An insight into the sector of (social) enterprise, life skills and careers. Why going with the flow is dangerous. Do what’s right, not easy. Why auto-pilot existences is our biggest threat. The changing face of professional development and whose responsibility is it exactly to get us to the ‘new world’?
BY Melody Hossaini
Success & Personal responsibility
The deeper I get into personal development and professional development programmes, the more it confirms- there’s no easy access to success. There’s no such thing as a list of 1-10 to follow in order to be ‘successful’. Well, firstly it depends what you define as success, needless to say. The people I see, who are truly talented & whom I consider to be successful, are those who have taken years to build and to earn it.
I said on BBC ‘The Apprentice’ and I’ll say again; the best things in life aren’t free-they’re earned. Real question- are you ready to EARN what you want? Celebrity entrepreneurs or extremely successful people can seem like they have it all- but behind the fancy story are years and years of quiet grind.
As someone who designs training content / programmes and as an inspirational presenter- I’m always open with people: if you want it here and now, then let me tell you straight- it’s not going to happen! But if you’re ready to work hard for it & take responsibility- then it’s yours. Crucial thing here is RESPONSIBILITY. First thing I make clear when delivering the InspirEngage Bootcamps is; It’s not me responsibility to get you a job, not the Givernment’s & nor your school etc- it’s YOUR responsibility. Yes there are circumstances to be taken into account- of course- and yes we all share responsibility (that’s why I do what I do) however, having personal responsibility is a must. A vital component of success is having the mindset that you’re responsible, that if you don’t do it- no one will. If you don’t have that- you can’t succeed.
The true role of the sector
Recently I had to give a lot of thought to the role of InspirEngage – and I’m so clear; we do not do it for you- we don’t pretend for a minute that we can. It’s not life long skills if the person you’re training only feels they can do it when you’re in that particular room with that particular trainer. If you’re an organisation/ trainer who promises to give people the map, milestones and the vehicle to get there- then no wonder people are LOST when you’re not there. There are people out there who do this purely because it’s hot on the agenda- they come from a very different sector and are turned youth sector experts overnight. Considering how we work with individuals to support them to develop sustainable skills to succeed but with social responsibility is key.
The new world
Anyone in midst of all this, will know that the world is changing rapidly. The speed is shocking actually- in 10 years the world will be unrecognisable. In my personal view-it’ll actually change for the better with the current rapid growth of Social Enterprise. The business world was getting far too greedy anyway-needed a kick up the backside. In fact, I would go further to state that this colossal shift would only occur with something as substantial as recession & high youth-unemployment to push us to create new ways to address them. The other side of the tunnel will be much brighter- I can assure you.
And in order to truly make the most of this incredible change- we need operate long-term. Not just get people into jobs like sausage factories. It’ll take innovation, which we have in spades-but it’ll take more. It’ll take the courage to do what’s RIGHT-not what’s easy.
From here on- the road ahead
So now the question you’re asking- what’s right?….Well here’s where we all come in. Going back to social responsibility. My view? Life Skills, start young, connect skills to community. Make things real for people. Shake and FORCE people to ask questions- of themselves. To crystalise who they are- who they want to be. WHAT THEY WANT. One of the biggest threats to us is (& remember where you heard it first): AUTO-PILOT EXISTENCES. It’s dangerous to just go with the flow. If we are to innovate then we can’t go with the flow. In fact a flow means everyone follows which = sausage factory. I hate that.
It all sounds big- huge. But actually it’s simple. I’m speaking to 2 audiences here. 1) young people. And 2) my colleagues in this field. So to the young people:
Show up to things and say yes to experiences- capture what you learn about yourself from those experiences. Know yourself before deciding on a path. Shrugging your shoulders like you aren’t bothered, compared to kid next to you who shows up, asks questions and goes extra mile is the difference between success & failure.
Yes ,everyone is going on about business- but don’t fall for the hype. Business is amazing, but it’s not for EVERYONE. Neither is university or any other path for that matter. WHAT DO YOU WANT? Simple question- but often THE most difficult thing to answer. Achieving it isn’t the most difficult thing- but simply with your whole heart, knowing the answer, is. Work on that first before you find yourself ‘going with the flow’, because the ‘flow’ is an agenda, it’s where ‘funding’ is. Not always your future. And what people don’t realise is that the price we pay for back-tracking people will be much greater than getting it right, now.
To find our more about InspirEngage International visit www.inspirEngage.com
