Why is it that so many people my age (I just turned 51) seem so lost and unhappy when it comes to their career? The world is changing so quickly, that it seems like a full time job just keeping up with what’s going on. Things are pretty different now than when I was growing up. Everything was simple then. You went to school, got decent grades, got a job (probably one that you didn’t like) and then worked your way up. The rule when I was growing up was that you always had to stay at a job at least a year before you changed, or you’d be marked for life. Heaven forbid if there was a blank spot on your resume.
The boss made the rules and you followed them. I dealt with this crap for many years, until I decided I’d had enough. I started my own company. And failed. Then I started several more and failed. I finally started one that didn’t fail. I ran that company for 12 years. It was successful, but I still wasn’t happy. Even though I was the boss now, there were still all these rules that I thought I had to follow. I felt like more of a baby sitter than a boss. As much as I encouraged them, my employees would only do what I told them. There was no creativity in my company. We did what everyone else was doing.
Wow, it’s such a different world now. We can work from anywhere in the world. We can pretty much do anything we want. The tools are there, the rules are gone. There are literally millions of ways to make a living now. Never before has it been possible for just about anyone to do the work they love, at the times and places that they chose.
So why are so many people still living by the old rules? Every day, I run across people who consciously choose to do work that doesn’t have any meaning for them, for people they don’t like. I hear lot’s of excuses. “Dude! I’ve been doing this my whole life, I’m not qualified to do anything else!” “I majored in Sociology, I’m lucky to have any job.” “It’s too late to learn something new.” “I’m too old to do that, they’re only hiring 14 year olds for that job!” You’ve heard it too, so you know what I’m talking about.
So why are some people able to adapt to change, and most people aren’t? I think anyone can adapt to change if they want to. And that’s the key. Most people don’t want to. If you look at people my age, some of them are healthy, fit and youthful, and some look like somebody’s great grandparents. Old, overweight and unhealthy looking. Is it because they’re genetically predisposed to age prematurely, while others are not?
I think it’s due to the choices we make on a daily basis. I chose to eat a healthy diet of mostly raw foods, with some lean meats and the occasional coffee and gelato thrown it, even though I’d love to live off of french fries and cheesecake. I workout regularly using high intensity workouts such as Crossfit when I’d rather be sitting in front of the TV watching Seinfield reruns. The water in the pool feels no warmer for me than for anyone else for the first few laps….
I’m convinced that every outcome you’re experiencing in your life right now is directly due to the conscious choices that you make every minute of the day. What you eat, how you exercise, and most importantly, what and how you think. It’s no different with adapting to change. If you quit complaining about how much everything is changing, and spend that time every day learning about what’s going on, you’ll be way ahead of most people in the world.
The reality that I think most people are missing, is that because there is so much information out there, in every niche imaginable, and because just about everyone else, even the so called experts, are just as confused, (if not more so) than you are, there lies a huge opportunity. If you spend just an hour or two a day focused on studying up on any niche topic, you can become an expert on that topic in just a matter of months. The only tool you need is a web browser and Google. (Or Bing, if that makes you happy).
So your action step is to pick something. Anything. And start becoming an expert on it. Commit to spending at least an hour a day learning. Once you become and expert, (or better still, a guru), chances are you’ll never be out of work.
