Hello World! Just
like me I’m sure that all of you are enthused and energized after an amazing
weekend of sports. I mean how could you
not have a spring in your step after watching the Iowa Hawkeyes blast the
Minnesota Golden Gophers en route to their first top ten ranking in decades….
I kid – while there was certainly something more important
going on in Iowa City, most of the world’s eyes were on Peyton Manning leading
the Broncos to the Super Bowl. For those
of you who don’t know Peyton Manning just capped the best statistical season of
quarterbacking in history off by blasting the Patriots 26-16 in the AFC title
game. This is even more amazing when you
consider the following facts:
- Manning is 37 – in quarterback years this makes him like 90
- At his advanced age he set records for regular season touchdowns and yards
- Manning has a fused vertebrae that has required four neck injuries – below is a description:
- Less than two years ago, Manning had a fourth surgery to repair his spine that this game has damaged. The most recent forced a doctor to slice his neck open, remove a disc between two vertebrae in his spine, replace it with a piece of bone, fasten it with a titanium plate and screws and then sew him back up. Read more about his injuries here!
- After 16 seasons and 141 victories he was fired by his team the Colts
So – Peyton Manning is
amazing! The real question is how does
it apply to you? Take a look below:
1. Age doesn't matter
Please know that this isn’t one of those you are only as young as
you feel statements. Your age – no matter
how old you are – is a reality. This
doesn’t mean that you should put yourself out to pasture. Peyton Manning is not the athlete that he was
at 23. However, even though he isn’t as
fast, strong or spry he is a better player because of his experience. As you prepare to market yourself wear your experience
as a badge of honor and share why it gives you a competitive advantage. What do you bring to the table? I do a lot of my consulting work with
insurance producers and I see more experienced people succeed and fail. The ones that fail are the ones that try to
tell people that they are just better than that young kid off of the
street. The ones that succeed create a
convincing argument that their experience gives the company something entirely
different.
2. There is life after
getting fired – reinvent yourself!
Over the years I’ve encountered a lot of people that allow for
their company to be a big part of their identity. They have drank the Kool Aid and attribute a
good portion of their success to being a part of that organization. There is no question that the Colt’s made
Peyton Manning great, however, conversely Peyton Manning made the Colts great
as well. The same applies to you. Your company may have given you the tools to
be successful, but you are the one that successfully used them. The key is to look at the part you played in
the success and find a job that can help you build on that.
3. Overcoming adversity can
make you stronger – Change can be good!
Outside of the whole age thing, the most amazing part of the
Peyton Manning story is the injuries that he has overcome. The types of injuries that he has had more
than likely have changed how he does his job on a daily basis. Now, even though you didn’t have neck surgery
doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to learn here. What you can take from this is that an
outside action forced Manning to change and it made him better. Change is an opportunity to rethink how you
do things and improve. We’ve all heard
the idiom – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
While in theory this is true I think that many people adhere to this
religiously and then get caught when something happens to change their
paradigm. Regardless, change is an
awful, scary thing that will upset your world.
You can react to it with anger and fail or react to it with solutions
and be even more successful.
4. A change of scenery can
do you good
Sometimes things just get stale.
There are some companies out there that work really hard to make sure
that you are always challenged – if you are in one you should stay. However, there are many more others that
allow successful people to continue doing the same thing over and over again and
there is a diminishing return to the reward you get, even if the reward
increases. Simply put – if you do the same
thing over and over again, get better at it, and get more money; at some point
you will get less satisfaction from it even though there is a greater reward.
When you get to this point it is time for a change. In this case I would first see if you can
make this change within your own organization.
However, this is not something that can always happen. In that case you should look for a new job or
just wait to get fired like Peyton did.
Either way, I do know a good recruiter if you need help!
That’s all I've got for today.
Feel free to leave comments below or as always email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com
Check out some of my
recent articles on the blog here:
No comments:
Post a Comment