On Preparation & Your Career

My good friend Saundra has been supplying images on work/life fusion for a little while now.

Usually, I write a blog post then we choose an image together. This time around Saundra's image came before the post.

I always found Saundra's work inspiring, I suppose today is proof! :)

[Lone Surfer - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

What do you see when you look at this picture?

I looked at the surfer first. Is he plucking up the courage to jump in or is he looking on the sea after a good day at the office?

Then I looked at the sea. There are waves but on the whole the sea looks pretty calm. And that's when the Saundra-inspired-light-bulb appeared above my head...

A surfer can't make the waves. He just has to prepare and be there at the beach when the conditions are right. Hours of practice learning to ride, reading the weather, finding the best beaches and the best breaks; these are the things that make a surfer ready for the day he's at the beach and the waves are there for him.

The parallels with our careers are endless. Career management can only prepare us for the right conditions, the right set of circumstances, the right opportunities.

Sometimes, even when you have done everything right, you will still have to wait.

But the time will come when you have done everything right and the conditions are perfect too. That's when the surfer gets the waves he wants. That's when you get the break in your career you have worked so hard for.

So that's what I saw in this picture. Do you see something different?

All the best for now,

Paul