Inevitably there will be times when you have setbacks or things don t go your way. Maybe you didn't get a job you thought you were sure to get. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly, didn't win a contract, or lost a major client. Your car always seems to break down right after you've had some other unexpected expense. These kinds of situations immediately place us in crisis. They don t feel good, but sometimes they re what we need in order to grow. The beautiful thing about crises is that they force us to take a step back and reevaluate what s going on in our lives and rediscover what we truly want and need. When we get over that initial shock and feeling of disappointment, we might realize that maybe that job wasn't really the best for us anyway. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you really wanted to spend your life doing. Maybe that friend was holding you back instead of pushing you forward. The way I deal with crises of these sorts is simple: If something doesn't go my way professionally, I try to create a situation that would be more rewarding than the situation originally planned. A while ago, I was offered a job that looked very promising. After I accepted the offer, they pushed the start date back three times, later informing me (via e-mail) that they wanted to bring me on in the near future but I should feel free to explore other options. I was extremely disappointed. I felt disrespected and angry, but decided to make the best of the situation and follow my dream of working internationally. I then flew to Santiago, Chile and had great professional and personal experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Later, reflecting back on the original opportunity, I realized that working for a company that avoids a start date three times and then can t pick up the phone to explain the situation is probably not where I need to spend my time. Use setbacks as an opportunity to put your goals in order and act on them. In the moment, it s difficult to look at a setback as temporary, but they are. They happen to everybody. It s how you respond to them that will determine how they affect you.
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It truly saddens me to think I might be partly responsible for at least thirteen (13) people – people I never knew – deciding to bring their lives to a premature end. However, the reality is that just might be the case. Maybe I did have something to do with it. No, I take that back. I most certainly had something to do with it. At Foxconn, a Chinese electronics factory that produces components for the likes of Dell, HP, and Apple, there were thirteen reported cases of suicide since January. Why? Well, according to an article by the New York Times, the harsh work environment, a sense of loneliness, and working 286 hours per week in order to earn the equivalent of $1 per day were the major causes. Personally, I think the problems run much deeper than that, but it would take too much space to present my argument in a blog post (look for a full article soon).
How I am responsible for the despair these factory workers, their families, and others in similar situations feel? It’s easy to blame the huge global companies that outsource their production to factories like this, but the constant consumer demand for faster, stronger, better, and CHEAPER products drive these companies to cut corners wherever they can. Two big expenses that increase costs: manufacture and customer service. Sometimes I walk into a store like Target and walk by the $1 section, pick up an item and think:
That’s crazy. We were able to mine the raw materials, refine those materials, ship them to China, pay the salaries of everybody from the executive team to the designers to the factory workers, label it, package it, ship it BACK to the States, and pay the courier, the inventory people, and the salaries of everybody in the store…all for under $1 per unit – for a pen.
Just under $1 is the maximum we’re willing to spend on that pen – the same amount the Chinese factory worker may have made that day. Is it worth it?
Putting a deadline on a dream is one of the most critical things you can do to prepare yourself for success. Dreaming is meaningless without putting a plan in place to convert that dream to a reality. Oftentimes the difference between somebody who accomplishes their dreams and somebody who doesn’t is the determination and action to make it happen. You can dream all you want, but it’s the action you put into place that will get you there.
Write It Down
Turn a dream into a mission by writing it down, committing you to it. Be specific with your goal. Where specifically do you want to be in three years? I don’t like 10-year plans unless you have other milestones in between them. Ten years is often too far into the future. After you write it down, place copies of your commitment where you will often see it (your refrigerator, wallet, desk, bathroom mirror, etc.). Also, tell people. Not only will they help you stay committed, you never know who might be able to help you accomplish your mission.
Develop an Action Plan
Without an action your dream will remain just that – a dream. After you write your goal down, put a plan in place to reach it. What specific steps will it take to accomplish your goal? What skills will you need? Who will you need to know? Map out a course that will take you to your destination and stick with it.
Put it Into Action
Once you have a plan, act on it. Begin by getting in contact with those who can mentor and help you on your journey. Research the organizations you will need to know. Gain (or hone) the skills you will need. Get out there and do it.
In their book, Social Entrepreneurship, David Bornstein and Susan Davis mention that students who attended Harvard’s Social Enterprise Conference 2009 indicated that the lack of high-paying jobs made it easier to choose work they cared about. To me, that signifies that we reside in a culture where what we value and how we assign value are disconnected. For whatever reason, whether they be societal pressures, the need to provide for our families, the desire to be respected among our communities, or otherwise, we tend to be willing to sacrifice our values (and happiness) in order to accept higher wages.
This makes it difficult for underfunded social entrepreneurs in great need of competent business leadership to recruit talented managers, executives, and other workers. We often lack our most innovative thinkers where innovation is critical for survival. Pay cuts in the traditional corporate sector and the rising (although slightly) wages in social entrepreneurship have bridged the financial gap somewhat, but not enough to entice many would-be converts make the switch.
If you aren’t excited to wake up every morning to do what you do for a living, it might be time to reevaluate what gets you going. We know about Monster, CareerBuilder, and other popular job posting sites, but here are some alternatives worth a try. They all focus on socially conscious jobs.
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