Is it ever too early to think about your career?

I suspect not. I don’t think you are equipped at twelve to make a career decisions but then again I don’t think you equipped at 14,15 or 16 and yet that is when you make huge career decisions, that you will probably have to live with for the rest of your working life.

My son Ruaridh thinks about his career all the time. He rules things in and he rules them out. The ideas come fast and go even faster. I encourage this and make him think about why he may like something or why is may not suit. He is presently starting an online business doing minigames reviews.

He already understands how important it is to do something you love.  He is open minded. He is not limited. He believes anything is possible and that it is simply up to him to choose what he wants. These factors put him twenty years ahead of most of us.

Most of us grown ups are still making excuses. We still feel unworthy of having a job we love. We are extremely limited in our thinking. We have very limited belief on what’s possible.

Look to the little people, as you have much to learn from them. They are what years of coaching and counselling should achieve in you if you let it.

I grew up surrounded by a lot of adults so I was always getting asked,

“what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I think this is a question we should keep asking ourselves. Our needs change and they change fast.

You have to ride two horses and find the balance between

  1. Being completely open to all possibilities and
  2. Committing to something and giving it your all

What most people do is some half way house. They neither find something they love nor do they commit to it fully.

Potential is not something restricted to your children, it’s exists for you too. Are you making excuses? Do you say things like

“If I had it to do over I would . . . .”

or

“If I was your age I would . . . .”

The barriers from most things have been lowered. It used to be if you wanted to start your own business you needed a lot of money. Nowadays you can start your own business with nothing but grit.

Age is less of an issue. Courses are more accessible. What was once a pipe dream is now feasible – it’s within the grasp of someone who reaches out for it.

We all have our own excuses. We all prevent ourselves from realising our own potential. We can make the change and it needn’t be that painful.

Instead of asking “why can’t I . . .?” ask instead, “How can I . . .?

Trust in your own human psychology. If you ask the right questions it will figure out the answers. The trouble is that we do not ask the right questions. We shut down the possibility before it gets an honest chance to sail.

I know it’s scary. It means we have no excuses left to hide behind. But it’s worth it. Pop out from behind your excuses and dare to imagine the life you truly want.

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