CareerCategories

There are twelve categories to better manage your career.

1. ELEMENTS = ATTITUDE:

I have a good attitude towards all I do

Having a positive attitude is the first step to achieving anything of real value. To achieve and hold onto a positive attitude through all of life’s difficulties is what sets the good apart from the great. Being positive carves out a happy, productive life instead of a sad and destructive one. By keeping your elements in check, you will know when to grow or go. You can make the best things happen; at the right place and time you will know how. So get in touch with your elements and get back to basics! Then, when life seems negative, you can hold on to who you are and forge through to a bright new day, full of new adventures and authentic living. The most successful people have a can-do approach; when others say ‘I can’t!’, positive people say ‘I can!’

2. SEEDS = SERVICE:

I give of myself in everything I do

You need to plant your tree through service and nurture it until it has matured and is ready to bear fruit. Give more of your time and talent than is expected. Start serving immediately; even if you have no money, you can still be generous with your skills and your time. What you give, you will eventually receive. When a seed is planted its real value begins to show. Seeds have immense potential, sprouting fast towards the light, containing whole trees within them. Seeds allow you to grow and give to the forest you call life. Your network will expand and your career will begin to thrive. So give of yourself and give of your life. When giving to others you will receive real value in life. Your tree will grow, your forest will flourish.

3. SAP = CREATIVITY:

I am creating my own best career

Creativity, like sap, is the lifeblood of each of your skills and the driving force in creating a successful and fulfilling career. To tap into creativity, find new ways to approach old challenges. A creative mind can mould itself to just about any situation and function within it. No matter the circumstance, you will find ways to adapt your thinking and advance in your endeavours. Be creative in every situation. True creativity is never complete; it comes from continually mastering the process of being creative. It is a storm, a brainstorm. All of nature’s elements combine to create the life-blood of your tree. This life-blood beats strongest when you are free – free to think, free to dream and free to live the life you envision for yourself.

4. BUGS = BARRIERS:

I work around my barriers

Don’t let your barriers steal your creativity. Address them and go over, under, around or through them. A barrier is not a dead-end, but the possibility for a new beginning and the chance to think creatively. Bugs can demolish whole forests and leave the body in distress. They are small, but they do great damage. The bugs of the indaba tree suck the sap from its seeds. Don’t let bugs – the obstacles to your success – destroy your vitality. Be ready for barriers and deal with them systematically. It is a step-by-step process to climb over a high wall, a step-by-step process to rid yourself of the bugs that sap you of energy. So identify your challenges and work out ways to overcome them.

5. ROOTS = FOUNDATION:

I prioritise my values

The roots of a tree are its foundation, strengthening it even during great storms. Similarly, your values, emotions, decisions and actions are your foundation in times of great challenges. When you are under enormous pressure, it is these four aspects that will determine whether you rise above or succumb to the situations in which you find yourself. Before reaching for the sky and stretching for greatness, start by taking the time to build a strong foundation. Secure your feet and plant yourself firmly in the ground. Extend your roots downwards and outwards by developing your values and thinking about what it is that you believe in. Plough deep into the soil for when the storms come and the wind blows. It is during difficult times that your moral strength will show.

6. TRUNK = CORE:

I have all the general skills required for work

Your core skills are the skills you need in all types of work. Understand them and own them if you are to stand out in a crowded room. Your core skills include core flexibility, skill records, balance, basic, technology, people, time, money, communication, mental toughness, learning and physical toughness. Hard on the outside but soft on the in, your tree trunk is similar to your very own skin. The bigger your trunk, the bigger your tree, holding the weight of your work you will see. One new ring for each season past, its by growing your skills that your career will last. So take the time to master your skills, until the great ending, a real life you’ll have seen.

7. BRANCHES = SECTORS:

I have the specialised skills for my work

Your branches are the different sectors you have skills for. You might have skills in teaching and that means one of your branches is the education sector. Once you know the sectors of your skills you can find out some of the jobs appropriate for you. A sector does not change as quickly as jobs do. Branches are extended arms reaching out far and wide, growing and displaying fruit, branches provide. One branch is one sector, your tree it does know. One branch to the other, the world it will show. Your branches can be many so choose one way for now.

8. TWIGS = BRANDING:

I manage my brand of skills

Your twigs are equivalent to your career branding skills. It is easy to manage your career once you know how. You need to know yourself, your sectors of work and how to assess what learning and preparation you need to close the gap between yourself and the work you want to do. Once you know your current levels, you can then close any gaps and map out your career trajectory. Like the twigs of a healthy tree, a good career should be flexible and hard to break. Strong twigs make strong leaves, don’t let their size a fool of you make. Without this important area your leaves you will not grow. Let your twigs flourish and let them grow.

9. LEAVES = WORK:

I finish my jobs successfully

The leaves of a tree provide over 90% of its food. Similarly, the leaves of your tree nourish the work that you do. Your leaves bring light, water and oxygen to your tree and help it to grow. The more leaves you have, the greater the growth of your tree. Your ability to manage yourself in your work environment allows you to grow your tree and to bear more fruit. When your leaves fall, your leaves fertilize the soil and nourish your roots. So manage yourself well in the workplace: allow your reputation to preceed you, let your efforts cultivate the direction of your career, and grow and extend into new heights.

10. FRUIT = GOALS:

I complete the goals I set for myself

We all get out of bed in the morning for a reason. One reason is to achieve our goals. We all have goals we set ourselves to attain, whether we know it or not. It is important that your goals are aligned with your sense of purpose in life, that you know how to set and achieve them. You should have three types of goals: macro, meso and micro. Visualise the goals which will come to fruition as the fruit on your tree. Your goals help you to bear fruit in your career. Nurture them, learn to focus on them, envision them clearly. Learn to have the vision to perceive when your fruit is ripe or when it is too soon to pick. See your goals come to fruition.

11. FOREST = NETWORKING:

I engage people who do the work I love

A forest protects a tree and provides the ecosystem in which it will thrive. Each person with whom you have a relationship forms part of your network. You need to know your network and where you can get the information and support that you need. Once you know this, you will know how best to give and how best to take. The forest is a system that constantly transfers messages from one tree to another. It is a system that looks after itself and that nourishes each organism within it. Your forest is the network of people and organisations that support you and protect you from great winds and storms. Link your tree to other trees by connecting and networking with other people. Get to know your network and with them do grow, so your roots become as one and through life you can go.

12. SEASONS = TRANSITIONS:

I make the most of my transitions

There are cycles in a person’s career. These cycles will repeat a number of times in their life. Like the changing seasons, there are four main stages to a cycle. The first stage involves growth. During the second stage, we reach the summit of our climb, we attain our peaks. The third stage is a plateau, during which we manage our career in a phase of stability. The fourth stage involves decline and occurs when our career is not going very well. Like nature itself, your career will go through seasons. There are seasons of great growth with new success, and times when opportunities lie dormant. During dormant seasons through the mist our thankfulness we must hold close. By getting to know what the seasons mean and what to do during each of these phases, you will better manage the rhythms and cycles of your work.