Jul
22
“What’s for you won’t go by you” is a fine old Scottish saying - if you are meant to have it then you will - roughly translated.
A while back I was working with a lovely lady who was pulling herself out from her own personal hell to get back into the world of work. She had applied for a couple of jobs and had not been successful to that point but she came out with that quote.
I was impressed by her new found determination. She was hugely creative and talented. She had a great network of friends and family who were on her side and looking out for her. And she was about to complete the programme I was coaching to get her “work ready” again. So I could not sit back and wait for things to come to her.
You see I really believe that what’s meant for you will indeed pass you by if you don’t have your antennae switched to receive. To ensure that you don’t miss opportunities you must keep a level of awareness of what is going on at all times to jump when the time comes.
Let me give you an example. My lovely Mum - who is in her late 70s- has been going to the same hairdresser for 30 years ( she does my hair too - but mine is more suited to a 50 something!). Mum overheard the hairdresser say to another client that she was looking for speakers for the local business group she is a member of. Mum reported this to me and asked if that was something I could do! I have to say that Mum hears stories from me about the work I do but she really does not have a full grasp of what that entails on a day to day basis so I was mighty impressed that she made the link. I called to offer my services and I am in the diary for a meeting in September! So not only were my antennae up - but so were Mum’s!
If you want to enhance your chances of a good opportunity coming your way you need to talk about what you are looking for - to friends, family, colleagues, on your social networking site. This in turn will give them more chance to make the link or connection when an opportunity arises.
A small but important addition to this advice is - be sure you are clear about what you are looking for so that they in turn can be clear.
The lady I mentioned decided at the end of the programme to retrain as a nurse. She said that she had wanted to go into nursing when she was little and was reminded of this when chatting with a friend. Where previously she said she did not have the confidence to go for it now it was the right time for her. So missing out on the other jobs was actually a good thing. Every cloud….now there’s a topic for another post.
Jackie,
That is a wonderful saying that I had never heard put forth in that way. I’ll wear something tartan today and do a phrase-drop (with attribution).
The whole antennae thing is what life is about, no? Especially if one is self-employed.(I’m sending your Mum some business cards).
It took me a very long time to realize that I needed to educate my friends and family regarding what I do. I took for granted that, through conversations, they fully understood. Not so.
Perhaps we should even consider doing an orientation workshop for those closest to us!
What a great idea. When I was a tax consultant I thought people generally understood what I did - but the questions I was asked showed that they didn’t…so with something like coaching and training I should be able to use both of those skills to bring them along with me!
I see a whole new career opening up for my Mum. Actually though she has been a great networker all her life - she just didn’t call herself one.