The Career Continuum

By Pat Meehan

When you say “Where do I go from here,” and get there, you will find yourself repeating that process again and again. You will continue to be more accountable, more self-aware, and more self-improved. Your career becomes a continuum, moving forward towards life’s unlimited opportunities. Life becomes a continuous adventure where burn out does not exist, and enthusiasm shines brightly.

One road almost always leads to another and when it doesn’t, we build new roads. That is what accountability is all about … building new roads of career adventure, and miles of opportunity for an endless career continuum. Life is so much fun when you are heading in a direction. Whether you are in the last chapter of a book, or the later chapters of your life, there is always another road to lead you in your direction.

Accountability is now your way of life. It is something you can teach to others, and something to pass down from generation to generation. By achieving a career of a lifetime, your experiences are carried on through the many others that have been continuously networked with you. Through all of your accomplishments, and through the lives you have influenced, you are leaving your legacy for many others to continue down that road of accountability, self-awareness and self-improvement that you have paved. You will always be remembered by the life you lived, the people you touched, the value you added to the world, and the brightness that shined from your light.

You have carved your name into stone along with the values of networking and communication. You are leaving for your grandchildren the lesson that your whole career is a conversation, no matter how sophisticated their technology gets. You are leaving your mark in life, through your lesson to others, that being as good as, or better than anyone on the team, or in the office, is a value to hold high with a sense of accountability, and a sense of honor.

Your career is a continuum that that you have passed on to many others to help them reach their dreams and goals. Your circle of influence, which was once very small, is now almost infinite, and is still growing with the expansion of your boundaries. In your life of networking, the goodness you have received from others didn’t stop when you received it, but you passed it on to other people, as your gift to them.

A career of a lifetime is not a place or a thing, an amount of money, a fancy car, or a diamond ring. A career of a lifetime is a state of mind, a circle of influence, and an ocean of friends. A career of a lifetime is a full and prosperous life filled with purpose and adventure, and an endless chain of network partners that was built, one person at a time, with more emphasis on giving, than on taking. You have built credibility through the many “deposits” that you have made in your “emotional bank accounts.” You have built this credibility through your trustworthy behavior. You have found your career of a lifetime, and you have discovered that it is here to stay, and to grow continually though the people you have touched, and through the people who will touch them.

All of this is yours because “You became accountable for your success!”