GO FORTH BOLDLY
(July/August 2003 Issue)

"Start a huge, foolish project . . .It makes absolutely no difference what people think of you." --Jelaluddin Rumi

So, what are we about? What is this thing we call career counseling? At its baseline, we may think of it as helping people get jobs. This is a least common denominator, a minimal definition of our work. Most of our clients will find work one way or the other, with or without us, because they have normal survival skills.

The question is: what kinds of work will they find and will these be satisfying, liberating, empowering, exciting, rewarding? Career counselors are about helping people reach beyond themselves to uncomfortable yet exhilarating places. Everyone, in Rumi’s terms, needs to start a huge, foolish project, because we need to be our complete selves in our work (and in our loves as well).

Worrying about what people will think (ego considerations) is what most often slows down or terminates the bold projects that we are reaching for. Such projects involve other people, are done with others, are for the benefit of others. You find only your own self-absorbed desires if you don’t reach beyond yourself.

The advertising world is very good at fostering self-centered desires. Is life a Porsche, a mansion-style house, a boat, or a closet full of things? We’re taught to covet these material possessions, but our things are not projects. Our things are not even real.

A project is a picture of how something might be done differently, better, more creatively. Our projects wake us up in the morning and excitedly interrupt our sleep. Others will urge you to get a "reliable, steady job" (as if there were such a thing), so you can buy that car, accumulate savings, get a new wardrobe. Play it safe. Go with the flow. Don’t rock the boat. To get along, go along. How many trite-isms can I cite before I fall over?

You may yearn for a project all the while you’re in a steady job, waiting for your opportunity to venture out. Boldness does not happen all at once. But plot and plan your next move, and then launch it while you’re still uncertain, uneasy, wary of risk.

Risk is the price of admission to the game of life. You never know how a project will turn out. That’s the fun of it. Apply this to your clients. And be alert to people dampening their exciting ventures because of "what other people will think". Boldness is not about seeking the approval or applause of others. Worrying about how your friends will react throws you off the track. Input from friends is helpful, but not judgments.

It’s hard to take input and screen out judgments. Sometimes you think others know more than you do, and you should heed their advice. Well, maybe, but then again, probably not. Take input, but keep your own counsel. you know best what you’re trying to accomplish. Listen to others’ views, but be your final decision-maker.

I am saying this as much to myself as to anyone. Most of us do not allow our "foolish projects" to unfold freely and boldly enough, because we are afraid of "making mistakes" How silly. No mistake is as sad as the pain of regret. We live so short a time, and then wonder why we didn’t give our ideas a whirl. Not every idea, but the one or two we really believe in.

A career counselor’s job is always to encourage, stimulate, fan the sparks of fire within every client. The nuts and bolts of job hunting, information gathering, and following the rules of the marketplace are small potatoes (and very often counter-productive if you follow "rules" too closely) compared to living your life fully.

What people think of you is their problem, not yours. Get the project rolling. Who knows what will happen? Enjoy the mystery of it all.

Howard Figler, Ph.D., is the author of The Complete Job Search Handbook and The Career Counsleor's Handbook [1999, with Richard N. Bolles]. He can be reached at: hefigler@pacbell.net