You Are a Cheat

You are a cheat and a fraud if you say that you are not afraid of the uncertainties of life. You are deceiving yourself if you keep making such a statement. Do you want to know why I am saying this? Please read the post fully to know.

A few years back, I attended a seminar in which a few experts delivered lectures on management topics. One of the experts remarked, "Entrepreneurship is more about eliminating risks than about taking them." I wanted to shout at the top of my voice that he was talking nonsense. But I refrained from doing it because decency demanded that I should not behave like that in public. But his statement triggered a few thoughts in my mind forcing me to delve more into the topic. I found a few interesting things when I dug deep into it. 

A question that may haunt the minds of people and more particularly, entrepreneurs.

"What will happen if we face failure in this?" Almost all the people will have this question in their minds before they take up a new task. Let me take the example of entrepreneurs because in general, it is they who invest hugely in whatever they do. Almost all the entrepreneurs, while launching a new product or service, or while making a big announcement about their new venture, are likely to have the above question in their minds. Of course, they may have done their research before coming out with their new ideas and plans. But the initial exhilaration and euphoria are heady drugs the stimulating effects of which do not last long. So, after some time, apprehensions start creeping into their minds. These doubts become more insistent and pronounced in due course of time. That is the reason weak-minded entrepreneurs develop cold feet and stop going ahead with their plans.

Even if you are a strong-willed entrepreneur, the uncertainty may make you wonder if the future will be as you have thought it to be or if it would be otherwise. You may also wonder if the risks are worth taking. Not just you, even the so-called geniuses in the entrepreneurial world will admit that they have faced similar situations and have been afraid of uncertainties before a new launch, be it a product or service or a new line of business. According to them, there is no fool-proof system to know if a new launch will be a success or not.

As Gary John Bishop, a famous author puts it, “Success is never certain. It never comes without risk. Even if you’re the smartest or the hardest working, there’s no guarantee of anything. The people who go on to do great things in their lives know this. They also embrace it......They didn’t succeed because they were certain they were going to succeed; they succeeded because they didn’t let uncertainty stop them.”

Precisely put, successful people are aware that they have to take uncertainty in their stride and embrace it as they do with innovations. They even go a step further and call uncertainty "the evil twin-sibling" of any new idea. But they look for every way to derive optimal benefits out of the uncertain situation. 

Leveraging the uncertainty is the only way.

Day in and day out, changes in the technological sphere have been happening at an unimaginable speed and so, it is not a surprise that business models suddenly vanish into oblivion. This means entrepreneurs have to learn how they can leverage the changes and the uncertainties that accompany them and unlock their benefits, whatever may be the odds or risks that are a part of those uncertainties.

What is the major difference between uncertainty and risk?

In uncertainty, there is not even a shade of certainty. This does not mean that you will certainly fail. On the contrary, in risks, you can use the Theory of Probability and know the chances of success or failure. Frank Knight, a popular economist, who authored the book "Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit," corroborates this fact also. For example, when you pick out a card from a deck, you will not be able to rightly predict which card will come to your hand. But Probability Theory will help you in knowing the chances.

The truth is without embracing uncertainty, you cannot accomplish anything. You will not realize your potential at all. Jonathan Fields, who authored the book, "Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance," also says, “If everything is known and certain, that means it’s all been done before. And creation isn’t about repetition.”

Uncertainty provides a large scope for failure and obscurity. So, you will be confronting the challenge of using your innovative ability to come out with great ideas that can eliminate the chances of failure. This means you should develop your resilience to adapt like a chameleon because circumstances can change so drastically and at a great speed. Only then, you can withstand the impact of Tsunami-like waves of changes. How can you reach the top if you wilt under the impact of such changes?.

Of course, this can be both bewildering and overwhelming. That is why not many have the courage or the mental strength to take risks. Though a few experts opine that you have to minimize risks, the problem with this suggestion is that by doing so, you will miss several great opportunities. So, instead of trying to minimize risks, you should learn to identify and foresee them to manage them and derive their best benefits.

Thanks to the major advancements in the technological realm, you now have several tools using which you can smartly foresee risks. Ironically, the same technological advancements have made risks difficult to identify. It is in this context Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can help businesses. These hybrid techniques will help in sifting large amounts of data and analyzing them. So, the decision-making process in your business will improve by leaps and bounds. 

Of course, the future will see several new developments and changes that may make the magnitude of uncertainty stronger. But ML can develop, update, and improve according to the developments and changes. At the same time, experts warn that ML is not a silver bullet and humans can never be replaced.

In a nutshell, if you learn to be resilient and leverage uncertainty, it will be easy for you to shape your success. As they say, there is always thrill in not knowing the future.

Get Rid of the Barriers That Stop Your Career Growth

An expert has once said that there are no barriers to the entrepreneurial world. The fact that the number of startup companies has been increasing at a very rapid pace might have been the reason behind this observation. Whether these startups are able to sustain in the competitive environment that is prevalent now is a different question altogether. While talking about the entrepreneurial world, you may ask what the situation is in the job market. The job market does not have barriers also. This point needs elaboration.

According to Parkinson's Fourth Law, "The number of people in any working group tends to increase irrespective of the amount of work to be completed."  Let us not debate if this law is right or not. But the fact remains that job opportunities are aplenty. But unless you acquire the talent required for the job you wish to land, you cannot achieve your dream. Therefore, the foremost step for landing the job you aspire for is to acquire the required knowledge and skill. But will you get complacent once you land the job that you have been aspiring for? In fact, if you get complacent at this stage, you can never grow in your career. This means you have to set your eyes on higher levels in order to climb the career ladder. Here are a couple of suggestions that may help you in this process.

