I came across this presentation and I just had to share it.
When I was in college in the late 70's, everyone I knew was reading What color is your parachute?, once considered the ultimate career planning guide. I read it too, and it did help me figure out what to do with my life. These days, things have changed somewhat, but a lot of the lessons of my life are still true. One thing is for sure, I do believe that most people start their career looking for the wrong things, for the wrong reasons. Usually they succeed in finding exactly what they were looking for, sad to say. I know lots of miserable people who think they are successful just because they 'made it', whatever that means. But they are still miserable. I guess that's where the term 'miserable failure' comes from. If you fail and stay miserable, whose fault is it?
But I digress.
Garr Reynolds did a wonderful job to summarize Daniel Pink's new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Need. Basically, Reynold's summary of Pink's thesis (my emphasis added) is :
- There is no plan (but there is a way)
- Think about strengths, not weaknesses. (yours not the other person's)
- It's not about you. (it's about adding value)
- Persistence trumps talent. (man, do I so agree with that one!)
- Make excellent mistakes. (take smart risks, and do something BIG)
- Leave an imprint. (Change the world in a way that matters to you, even if it is hard)
I could not agree more. Great work, Garth and Daniel. You left an imprint on me for sure.
I wish someone had introduced me to Johnny Bunko 30 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time in learning the best lessons of my (working) life. Now, where did i put my magic chopsticks?
Enjoy.
