This past year on a Sunday night not that long ago after hours of training, game after game and what I would imagine to be more than just a few play drafts the Los Angeles Rams faced the Cincinnati Bengals. With a hyper crowd sitting at the edge of their seats the Rams took the W with a 23-20 final score in 2022’s Super Bowl. 

Now when you think about football players, what do you think about? Big, bulky, strong perhaps, maybe, but even more than that, football players are: professionals, athletes, they make meal plans, they take time in the gym, and practice, practice … practice. Athletes are amazing at what they do and yes perhaps some of that is a natural given talent but so much of that is blood, sweat and tears, but why? Athletes train the way they do because they want to invest in their careers and be better every single day. They put work into their craft and fine tune it the best that they can so it works like a machine when the time comes. So, then why is it that as employees we do not treat our careers the same? 

Oftentimes people confuse the difference between a job and a career. As adults we encourage kids to become  educated every day but so often we do nothing for ourselves to continue in our personal and yes our professional development! 

If you have a plan to be CEO of the XYZ company one day but you are not putting effort into bettering yourself then in reality that goal does not actually mean that much to you. Sign up for some free seminars online, or go on YouTube and follow an educational channel about the field or industry you are interested in. 

If you want to be the best paid AZ Driver in Canada … 

If you want to be a GM for a waste management company … 

If you want to be the Line Lead at the closest plant to your house … 

If you want to be an underwater welder in Hawaii… 

People regularly make the mistake of treating a career like it is just a job. A career is not something that you can clock in and out of each day. A career is something that you are fully invested into, something that you want to do well and succeed in. Something that encourages you to continue bettering yourself professionally so you can work to move forward and up. Stop treating careers like they are jobs!

Now here is the kicker – jobs have the ability to turn into careers. No one with a career started out that way, everyone started with a job or two or three and then they continued in their education either formally through schooling or informally in their role, until they created a career for themselves!

Whatever your goal is, whatever your dream is YOU are responsible for making it happen. YOU have the power to accomplish anything that you want and while taking the first step towards “improving your game” can be scary, it is so important for reaching your true potential. Don’t forget that you will always be your best advocate!