How to be the boss of your own life
The rules have changed. Gone are the days of thinking that job security would come after our hard work in school and getting a stable job with a big company that would take care of us. That was then, and this is now. Everything that we were told was safe no longer is. Employers no longer reward loyalty with job security. No longer should you expect to just work your way up the ladder by putting your head down, being a team player, and waiting to get recognized. The rules for success have changed so fast and have come at a speed that maybe it’s leaving you breathless and terrified about how to respond. Maybe you are still confused as to why after years of what you considered playing by the rules, you are not making the progress you hoped to make or were used to making. The skills that took you to the top in school are no longer translating into desired positions in the workplace. Worse yet, even if you are making more money, and climbing the ladder, it isn’t bringing the one crucial thing you hoped it would—a feeling of security.
But despite this story of ups and downs that have forever changed the way we view our careers and our lives, there is another story that has emerged about how to not just survive, but thrive in constant change.
So, what do some know that you must learn?
What they know, is that we all must become the boss of our own life and take full control, regardless of whether you work for yourself or someone else.
How exactly are they taking control and succeeding where others are struggling and failing?
Here are three keys to becoming the boss of your life:
- You must be the translator of your value. Under the old rules, we all took our talents and skills to the companies we worked for, who in turn translated our talents into value for their customers. Now, we don’t need a middle person. We must be the translators of our value and not wait for someone to do that for us. This mindset shift is critical because it is a linchpin to success in this new era. Being your own value translator involves knowing your unique advantage, and communicating that consistently and effectively.
- Knowing your unique advantage. Your advantage is the place where your talent, purpose, passion, and market all meet. Here’s what I mean; it is about figuring out what is unique about you and how that distinctiveness meets a need in the marketplace. You need to know what you have to offer to the world, which is about understanding your talents and strengths. This first step cannot be underestimated. Every successful person has learned to identify what is the strongest, clearest expression of who they are so that they can reinforce that daily in their lives. You then need to ask yourself what problems you solve. This question is the game changer because it is not enough to know what you love or what you have learned, or what your job titles have been. The real question that you have to answer is can you translate that talent and skill into value in the marketplace for others? Is there a need that you can uniquely and specifically fill?
- Communicating your value. Some people believe that communicating their value is just about to-do’s like how you are “packaging” yourself and whether you are handing out your business cards often enough. That’s only one small piece of the pie. You’ve got to be willing to tell a compelling story and speak confidently and compellingly about yourself. You have got to be your own best advocate and negotiator for what you deserve. The real value communicator though is when you can also set yourself apart by figuring out what it is that you have to say that others are not saying. Do you have a platform to make your voice heard clearly and consistently? Are you influencing teams, projects, or conversations? What do you stand for and why?
- You are in charge of your income, not your employer. How many times have you thought to yourself, “I know I have what it takes and I am a hard worker, so why am I spending all of my time working for someone else?” Think about how many books and articles and discussions have centered on how to negotiate for a better salary. The truth is, we can not only rely on someone else to either pay us our worth or to provide us with financial security. Ask yourself if you should have more than one source of income such as your main job and a side business so that you take back control of your income.
- You have to be prepared for and expect change. We all know that the only constant is change, and so we need not fear it but anticipate it. We also need to be willing to tolerate some risk and failure to get where we want. I think that our willingness to tolerate risk is also a statement of our worth. In other words, are you willing to bet on yourself? Do you think you are worth the risk?
