SUCCESS TOOLS

Career Adventures: Professional Development Is An Adventure

By Michele Badie

In a blink of an eye, it will be 2021. Purpose-driven women often remind themselves that they are on an unprecedented trail to accomplish greatness that they believe they were created to blaze. They have no issues with prioritizing the balance of life and family. What often keeps showing up in their thoughts and dreams is the strategy of the "how" to manifest the next step to crystallizing their legacy that is an authentic representation of themselves.

Some purpose-driven women toil with the realities of committing to completing the professional development needed to attract the resources and invites to seats at the tables to add their voice to empowering conversations of change and plans of action. It can be an internal battle that pushes you to commit or fold. If commitment is your choice, consistency is a part of the deal. If you opt to fold, regret will start to mask the reflection of excellence you're working to see daily in the mirror.

Professional development is keeping your skills recharged, competitive, and hire ready. You must present yourself as knowledgeable and relevant in your field. Today I encourage you to choose to master the root of self-respect, which is often said to be self-discipline. Let the mastery of disciplining yourself to respect your legacy lead you to experience a cherished professional development adventure that only you can gift yourself this year. There are four self-clarification points that I encourage you to address before investing your time and resources to evolving to your professional best. First, determine the "why" fueling your professional goals. Is it to afford your lifestyle of choice, establish long-term financial wellness, fund passion projects, or launch new income streams. Whichever applies to you let it be your motivation to stay committed to completing the phase of your professional development journey. Next, understand the mindset hybrid which resonates with your success strategy: growth, abundance over scarcity, or empowerment over control. Third, embrace the

power of journaling about your goals consistently until they crystalize to be your reality. Fourth, generate a list of professional non-automated skills, soft and technical that you perceive you need to up-level and or acquire to increase your credibility within your industry. Research and confirm the resources that will be most helpful to you. Identify resources offered beyond an academic setting, such as through your employer, professional organizations, or online learning platforms. Consider using knowledge-based apps, LinkedIn Learning, or Udemy to asses your knowledge level of the subject matter or gauge the degree of your interest. If your professional development requires you to self-fund it, remind yourself that your legacy, dreams, and goals are worthy of the sacrifice. In the words of Earl Nightengale, "Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

I want to remind you to be patient with yourself. Allow yourself time to meditate, stretch, and grow through the ongoing progression of your professional development. Mix up the timeline ranges that you set to achieve your goals from weekly, monthly, to quarterly. Spending a dedicated fifteen minutes a day consistently counts as you actively working on your professional development goals.

Get excited because your intentional efforts will start opening doors for you. Whether you're a purpose-driven woman that likes to move in silent or with a tribe of fellow goal-getters, confidently believe that the accountability works of your professional development will be blessed.