then I'd be no more than a corporate slave.

My vision is of course to get as far as possible in as little time until life is on auto, but take the time to look around and appreciate the fundamental aspects of life down under.

Let me now use this blog post to define my goals for the corporate ring:

1. Create wealth for the organization: Let's face it. At the end of the day, I might be a scientific genius but no one cares if it isn't bringing in the dollar signs. So I need to continuously work towards betterment of the organization, and that means the organization takes care of me.

2. Rack up accomplishments: This means identifying pain points and working relentlessly to solve them. Measuring my success is key, which means I need to know what metrics I have to track and monitoring them continuously to evaluate my performance.

3. Get known for my expertise, skills and accomplishments: The organization and the market in general should realize that having me around is creating real value. If not, I might as well not really exist. 

4. Learn how to work with people: Despite my achievement-oriented outlook at the end of the day people politics is what really gets you ahead or puts you down. Here's a blog post about Jim Fallon on effective people interaction. Sharing a few laughs and leveraging charisma earns far more respect than showmanship. Here's an article on charismatic leadership.

5. Learn how to communicate effectively and always make friends. Verbal and written communication are your bullets and ammunition in the corporate world. Use wisely and always double check before hitting the send button. As for verbal communication, sometimes you need to shut up and listen and show some patience. Always show great interest in the person you're talking to and take the time to appreciate how things are done currently before bringing in your mini-revolutions. Always discuss the win-win rather than I-can-do-better.

6. Leverage a hacker mentality to get things done. Constantly take initiative and bold steps to achieve more in less time - but pace yourself as if you're running a marathon not a 100 meter dash. Each lap must be done to perfection.

Some of the questions I should ask myself every night before closing shop are:

- What initiative did I take today? What could I have taken?

- What did I achieve today? If I failed at doing something, what did I learn or how could I have done better?

- Have I increased my assets or my liabilities?

- What can I do to improve my standing?

While I might find myself eat, sleep and breathe the company I also need to maintain a wider circle which should include:

1. Exploring business opportunities in different markets

2. Understanding the asset game and putting to practical execution (RDPD Cash Flow/ Monopoly type games)*

2. Networking with professionals in other industries and companies

3. Providing voluntary contributions that make the world a better place

4. Experiencing and learning from a variety of activities

5. Improving my portfolio by gaining more credentials and awards

* much more on this later