{"id":15772,"date":"2016-08-09T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquent.com\/?p=15772"},"modified":"2016-08-09T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T09:00:00","slug":"are-you-fit-enough-for-your-career-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquent.com\/en-au\/blog\/are-you-fit-enough-for-your-career-marathon","title":{"rendered":"Are you fit enough for your career marathon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I gave a speech to 1,000 marketers recently. They gave me a standing ovation. “Amazing”. “Loved it”<\/em>. Those were the two most commonly used phrases as Twitter lit up with feedback. Surprising really, given I'd just told them they faced career extinction. Then I asked them this.<\/p>\n

If you retire when you are 65 years old, how many years have you got to go? Less than 10, between 10 and 20, 20 and 30? More than 30? <\/strong><\/p>\n

For most, the answer is startling. They have a long road ahead of them. Given the massive pace of change, that future is uncertain. Here’s the brutal reality:<\/p>\n

What got you here won’t get you there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I started my career in 1984, sitting on my desk was a typewriter. A few months later, a client asked me to fax him a document. “What the heck is a fax?”<\/em> I asked. Some of you are giggling at my vintage. Laugh with caution.<\/p>\n

In 30 years time, when you tell a 21 year old that in 2015 you were using an iPhone 6, they are going to look at you with a twinkle in their eye and mirth on their lips. Your iPhone 6 will be far more antiquated to them than the typewriter seems to you. After all, there will be more change in the next five years than the past 50… and you have how many years to go until you’re 65?<\/p>\n

So, what to do about keeping up with change?<\/h2>\n

First, be prepared to change<\/a>. That’s the hardest part of all. You have to keep evolving and adapting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How? This might help. View your career like a marathon (an idea I learnt from Brian Fetherstonhaugh<\/a>). Running a marathon needs:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. ambition<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. a plan<\/li>\n
  3. preparation<\/li>\n
  4. pacing<\/li>\n
  5. nourishment<\/li>\n
  6. resilience<\/li>\n
  7. fans along the way<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Then think about your career being driven by ROCKET FUEL over three 15 year periods. These are just broad indicators, but go with the flow here:<\/p>\n