Tweet

Winning at Working--The Art of Change

Written by: Nan Russell

Article Overview: From the iron age to nearly the industrial age, blacksmiths prospered. Villagers needed plows, shovels, iron tires for wagons, nails and tools to build their homes, all of which the blacksmiths forged. They needed their horses and oxen shod and their tools repaired. Being a blacksmith was a sound professional choice.

Winning at Working--The Art of Change

From the iron age to nearly the industrial age, blacksmiths prospered. Villagers needed plows, shovels, iron tires for wagons, nails and tools to build their homes, all of which the blacksmiths forged. They needed their horses and oxen shod and their tools repaired. Being a blacksmith was a sound professional choice.

Yet despite flourishing for centuries, this vital profession was all but eliminated in a few generations. Who could envision affordable mass-produced items lining the shelves of big box stores, or anticipate societal changes incomprehensible at the time?

How many current professions will go the way of blacksmith? Today's rate of change is measured in years, not centuries. It's life at warp-speed, where job security doesn't exist, and today's approaches are tomorrow's antiques. Just consider what's happened to the music industry in ten years. Vinyl records anyone?

One thing is clear: twenty-first century success won't be guaranteed from a particular major, a certain profession, a specific job title, or the latest skill. It won't come from discovering the right industry or company or next idea. Those are moving targets.

You see, your future is not out there. It's inside of you. Writer and futurist, Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

Some say the only constant in life is change. But in your life, the only constant is you. You can move with the change-currents, bobbing like a buoy in the ocean and go nowhere. Or you can paddle your sea kayak with a sturdy oar of your unique talents, core-values, life potential, and resilient spirit, knowing it's your inner strengths that will secure your future

People who are winning at working find their way in a changed and changing world through inner navigation and core connection. That way, they know which changes to embrace, which to leverage with their talents into successful opportunities, and which to ignore. They calm the waves of change in their life by drawing from what's inside them that doesn't change. Then they can make sense of what's in the outside world that does.

The waves of change are also calmed by how you face the world. Some people orient to the world like they were on the deck of a cruise ship, turning their chairs to watch where they've been. Others on that same deck turn forward so they can see where they're going and what's ahead.

People who are winning at working do the latter. They orient toward their future, agreeing with author Dan Millman, "The secret of change consists in concentrating one's energy to create the new, and not fight against the old."

The bottom line? In these turbulent times, career sustainability will be determined by your ability to transform yourself with the times.

So anchor the chaos, discomfort, uncertainty, and fear that often accompanies change, to the unchangeable core within you. That anchoring first step makes all the difference, whether you initiate the change or it's thrust upon you.

(c) 2009 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
  Losing vs. Not Winning the Sale
  Winning Business the Right Way
  You Can Be An O.S.C.A.R Winner!
  An Apprentice Lesson in Leadership
  People with Goals and Dreams

Article Tags: alvin toffler, blacksmith, core connection, futurist alvin toffler, inner strengths, iron age, iron tires, job security, moving targets, oar, oxen, plows, professional choice, resilient spirit, s antiques, sea kayak, shovels, societal changes, vinyl records, warp speed



Related Forum Posts
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: e-Commerce and e-Payment providers - Hi GT It is only fairly recently that people in South Africa have been able to get full use of Paypal as we were only able at one time to make payments but not receive them. Fortunately this has now changed. I have received money through Global X Change for one of the affiliate programs that I promote and have found them pretty good as the money is normally transferred directly into my bank account within 2-3 days and I have not had any problems with them. MichelleJ
Re: Obama Wants Social Security for Illegals - [quote="Alan Mater":3kaa8sg4] Obama WILL make changes... but they're not the changes we as a country need or should look forward to.[/quote:3kaa8sg4] Sad but this is exactly how I feel about it. Change is coming - but unless I'm really wrong, it is not a change this country needs. Amazing how much a good speaker with a good speech writer can do. If you paid attention to the things he said "off script" - much of it is frightening. Chris
Are you an Opportunity Addict? - 1) if you find yourself saying yes without thinking about how it will affect your other priorities 2) you have over 10 projects/inventions going on at the same time and this seems normal to you 3) you have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on manufacturing, prototypes, etc. not to mention thousands of hours of your time....but you havent followed through on any of it 4) most of your projects are falling behind or have completely fallen off your radar....which is fueling your frustration The first step in recovery is to recognize this as a pattern of self sabotage. If you are clear in what your overall goals and objectives are, you should be able to create a lens through which you measure opportunities. You create your life, and your to do list. Change, Add, Remove, Adjust time-lines - whatever you like. But remember that every piece of unfinished business - stays that way J


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Basic Operating Question (BOQ) for Empowerment

9 Steps to Improve Performance

Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Conversions

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.