What Is The Next Step?
I spent over 16 years of my life going to school and always striving to achieve the next step, the next goal, the next level. You spend countless nights cramming for some deadline, all in hopes to get to the next step. Then you make it. You graduate. You can see clearly the path that was laid out for you and now you stand so close to the top. At this moment you have one more step, the step we have been trying to get to this entire time, a career.
It has been forever in the back of your mind yet forgotten so easily throughout the years. The last step. That's what I thought. I thought it was the last step and once I got to the step we call a career, what's next? Am I shooting to climb the corporate ladder to the top? Do I want to start my own business? Do I want to crunch numbers all day as an accountant? It really doesn't matter what you strive to be but for many of us, like myself, we think it is the last step before we "start" our life, and that is the problem. The real story is that we can't see the next staircase. For our entire life the staircase was built by someone else, a system of guidance to help us get to what we thought was the top. It was easy to see it and had a yearly break point where we could stop for a few months before taking the next step. Now, as I stand at the top, I can't even see a step, let alone a staircase. Is this it? What's Next? The truth is that we have to build the next staircase and realize that it will be longer, harder, and not as clear as the first, but the key is that you need to build it, build something, one step at a time and realize that the staircase is not a straight line to the top, if there even is a top.
Know that the world is to big for one's mind to comprehend all that is possible within it. It is too complicated to solve all of the problems so think small. It is too overwhelming to even know where to begin so pick one thing. So where do I start? How do I start climbing the next set of stairs when we can't even see the top? Just start, as Thomas Edison famously said,
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
This is not about finding a new job, new career, or even changing where you are at today. I truly enjoy my career and the people that I work with every day. This is about aspiring to do more, build something greater, and discover like minded people that can help you get to the next step. Start looking, start connecting, start searching for people, companies, and causes with values that you believe in. Take it one step at a time and work to build relationships on a level that is greater than a Facebook friend or a Twitter follower. Know that the second staircase will be much taller than the one you have already climbed and instead of looking for the top, just look for the next step. Realize that in a world where we can have 5000 followers on twitter and a 1000 friends facebook know that it is no longer about who you know, it is about who CAN you know and as my friend Matt Sage says, "HOW you know them." Who you know means that you are looking backwards whereas who CAN you know if looking to the future. Big difference. You have to work to build new relationships and do more than is asked of you. Technology and Social Media are not the answer to better relationships, rather they are the channel. A powerful channel, but if anything it may be more difficult to make a lasting connecting nowadays because of the multitude of connections we now have and it may require more effort to build lasting relationships.
So if you find yourself thinking about doing more and wanting to give more, what are you waiting for? To get started, make a goal for today and then worry about what happens tomorrow, well, tomorrow. Search a new topic on google that interests you. Find someone who is talking about it on Twitter and reach out to them with a simple, "hello." The power of connection in this newly connected world is greater than one can imagine and it can help you find people and causes that would have never been possible 5, 10, or 15 years ago. The ability to search the words that anyone has written is remarkable to say the least. In the end it is all about a person's word. It can help you become a part of projects that you didn't know existed. It can steer you in a direction
that was never on your roadmap. It can help you with your career, life, or just finding like minded people that can help you get to or find that next step. Right now, go to search.twitter.com and search for something that you really enjoy. A phrase, a person, a company. Connect with the first person who says something that you agree with. Who knows when a simple relationship you make will be a life long one? Always remember that you might not be able to see the next step and instead just build them as you climb. It is not about what the next step
will be, it is about looking back on all of the steps you have built.
Not sure where this "inspirational" post came from but it may be due to the projects, people, and steps that I have built over the past year. It is truly humbling. Thank you.
-Shane Mac
