“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
Remember the summer job you had while in college and that you never thought of as something that would be a significant piece of your resume in the future? Well, hold on. You might want to give anything you have ever done and experienced a second thought. Pamela Slim in her book Body of Work refers to our life experiences as ingredients in our life, career, body of work. Body of work is anything and everything we have done - our own projects, internships, volunteering, books we read, courses we took, and even our hobbies, passions, interests, and the way we have been raised and grew up. It's everything we create, contribute, affect and impact. It's our personal legacy that we leave at the end of our life - tangible and intangible.
“The problem is not hard work. The problem is hard work without a purpose. ”
Our body of work is especially important when we're looking to change careers because we no longer see a clear purpose in what we're doing right now. Or maybe we simply started to realize our calling is doing something else. Realizing our ingredients and flavors that have shaped up our passions, and organizing our past experiences are important steps to clarity, freedom, and expanding our opportunities to choose different work options throughout our life. Because sometimes we think that because we have a degree in accounting and we have done it most of our life, that it is the only think we can do for the rest of our life. While reading Body of Work, you will realize that it is not the case and that our career does not have to be a straight and narrow path. But we need to stay awake and pay attention. We need to work on ourselves, learn, improve consistently.
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. ”
We need to continuously reinvent and reposition ourselves. When we do that, we become self-aware. We accept our talents, refocus our life around them, and start sharpening them. When we understand and cultivate our talents, knowledge, and skills, we are able to turn them into our strengths. It is true that "chance favors the trained mind", as Louis Pasteur said. Because when we understand our past, we are able to see our future more clearly and are able to identify and take advantage of opportunities instead of letting them pass us.
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
Let's never underestimate any experience we have in our life. Instead, let's thrive in them. Let's craft a narrative for our skill sets, knowledge and varied successes and explain who we are and what we can do. And let's spend time doing things that we see a purpose in.
I just briefly touched on a few points from the book. But there is much more than that, and I recommend this book to anybody who is looking to revamp their resume, change a career to pursue their passions, or they are working on side projects in addition to having a real job.
As Pamela Slim says in her book, "individuals who structure their careers around autonomy, mastery, and purpose will have a powerful body of work." This book will give you encouragement, affirmation, and a sense of clarity no matter where you are in the process of realizing your potential and a career with a purpose. it will help you to realize the "threads that tie your story together", and set goals that are personally fulfilling and satisfying. ✔