Life is like a marathon, not a sprint.
It doesn't matter if you feel that you are down now. Similarly, you shouldn't be complacent just because you are doing well now.
I write this post for students, parents and tutors.
You have always heard the cliché phrase, " Life is short." But is it? It is shorter than the life of a turtle for sure. But 60-80 years isn't short. It is more than half a century. Fifty years ago, there was no internet. This blog cannot exist. The concept of a web page is far from the imagination of a person living in 1969.
For Grown Ups
Failure
For us adults, there will be times where our future seems bleak. Our careers can be shaky due to micro or macro factors. You struggled at your job. You are unhappy. You wondered if you made the wrong career move.
Unlike students, we as adults know that being hardworking doesn't guarantee success. Luck alone doesn't cut it too. For luck do runs out after a while if there is no hard work. After all, you have decades to live. It is a combination of hard work and luck that create success.
When I left the Ministry of Education as a Humanities Head of Department, I threw away my chance of principalship in a school. Looking back, perhaps I can say I was too naive at that time. I struggled in the corporate wilderness for a long time. While I am a person who tries to move forward after making a decision. I cannot say that I never tried to look back and thought "What if I never left?".
Money was tight. Corporate promotion was arduous and subjected to many factors beyond my control. I learned much but also suffered much. That struggle lasted for more than a decade.
Eventually, I decided to give up employment and go back to teaching and coaching, albeit private tutoring. Self-employment was tough and frightening initially. But I persevered. My economic situation improved and so does my sense of self-worth. In private tuition, if you put in the hard work, it will be recognised. The money will also follow. In self-employment, hard work has a very direct relationship to rewards in comparison to being employed.
Then an opportunity comes and I find myself looking at principalship again. I had come full circle after 15 years. I would be both employed and self-employed.
Don't give up hope on yourself. If a job doesn't work out after you have put in effort to make it work. Move on.
A door opens after a door shuts. It may not be immediate but another door will surely open. Success may not be visible for a long time. Keep your head down and grind. It will come.
Success
For those who are successful in their careers, I congratulate you. However, always be on the lookout. Change is the only constant in the world.
Stay humble. Stay open minded. Keep learning. Complacency is one of the most lethal killers of careers. It sneaks up quietly and deals a killer blow. Read and read and read. Industries and technology will always be changing. You have to keep ahead of the changes. Knowledge will be your shield against the assassin of complacency.
It is hard for a person to keep learning. It is even harder for a successful person to keep learning. But it has to be done. Bill Gates, Lee Kuan Yew, Barack Obama, General James N Mattis, General Stanley McChrystal are all prolific readers. Despite of their successes, they kept on learning.
We should too.
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