Dreams
I recently fulfilled a 20 year dream of seeing a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show with my best buddy. Some may not agree with her philosophies but she has done some incredible things in her life and I hold her in high regard. It was a bittersweet moment as I sat in the audience and watched her on stage. I was realizing a dream! I kept the dream guarded as some of my acquaintances belittled the dream….and my dream was precious to me.
What might you ask does that have to do with career development and helping people find their place in the work world? Everything! On a daily basis I ask my candidates to share their hopes and dreams with us and we wonder why they clam up or even lie…well they may have shared them in the past with someone and were made to feel small or stupid. They went into protect mode! Kind of like I did after a few folks made fun of my dream.
Another aspect of achieving my “Oprah dream” is the question I ask myself now—“so what’s next?” I don’t have an answer. I have not thought that far ahead as at one point I gave up the dream. Seeing the show was always “out there somewhere/someday”. Now the dream has been realized.
I experienced first hand, up close and personal the reasons my candidates won’t share their dreams:
- FEAR—someone will tease them.
- WHAT NEXT—If it happens, how to top it.
- DISAPPOINTMENT—It didn’t match my expectations.
So, for me as a Career Development Specialist, helping people sort out and achieve their dreams, I must find a way for my candidates to be comfortable enough with me for them to share their dreams.
Photo by Franco Folini
Technorati Tags:
dreams, fear, disappointment, job, employment, career
