Better Late than Never

It is about time that i wrote a blog. I claim to be an entertaining writer but i am a better procrastinator, in fact that ranks as one of my main skills, i'd never advise anyone to say that in an interview though.

So the deal is i provide career advice and teach career skills, hoping that my pearls of wisdom can help students achieve some things they otherwise may not have been achieved. I like to think i am good at that, well damn it i am, because i advise people to do something they are good at so i guess i have to say that. I like to use sport analogies and indeed random analogies of various kinds so expect to see plenty of that, if you don't like it, tough. If i was in Northern Ireland, where i was spawned and spent my formative years i would tell you to go do something colorful but i'm in the South so i'll be politically correct on that one. In fact many of my Northern irish friends will tell me to go do something colorful for even writing a blog.

Now that the introduction is over, brief as it was, i'd like to take a minute to discuss why i'm doing this, my mission as it were. I want to make sure that students, indeed anyone might pick up a few things that help them in their quest to get whatever it is they want. Vague i know.

So my first point of discussion is to question those ridiculous statements such as "you should only ever do what you love," "if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life" and "you should love your job so much you should be willing to do it for free." You better believe i'm getting paid, and not enough thank you very much. We've all heard these statements thrown out by some overpaid keynote speaker, who fails to say just how you make that happen! Depending on my mood my reaction has been to think 'well aren't you lucky' or 'i really want to chin you right now.....as in a lot.' We don't always have the luxury of holding out for that dream job and our situation often dictates that we must do what we have to, not what we want to. I would argue that more people have a job they dislike than the opposite. I doubt working in McDonalds has many dreamlike qualities associated with it.

I will put the disclaimer out there that of course you should aim to have the job you want and that it is entirely possible to get the job you love. I count myself as having those very jobs that i want and love, see value in-but i have been lucky. I had parents who worked to send me to a good school, instilled a sound work ethic, but i have held less glamorous jobs, have sucked it up and did things i would never want to do again to either pay for something or earn the right to do something better. Of course you also have people who are lazy, who complain and don't try to change things but you can never dismiss the fact that people sometimes just don't have the right situation or opportunity before them.

All that to say we don't always get to do what we want to do, but it's usually possible to get something a little better, a little more loveable just by doing a little more, being a little better. And so if we make things a little better each time maybe we can earn the right to do what we love if we make the best out of our situation, those of us who are lucky enough to have that chance should take it and make the best of it. And if that sounds a little too sugary I'll let Mick Jagger say it for me!

"you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need!"

On a final note, if you have any suggestions for a new title let me know!