Launching a career and launching a rocket take the same effort
As Americans, we are fascinated by the launching of space missions by NASA. It is an incredible site to watch a launch. The size of the fuel tanks and booster rockets of the Shuttle tells you just how much energy is required at the early stages of a launch. Once speed is attained, very little is required to get the shuttle into orbit.
It’s the same with an airliner. They burn most of their fuel climbing to altitude.
Momentum is the key to a successful launch. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. And of course, an object at rest tends to stay at rest.
The sad fact is few people ever really get much momentum going in their lives and their work. It looks too hard. And they can’t seem to stick with it long enough to get to the point where less and less effort is required and more and more intended results are achieved.
It’s important to take the RIGHT action for sure. But sometimes ANY action is enough to break the habit of inertia and get things moving.
Whatever it takes to get yourself moving, do it.
For me, reading a book or listening to an inspiring or motivating audio file gets me going. Sometimes it’s a conversation with my business partners or a review of my written goals. Music in the background works, too.
The important thing is to get going. It’s an old cliché but beginning IS often half done. Finishing well may be a valuable attribute, but if you never get started, you never get a chance to finish.
Remember, you don’t have to get it right; you just have to get it going.
Career Coaching for Students™ is a program that high school students (and their parents) find very helpful, exciting, useful and timely. It doesn’t matter if you are at the top of your class or struggling to graduate. In high school every student is at the same level regarding career direction.
If you are a parent of a high school student, or if you are a high school student with a desire to explore the possibilities of your future, I encourage you to take career exploration seriously. It won’t just happen. Like a shuttle launch, career exploration and career planning take a great deal of exploration, testing of ideas, work, fuel, resiliency and people. Of course you could just get lucky.
About the Author: Carl Nielson is an executive coach, organizational development consultant and career coach. He developed the program, Career Coaching for Students™ for high school students in 2005 which aligns with 100% of recently published GWU Freshman Transition Initiative guidelines. A college version was just released in June of 2010.
Student Career Exploration and Planning Blog 