I met Mandar, a different type of entrepreneur, in a town near Pune.
As we saw earlier, career management has become more complex because of this two-way relationship between our aspirations and opportunities. Aspirations are fuelled because of increasing opportunities, and more aspirations generate more opportunities.
Mandar has been working in a software industry for last 5 years, working in a well paid job. After 5 years, he decided to start something of his own, because he wants to be in the town where he has lived and do something 'meaningful'.Now it has been 6 months after he started his new venture which has undergone several 'changes' other than the intended ones. He has been facing stiff challenges. Why do professionals face difficult challenges in their lives today than their fathers?
Today's professional faces many more career challenges than their fathers because of two reasons : altering aspirations and increasing options.
Altering aspirations
My father, who worked for 46 years, in one company never believed that the job should also provide 'job satisfaction'. He could not finish his diploma because of lack of funds. For him, only one reason for having a job was to earn 'money'. Because he was fighting for food and shelter, his aspirations never went beyond that.
On the other hand, because he provided me with the qualification ( of becoming an Engineer and MBA) and the necessary minimum 'shelter', my aspirations had changed in my first job. I already was aspiring for 'job satisfaction' after 5 years in my job. Today's individual seek 'job satisfaction' immediately after the first job.
Some individuals with a well developed 'reflective mind' ( type 2 mind) seek even more. At the age of 30, i helped one of my coachee 4 years back in fulfilling his aspirations of doing something in the field of education, by working for a NGO in education, while simultaneously earning enough money to sustain himself. Have you heard about Narayanan Krishnan, who had been shortlisted for an elite job in Switzerland, whose life course changed after a chance visit to a temple?
Aspirations have changed in the young generation because the increasing prosperity is compelling them to think of 'what will they do with their life' much earlier than their than their fathers. Our fathers did not face that question early, because it took them their entire life to secure their family with food and shelter. We are fortunate ( or unfortunate, depending on how you see it) because we have to face this challenging question very early in life. And more importantly, these aspirations are fuelled by the increasing opportunities that are offered by the global world.
Increasing opportunities of the global world
The global world had brought the opportunities to the doorstep. Today, you can sit in your home, and serve a customer sitting in US because of the internet. I know of 'teachers' who teach mathematics to US students by connecting through internet.
The global world has also brought in multiple options to work: part time, full time, or even on project basis. Neha, left her job to take care of the child for three years. And now she works part-time from her home, as a clinical researcher, so that she can fulfill both her aspirations: of being a good mother as well as being on the top of her profession. Like Neha, everyone today has a different 'definition' of job satisfaction. There is no universal definition. And the opportunities in the market are also helping us realise these 'definition', so to say.
The world of NGO has become so professionalised, that one can 'contribute' to the society without sacrificing 'money'. I have several friends of my age who work in NGO and therefore find an ideal place to combine their interest and skills together in one job.
Summary
As we saw earlier, career management has become more complex because of this two-way relationship between our aspirations and opportunities. Aspirations are fuelled because of increasing opportunities, and more aspirations generate more opportunities.
The environment today is also conducive to fulfill our aspirations. Mandar only has to just find how to fulfill his aspirations by thinking differently about his career and skills. He cannot use the skillset of his father. If he has to learn to use the new environment for his own benefit, he has to think and act differently. Only changing aspirations won't help; he need to acquire the new skills to fulfill those aspirations.
For instance, one of the most important challenge that individuals face early in life is in finding meaning in life. 'Finding meaning in something' is not a left brain sequential process. It is in the realm of your right brain. And therefore, it is not in your control. Right brain outcomes like satisfaction, meaningfulness, happiness cannot be achieved directly by Will. They are typically the by-products of some other actions, of the way you live life. This is a new skill that one has to learn early in life.
