I very recently met a candidate who brought up in the interview that during her recent sabbatical from a very successful career in FS, she successfully completed the world renowned Comrades Marathon. This is no ordinary athletic feat but instead a 56 mile ultra-marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa! In congratulating the candidate I asked why she had done it and she replied, “life is too short to not do exactly as you want, there are no excuses!”
The ease of using excuses is a prolific problem many of us encounter according to leading Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo, Larry Smith. In mentoring many students and start-ups including Research In Motion (maker of the Blackberry) he advises that our own excuses are often to blame for us not perusing our greatest passion. What are these excuses?
Great careers are a privilege for the 'lucky' ones in life
People with great careers are genius and I am not
I am competent but not a star so I simply couldn't do it
People with great careers are obsessive and I am not
I have looked for my passion and can't find it - Larry advises you need to explore at least 20 interests to be informed enough to find your passion
I value human relationships more highly than accomplishment and cannot have both
Every day at Freshminds Talent, we meet with a range of excellent candidates and clients with varying backgrounds who all hold the shared belief - that there is no excuse not to be exactly where they want to be. This never fails to impress me and is clearly a huge contributor to their success so my advice for candidates - put the excuses to one side and go for it!
