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I recently read an article posted by (at this time) Capitec's CIO: Andrew Baker. This article was titled "You Are Not a CIO. And That Is Fine." Linked: Andrew's Article
After reading it, I took some time to reflect and think about this in my own life.
I have found it pragmatic and self-fulfilling to do the things that your aspirational self would want. For example: I wanted to be a Software Engineer; I then backtracked, reverse engineered, and asked myself what a Software Engineer would do on a daily basis, and went about implementing those things. It soon became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
After some more reflection, I realized that what Andrew was saying rings true to me.
"The job is the credential, the title is the receipt" — and what I would like to add: "The remuneration is the value."
Some people are of the mindset that effort is rewarded, and while this is not completely untrue, it is incomplete. Value is rewarded. You get remunerated in proportion to the value you provide; the harder the problem is to solve, the more the remuneration for doing so.
We all know that doctors generally are paid more than gardeners; objectively so. Performing surgery is not only a harder task to perform than gardening, but also higher risk.
Another prompting question ironically came up as I was re-reading Mark Manson's famous book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Happiness is derived from solving problems, not avoiding them. Trading current problems for better problems.
Which led me to the question of what someone is willing to suffer for; suffering is non-optional. Problems arising are non-optional. The nuance is in what problems you are willing to endure.
Where I'm going with all this, is that we live in a world of increasing dishonesty.
Instagram posts reflecting an unrealistic, non-problematic, idealistic lifestyle. People at face-value, not always being openly vulnerable. A self-loathing mindset, due to you being acutely aware of your own problems and their implications.
I believe that when it comes to one's career, most of us feel helpless. More information; more noise; less signal.
I believe that the key to this, is being competent.
Astutely competent.
What this means is to reverse engineer your desired goal and act in accordance with that goal today, right now.
Your actions are your credentials, your title will be your receipt, and your remuneration will reflect your value.
In other terms: "You will reap what you sow."
Start sowing today.
Sincerely,
Kiron Nicholson.