|
Business & Career: Know Your Ruling Star!
"Know your Ruling Star. One man is better received by one nation than another, or is one welcome by one city than another. He finds more luck in one office or position than in another, and all though his qualifications are equal or even identical. Let each man know his luck as well as his talents. Follow your guiding star and help it without mistaking any other for it. Know how to transplant yourself. There are nations with whom one must cross their borders to make one's value felt." - Balthasar Gracian, (Spain, 1600's) Have you ever felt, "Here I am, best job I ever had, good money, an excellent career move - but, what in the world am I doing here where I feel so alone and out-of-place with my surroundings? How did this happen to me?" I've been there, because someone offered me a job and I accepted, knowing ahead-of-time, intuitively I wouldn't feel at home in the town and surroundings. Or - maybe you love your location but, sadly, are unable to find any openings in your field. I've been there also. Looking back on my years in Austin, Texas, I can't believe the number of short-term, soul-emptying jobs I tried very hard and unsuccessfully do to. My job-duration ranged from only two hours (which was long enough when you hate what you are doing!) to several months (each day seeming like an eternity) before my opportunities in broadcasting finally came. It's a rare person these days who is able to say, "I love this community, love my home, love the work I do, get along great with my business colleagues and supervisors. How do you beat perfection?" There is a wonderful quote I repeated to myself many, many times during my ups and downs in Texas. "Hence the first principle in changing one's character is to seek another environment, to let new forces play upon our unused chords, and draw from us a better music." - Will Durant That's what I wanted! I wanted another location - another place - where new forces could play upon my unused chords and draw from me a better music. "There are nations with whom one must cross their borders to make one's value felt." - Gracian Yes! Yes! Yes! That's what I wanted. To cross borders and feel my native talents valued again. "Know your Ruling Star," the Spanish priest Gracian wrote in The Art of Worldly Wisdom. "One man is better received by one nation than another, or is one welcome by one city than another. He finds more luck in one office or position than in another, and all though his qualifications are equal or even identical." We are better received in certain locations or areas than in others, welcomed when we show up, and we most certainly do find more luck in one place than another. "But where, where, where is THAT PLACE?" I wondered. In Texas, for every 100% plus I gave in my career, the returns (feeling valued, appreciated, and being monetarily rewarded), always fell short. I hosted a noon talk show for awhile at an Austin TV station. Our ratings were great. The guests I booked were top names in the literary, entertainment, self-improvement, and political arenas. After our ratings came in one spring, I couldn't believe how well the show was doing. Several days later, however, the General Manager wanted to see me. After all the years of my show's success, he said, "James, I can't complain about your ratings. That's good for ad revenue, but I finally got a chance to see your show yesterday. As you know I only have a tenth grade education, never finished high school, started in sales, worked my way up to where I am today." He beamed proudly, "I didn't understand it." I knew when he said, "I didn't understand it," my show was doomed. The GM was the standard by which all business decisions at our stations were made. I wanted to call him, "Idiot," but restrained myself. My favorite line in Texas TV came from a female news director who told me, "You have a master's degree. We don't need people that smart to do the news." I never worked at that station. "Let each man know his luck as well as his talents. Follow your guiding star and help it without mistaking any other for it. Know how to transplant yourself," Gracian reminds us. Know how to transplant yourself! Finally, I did transplant myself, once again. It was time to move from the newsroom and go into teaching; use, finally, that masters degree referred to earlier that wasn't needed to report the news. "There is a simple answer to the question 'What is the purpose of our individual lives?" A.J. Ayer wrote. "They have whatever purpose we succeed in putting into them." Yet, if you believe you are being guided by and toward a higher destiny, as I do, use what others know (their gifts and resources) to inform and enlighten yourself. I've also successfully used relocation astrology as an essential tool to follow my guiding star. Through my sessions with Cait Benten, I'm finding, as we'd all like to do, a balance of the "right place" and the "right work" combined. "This time, like all other times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." --Ralph Waldo Emerson http://www.astro-earth-relocation.com About The Author Now, after a career as an award-winning media communicator and as a university professor, James has shared meaning-filled conversations with film stars, recording artists, US Presidents and first ladies, state governors, world-famous authors, scientists, and people from most every walk of life.