1. Acquire the "I Care a Damn" attitude.

When others come to know that you are aiming high and trying to acquire more knowledge and better your skill, most of them will discourage you. Some of these folks may be jealous. A few among them may perhaps be traditional-minded and hence, according to them, aiming high may be a taboo. Some fo these traditional-minded people may even opine that contentment is the best virtue, and aspiring to move on to the highest level is nothing but avarice. There is another group of people who are negativity-personified and so, they will discourage you also. Yet a few others can not just tolerate if someone grows. They will derive a sadistic pleasure if others get defeated and doomed. 

In short, you are bound to confront a lot of criticisms and discouraging comments. You can not move an inch forward if you react to or worry about such javelins and jibes. Therefore, you are advised to learn and practice what is known as the "I Care a Damn" attitude. As Dale Carnegie puts it, "Do the very best you can; and then put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism from running down the back of your neck." Hence, do not worry about what others say and be sincere in your efforts so that your climb can be as smooth as possible.

2. Never relent even if you face hurdles.

During the course of your journey towards career success, you will certainly confront challenging situations. You should not give up even when such situations threaten your aspiration. You should be resilient enough to use your resources and tide over such situations. But there may be situations when you may not have the resources that are normally required for tiding over such situations. In those instances, you must be innovative and look for using the resources that are available with you. For example, if you do not have a camera for doing your work, you can use your mobile phone for taking photos or shooting videos. If you do not have a credit card, you can explore the possibilities of using PayPal, Shrill, etc. for making your transactions. In short, if you apply your mind, you can always come out with innovative solutions, whatever may be the situation you may face.

To summarize, you must have a strong desire to achieve your goal. You must have faith in yourself as well. You should be committed and focused also. These three are the most important ingredients required for making the tastiest of recipes, which is called "success."   

How Resilience Plays a Key Role in One's Career Growth

"Don't react instantly because chances of your life getting ruined are high" is the sage advice of philosophers. How you react or respond to situations depends upon the emotional state you are in. This is all the more true in career-related situations. In other words, career growth or career development has an emotional side as well. 

You may have come across many career counsellors who may advise you that if you want to have the career growth you are aiming at, you must acquire new skills, volunteer to take up challenges in your workplace, refine your communication skills, have a good mentor to guide you, and so on. But only a few career experts recognize the fact that career development has an emotional side also. 

In fact, this emotional side is as important, if not more, as successfully climbing the career ladder because it may help you overcome the setbacks that unexpectedly confront you. Remember that your long-term success depends upon how you persevere even when you face such setbacks and obstacles. It is in this context you are advised to cultivate resilience so you will find it easy to surmount these road-blocks.

What is resilience?

Before knowing the value of resilience in helping you in your long-term growth, you must first know what the word means. It is nothing but the inner strength that is needed for responding suitably to stress-causing situations and obstacles. In other words, it is a healthy behavior and attitude that will help you in adapting even when tough circumstances and challenges stare in your face.

How resilience can help you in your career development

1. Resilience helps you persevere even when you face tough circumstances. Remember that everything may not happen according to your wish. You may be expecting a promotion but the management may promote another employee or may recruit a new employee for the post. You may certainly be upset over this but you must be resilient enough to accept the reality. 

Of course, you have the option of quitting the company and looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. But the job market is still tough because the global economy is yet to fully recover from the economic down-turn that struck it not long ago. You may face rejections and may have to pass through a prolonged period of uncertainty. But if you stick with your company with perseverance and prove your worth with increased vigor and enthusiasm, you will soon be recognized and rewarded.

2. Nowadays, employers expect that job aspirants should possess 'softskills.' Resilience is one of the main ingredients of these so-called soft skills. Employers firmly believe that resilient employees will be more flexible, optimistic, curious, and engaged. Not only that, these employees will have a macro-view of things and hence, they will bring about a positive change to the workplace environment. This will boost productivity and help in solving issues that may crop up at the workplace.

3. Resilience will help you remain confident even when you face tough situations. Only if you are confident, you can plan your work in an organized manner and work your plan with discipline. In short, you can show better performance if you are resilient. 

On the contrary, if you are not resilient despite being highly talented, you may start questioning or challenging the decisions of the management. You may purposely change the way you work and this may cause friction in the workplace. As they say, "talent and trouble always go hand in hand." In short, you will earn the reputation of being a maverick individual. Remember that not all managements will be flexible and be prepared to put up with the pain of handling such employees.

4. Resilience can empower you to overcome even challenging situations and adversities. Since you will have confidence and an optimistic outlook, you will be able to manage your team easily, can negotiate business deals skilfully, be ready to shoulder new risks and come out with solutions for the issues the company faces and so on. 

5. Very importantly, you will be able to handle criticism in the right manner. Instead of viewing criticisms with a negative perspective, you will view them as a constructive feedback. This will help you in improving yourself and advancing more quickly. Remember that when you go up the career ladder, you will be subject to increased scrutiny.

6. Resilience will help you put forth your efforts with a growth mindset. This means when obstacles or unexpected setbacks confront you, you may not consider them as 'dead ends' but as opportunities that indirectly suggest to you that you should learn and grow. Therefore, you must begin learning from the mistakes you commit and from those others commit also. 

Remember that a number of factors may work against you and many of them may not be under your control. So, you must stop worrying about the outcomes and work with confidence. Also remember that resilience is not a trait that is passed on genetically. You should strengthen your character in such a manner that you acquire this trait so you can smoothly handle any situation in your career path.