A successful career is more than a job. Increase your chances for finding your vocation or calling by understanding the key components of your personal success. The first three components to explore are your vision of success, your current qualifications, and the available success paths that align with your vision. This material is covered in detail in The Keys to Career Success.
If you've succeeded in identifying several potential career paths that offer the promise of your success vision, and which are available to you based on your qualifications, it's time to take your plans to the next level. Most people stop their career planning well short of the next steps outlined below. Sadly, failing to take the following concepts into account may prevent one from achieving career success.
Having a vision of success, being clear on your current qualifications, and understanding available paths to success will be very helpful in making a career decision, but these may not be sufficient to assure success. The final critical keys to career success begin with a deep understanding of oneself.
You are the only one who can use your ability. It is an awesome responsibility. ~Zig Ziglar
Success in any area of life, whether career or personal, depends upon how well your roles and responsibilities are aligned with five unique personal components of life. These are often called the five Ps for convenience: Purpose, Passions, Powers, Principles, and Perspectives.
The Five Ps
Each person is a combination of qualities, competencies, and personality which combine to define one's uniqueness among all others. The final step in optimizing one's chances for success is to maximize alignment with the five Ps.
Most people stop short of the critical components that are necessary for success in any endeavor. Though qualifications, such as degrees and special training are important, they are not sufficient to provide the full range of components of success.
The missing ingredients from many success plans are five fundamentals of an individual that tend to be highly unique and known only to a person skillful at self reflection and insight. These are the keys to a successful career, the five Ps:
- Purpose: Life Purpose is what you were meant to be. This is why you arrived in the physical universe and is the answer to your questions, "Who am I? and Why am I here?" Most people think of life purpose as activities, but life purpose is more about whom you are than what you do. Purpose is a set of qualities you display that bring you happiness.
Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. ~David Frost
- Passions: Passions are the activities that many people mistake for purpose. Passions are the doing-things that allow you to experience your purpose. That is why you love to do these activities. They bring you joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction.
- Powers: The word power can convey domination and control, but in this context Power refers to the core skills and abilities at which you excel. Your Powers are uniquely yours, and you've demonstrated them throughout your lifetime. Your Powers allow you to excel at your Passion activities, which in turn allow you to experience your Purpose. Purpose, Passions, and Powers are tightly intertwined.
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. ~Albert Einstein
- Principles: Principles are the characteristics and values that you honor and display when you're at your very best. When honoring your principles you feel like the real you. If you find yourself in a position in conflict with your values you may feel dishonest and under great stress.
- Perspectives: As the word implies, Perspectives are your long view of life, your basic and often subconscious beliefs about life. Perspectives are often formed early in life and seldom questioned thereafter.
There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way. ~Christopher Morley
Seek a Career Aligned with Your Five Ps
As you explore various career opportunities, seek to understand how well each provides an opportunity for you to be yourself-to be able to work in close alignment with your purpose, utilizing your passions and powers, while honoring your principles and perspectives. Using the first and most important foundational component, Life Purpose, is described in Align Employment with Life Purpose for Success.
Each article in this series is summarized and cross-linked in The Complete Process for Finding Career Success.
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