Delayed Satisfaction, Now!
March 31, 2008 by torbjornrive
Almost nothing happens immediately. For example, it takes a series of decisions before you’re brave enough to begin a battle with foot fungus; it takes years of professional upgrading before entrepreneurship is certain; and growing a career takes, if not actual planning, then a series of well planned decisions. Open your views to delayed satisfaction now, and you’re building a door for opportunity to knock on.
I think that Rebecca makes a good point in that the less you try to plan and instead live in opportunities now, the better your career will naturally lay itself out before you. But, as some commented on her post, without plans to at least give you a range of decisions to work with there will be no road to travel on.
Professional upgrading can be expensive and leave you planning less for the time being (because as you get through it you need to be stable), but it will definitely pay off when you put it into action as part of a plan. Eventually.
I cannot use my upcoming certification in proposals yet, which is a bummer because the work and funding is there - while I am in part-time school I have to know that it may take two years to pay off. Know this, and be comfortable with it.
Building a network as an action plan will have a delayed pay-off. I have a number of business cards and connections that I cannot, frustratingly, put into action yet. I tried too early once, and in being overly keen may have scared off a potential client. If you are the service provider, make that connection, but have the potential client contact you when the time is right. If you sell yourself well upon initially meeting them, the call will come in.
Think of this: when our forests are re-stocked, they are planned as harvestable in 40 to 80 years. Sometimes more. That means that the company with the lease on the land plans to exist for that amount of time, a rather lofty goal. Often the lease is auctioned off, but then the next company needs to believe in that future target. Knowing the condition of the market and industry right now the risk is massive, but the goal of that satisfaction is fair: the larger the time frame, the more disbursed the risk is.
When I finish my nearly two year investment in school I am taking that risk that more opportunities will have risen in a two-year period. Realize your niche, and bank on growth, it’s usually worth it.
Lastly, something that I am familiar with, putting your time in as an intern may suck the life out of you at times, but it is an investment that will give you a business-shoe foot in the door. Because of my 6 months (with my current company), I know lines and levels of the firm that many other employees never bothered to notice. Take pride in where you stand as an employee and use it to make your boss look good: it will pay off in time.
So, as review:
- Professional Upgrading;
- Networking;
- Interning; and
- Banking on growth of a niche
…are three specific factors that you need to have some patience in. Growing a career path takes time and patience. More often than not it is about growing that path, and not a career: you may not know where that path leads to.
I see a common theme with these “investments”. All of them are things we don’t really do for the fun of it. Admittedly, that’s what this post is all about, but I think it provides an interesting contrast to investing in the financial world. When you invest in stocks or bonds you are just putting money that you don’t really need for something else to work for you. It can be a sacrifice at times, but it is not usually downright unpleasant. You are expecting returns.
Investing in yourself or your career, as you point out, can be a little less pleasant. We frequently don’t feel like waiting for results, we would rather have them up front. In the case of taking an internship, especially if you go for a non-paying one, the investment is very much a sacrifice. Having experienced people willing to give you advice can come in handy because they can see the big picture and what you might gain by your short-term sacrifices.
Great thought provoking post!
@Michael: Hey, thanks for your great input, it actually adds well to the post. I think that the only real almost unpleasant thing I talk about here though is the interning. Almost, because I did have a paid one, and it was a great learning experience. Surely, as you mention, many sacrificed were made: like opinion, on a daily basis.
Knowing that it is for the later satisfaction is still the key.
@Allen T: your comment was deleted as spam, and even though I unspammed it and managed to read it, it is still gone. Hope you drop by again. Glad you enjoy my writing.
Agreed. With my ’start up’ (if you could even call it that), I am planning on being able to do it full time 3-5 years from now. However, I am scouting out commerical real estate leasing costs, eventual equiptment costs, and other things that I know will come up at some point.
@Norcross - all those investments you speak of are very much what I mean in this post. If you use the money over the years ahead of your goal, the risk as well as cost is more manageable. And good luck with that all!