MORE RESOURCES:
Jobs City of Rochester (.gov)
Careers Washington State University
Careers Freedom of the Press Foundation
Careers Gwinnett County Public Schools
JobFeed NSW Department of Education
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign
1.Define your objective: Know what kind of work you most enjoy and perform the best.
From Bumbling Bosses to Cranky Co-Workers - How to Overcome What Makes You Hate Your Job
I'll be the first to admit that I hated my job. It took many years for me to come to this realization since I kept accepting promotions in the hopes that the awful ache inside of my chest would go away.
Cover Letter Magic: 4 Ways To ASK For The Job Interview - And Get It!
Just how important it is to ASK for the job interview clearly and directly in your cover letter?IT'S EVERYTHING!So the question remains: how effectively are you ASKING? The following four ways will help you nail down many more job interviews. Try them all and see which ones work best for you.
What A Former Stay At Home Mom Knows About Creating A Stunning Resume That You Dont
Recently I was asked to touch up a friend's resume. Her challenge was simple.
How To REALLY Look For A Job
Are you looking for a job -- really looking? Or are you simply waiting for employment to fall into your lap?If you're like about 75% of the job seekers I've met over the past nine years, you're probably doing too much waiting and not enough searching.Stop.
Personality Testing; Myth and Realities
It is commonly believed myth that personality testing instruments can measure your personality and predict your future behaviors. The pre-employment testing mechanism has been following this creed without any solid evidence.
Tips for Requesting a Raise
You probably think you deserve a raise. But does your boss think so?Here's how to go about convincing your boss that you're really worth more than you're being paid.
Why Choose A Professionally Written Resume?
Good question, considering that nowadays you can find manyuseful resources to help you write your own resume(including many located at http://www.impressive-resumes.
Personal Contacts: The Key to Successful Networking
When the word "networking" is used, we tend to think of upwardly mobile college graduates with a bursting day timer in hand chatting up the competition at business meetings, conventions, or workshops. The average blue/pink/white collar worker disconnects, feeling that they could never be that pushy, don't know enough people to even start the attempt, and that the method only works in competitive business environments.
Negotiating Skills: How to Obtain the Salary You Want
Salary negotiating is an important topic that must be addressed prior to your initial interview with a prospective employer. Knowing your bottom rate, and being able to live with it [or on it?] is an important thing for candidates to uncover before the first interview.
I Quit!
More and more people are calling it quits to successful careers to create some personal leisure time or to pursue another career. This trend is becoming more popular and common.
A Workplace Romance Can Be Detrimental to Your Career
Over 70% of single employees will become romantically involved with someone they work with at some point in their career. The workplace has become the new single's bar.
Avoid Your CV Always Ending Up in the Bin
Cover Letters must grab the reader's interest so that they immediately want to learn more about the writer (you).Your cover letter is generally the first document those potential employers will read.
Seeking A New Job While Currently Employed : Tiptoeing Through the Minefield
So, you currently have a job but you are looking for something a little better. You are getting tired, uptight, and maybe just a little stressed out.
Hey! - Are You Being Paid What You Are Worth?
Are you being paid what you are worth? Has anybody ever asked you that? Have you ever asked yourself?The answer to this question really hinges on another question: "Do you work for a boss or do you work for yourself?"If you work for a boss the answer must be a resounding NO! You see, you cannot possibly be paid what you are worth because your boss is being paid what you are worth. He or she then pays you at a discounted rate.
We Rejected Your Résumé Today
Hi, I am Mr. Employer.
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? Something That Hasnt Been Invented Yet!
Most of us were brought up to study hard, get good grades, choose a "practical" college major, and strive for a "good job."Talk to a stranded midlife career-changer and you realize the game has changed.
Nonverbal Interview Behavior
Non-verbal interview behavior can drown out your verbal self-presentation.Practice interviewing in front of a full-length mirror or, better yet, videotape yourself if you have access to such equipment.
How To Find A Job Writing Grant Applications
Do you have what it takes to land a job doing grant writing? Many people are looking for ways to develop a freelance business, but unless you know what it takes to do so, you might as well stop trying. There are several fields in which you can learn and have many jobs waiting for you.
Are You Making These Common Job Interview Mistakes?
Going to an interview without a plan of action is like going out on a football field without a game plan. Total disaster! Suppose I were to ask you right now.
|