Building a career or starting your own business - by Rick Kaplan

I meet many people from all walks of life and always find their stories, thoughts and ambitions interesting. I was talking to this young man from South Carolina and he impressed me with his ambitions for his life. He came from a very poor family that had absolutely nothing but a mother with strong ethics. His ambition has always been to make a better life for his mother and himself so he set a goal to be successful. This young man, named Troy, had made his way to Boston and worked hard to impress bosses and good people that he surrounded himself with. After making the right connections he finally got into a good college, earned a bachelor’s degree and is now entering the business world. All the time he was working to get to that point he was living in homeless shelters and in the warm weather sometimes sleeping in the park, never letting on how bad off he was. 

Too many people in this world depend on others to help them reach their career goals. There is nothing wrong with having others help you reach your goals as long as you realize the only one that will make it happen is you. You will run into many roadblocks along the way. To build a career or a business, this is where the strong drive kicks in to succeed. Most people hit the roadblock and stop and others use their connections, brains and drive to make it through. A major skill people develop building a business or career is adapting to changes and dealing with problems. 

The bottom line is that no matter the roadblock never give up. Like Troy, he knew what he wanted and had achieved his goal. Troy did not have it easy and could have given up many times but never lost sight of the goal he needed to reach. So many people in the same position as Troy would have quit but he never had that option in his head. Everyone has the ability but so many of us can find the excuses why we should quit, keep stepping out of your comfort zones and lose the word quit. Growing a career or building a business can be very exciting. It is up to you to reach the goals you set. Think of your career or business as climbing a mountain, once you reach the top you have conquered the goal you have set. 

Rick Kaplan is the event coordinator at NEREJ, Norwell, Mass.