Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: aspirations

  • Loving Monday: The Future Cannot be Postponed

    loving_mondayAspirations are fuel to the soul.

    Aspirations reframe our current circumstances into terms that tap into our dreams and hopes for the future.

    Aspirations, though, have to touch ground somewhere.

    That somewhere is Monday morning.

    That somewhere is in the choices I make today.

    Aspirations may be fulfilled in the future, but they always require engagement in the present.

    My point in this post is just this: The future cannot be postponed.

    All futures, if they are ever to take form, involve taking action today. Action postponed is future postponed.

    When it comes to our aspirations, though, we are dealing with matters of the spirit and heart. We are dealing with deep desires and ambitious hopes.

    We are dealing with all that makes us come alive and willing to work day after day and year after year in order to realize.

    Hence the urgency to live some portion of that dream today. To choose to take one step—however small or however far away from the goal it may feel—today.

    Maybe it’s a telephone call to make. Maybe it’s a essay to write. Maybe it’s a skill to learn. Maybe it’s a character trait to adjust. Maybe it’s a desktop to clear. Maybe it’s a problem to confront. Maybe it’s a mistake to correct. Maybe it’s a helping hand to extend.

    Just as long as it happens today. Something, one thing, anything, today.

    The future cannot be postponed. It will be here before you know it.

    What about your aspirations? Let’s make sure by taking a practical step today.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Quote to Consider: Aspirations as Inspiration

    quote-to-consider“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”

    Louisa May Alcott

  • Why Would I Trust You With My Future?

    We are asserting that your firm’s success might be deeply connected to the success of your individual team members. (Be sure to catch up on the entire series Influencing Others.)

    Imagine how much more committed to the company’s goals employees would be if they believed you were committed to helping them achieve their career goals. They’d go all-out for you.

    Let’s say you rewrote your job description to include a responsibility to help your key players reach their professional goals whether or not those goals involved staying in your employ. What a great leader you’d be, right?! You wouldn’t know what to do with all the loyalty and energy and dedication that would result.

    BUT

    And this is a big but.

    It’s not really safe to tell you
    my professional aspirations, is it?

    If you knew I was working my way toward a transfer to another department, a credential for another field, a transition to another part of the country, or a promotion that would complicate your own plans, would you really choose to use that knowledge for my benefit? Or would your commitment to yourself and the firm take over and ultimately use the information against me?

    Even if you could resist the temptation, is there any reason for me to trust you? After all, you have the power in the relationship. The risk of revealing my career aspirations is entirely mine.

    Think about it.

    What could you do to build trust and create a safe environment for everyone to celebrate and support each others’ career trajectories regardless whether they involve each other?

    Wouldn’t three to five years of over-the-top engagement be better than ten to fifteen years of squeezing out the-bare-minimum?