A Parable to Launch Your Career

Before you make the next move in your career, you can’t afford to make this one mistake that you’ve likely been making for years. I’ve written a brief parable to capture the idea.

A man was embarking on a trip across the ocean to a new destination he’d never visited before. He had high hopes for this change of scenery, believing it would make him happier than the place where he currently was.

He charted out the path on a map, gathered his navigational instruments, collected supplies to sustain him on the journey, and prepared for launch. As he looked out at the horizon and prepared to embark he felt anxious but wasn’t sure why.

The man had all the tools he thought he would need to make the journey — map, compass, food, anti-scurvy medicine (not even sure what that is, but it seemed to fit with the parable). Then, as he pushed off from the dock it struck him. He’d forgotten to pay attention to the most important thing that would make the difference between a successful journey and a disastrous one:

The boat itself.

You see, the success of any man’s journey depends on the boat that’ll take him there. Certain boats are better for certain journeys, and not all boats will take you to the same place. What’s more, a good captain knows everything about his boat. He inspects all parts, including the mast, sail, rudder, ropes and more, and becomes one with the boat before ever departing.

Likewise, you can plan your next career move, including mapping the next steps, building your support systems, getting your financial house in order, and preparing to launch. But if you don’t know anything about yourself — your strengths, your values, your ideal environments and what specifically you bring — you are like the man setting sail on a journey with no concept of the boat he’s navigating.

Good captains don’t just know general information about their boats. “Eh…it’s a boat…like, one of those kinds that floats. And it’s pretty good sized. And it works really hard. And it loves to transport people to places.”
​
What do you know about your boat?