By Mary Ann Faremouth,
Have you ever had times in your life that forced you to ask yourself some deep questions? Those moments appear out of our control and are the catalyst for decision and change when we have to make choices. The Second Step of the Faremouth Method is “Ask Better Questions” and I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. This week, a song came on the radio that seemed to really speak to me and catapult me into deep thought about my own life and dreams. It is the song by Garth Brooks called “The River.” This is a song about chasing your dreams and never giving up on what you believe in. The lyrics remind us that life is shorter than we think. If we just stand on the sidelines of the shore, watching the river go by, then life will be gone before we have a chance to live it. We can’t be a bystander in our life.
Garth Brooks uses the metaphor of a person’s life being a vessel moving along a river. We are like a ship that moves through life up stream in search of our dreams. It is a constant battle to keep the vessel in the water because the shoreline is constantly changing. We should not put off until tomorrow what we should do today. We have to take advantage of the opportunities that come along which support our dreams as they may not always be there.
Garth says “a dream is like a river.” Our dreams change like water moving along its path, switching streams, depending upon what life throws at you. As life changes, the river can be calm, then fierce, and then calm again. As the course of the river changes, so does the route we choose to take. Each person has a dream. When the river gets rough and life is difficult, maybe like we are now experiencing with Covid, a lot of people push their dreams aside and forget about them. Their attention gets diverted by survival instincts while they ignore the passion within.
Brooks says, in his song, that he will sail his vessel until the river runs dry. This might mean that he will always chase his dreams until his life is over. If you don’t follow your heart’s desire, you will never have a chance to experience the life you really want to live. It’s been said you should be at one with your dreams like a bird in nature, flying above the water. “Ropin’ the Wind. Liberty, 1991.”
The song has a great meaning and a lovely melody to it. It’s not always easy to pursue your dreams because much can stand in the way. The only thing you can do is just push forward until the river runs dry.
Let’s take a look at how we can apply the beautiful lyrics of this song, “The River,” to the New Work World.
1. “You know a dream is like a river, Ever changin’ as it flows”
We’ve all had many changes this year with Covid-19. Reflect on some of the changes in your work world and how you have had to adjust and flow with them. The only constant in life is change. What have those changes made you realize about your job, your work habits, and your future goals? Sometimes big changes force us to re-evaluate important aspects of ourselves that might inevitably force us to make changes and allow us to have a more fulfilling life. What are your dreams going forward? How can you try to make them happen? Have you had to adjust or modify how you’re going to manifest your dreams?
2. “Trying to learn from what’s behind you, and never knowing what’s in store, makes each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores….”
What have you learned from your previous work/education/life experiences that might have helped you cope with the big changes we have all undergone in 2020? What have you done to keep yourself stable during these uncertain times? Have you tried more mindfulness practices? Have you spent more time outdoors in nature? Have you investigated some classes, watched more movies? What have been your coping mechanisms and what new or different ones might you try to stay between your personal shores?
3. “I’ll never reach my destination if I never try, so I will sail my vessel ‘til the river runs dry”
What can you do now to reach your destination? What can you try today that might bring you a better tomorrow? Can you expand your current job function in the current company you are with to have higher management recognize and consider you for a promotion track? Can you investigate other product lines your current company might get into that might make them more in line with technology changes? Is there a product that could be sourced from current or new suppliers that you could investigate to give your company a more up-to-date brand and purpose to allow them to become more profitable in the future? Are there other industries that may utilize your skillset that would have more interesting experiences and opportunity going forward?
4. “So don’t you sit upon the shoreline and say you’re satisfied, choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide…..”
Even if you are one of the lucky ones who have stayed employed, what can you do now to get ready for more opportunity in the future? If you have gotten cut or are on furlough, what can you do in your employment world to dance the tide of the future? Do you need to update your resume, talk to a career consultant, or become more active on LinkedIn? The future work world will be a “new dance” of sorts. It’s always prudent to become proactive and get ready for the future before you really have to. Talking to professionals in the field always helps. Learning new information about your industry or ones that interest you by doing your own research is always a smart idea to consider.
The last verse of the song is “And I know I’ll take some falls…..but I can make it through them all …..Yes, I will sail my vessel ‘Til the river runs dry, ‘Til the river runs dry.”
We’ve all taken our own personal and professional falls in 2020. I think if we all adopt the mindset in the song, “The River,” where Garth says that he will always chase his dreams until his life is over, we will discover a life that is fuller, more meaningful with expansive growth and rewarding experiences! Dreams remain dreams unless we do something about them. We have to search for ways where we can create and actualize them in our lives rather than just ponder about them in the future. If we don’t act, they will remain dormant. By action, we can create anything we want and magnetize it into our reach. We need to start the process NOW!!
Mary Ann Faremouth is the founder and CEO of Faremouth & Company and a highly regarded recruiter, career consultant, speaker and writer. She has been a placement specialist and a leader in the national recruiting community and has placed thousands of employees since 1982. She was the 2016 president of the Houston Independent Personnel Consultant Group and is a board member of the NASPD (National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors) and Authors Marketing Guild. She specializes in recruitment of professional, clerical, and temporary placements, with a variety of industry specific positions in various fields. Her expertise is in matching quality applicants with the right job, serving companies ranging from thriving independents to global conglomerates, tailoring each engagement to the client’s needs.
Mary Ann holds a CPC (Certified Personnel Consultant) credential, was certified by the Board of Regents of the National Association of Personnel Consultants in Washington, DC, and was awarded an Advanced Communicator Bronze, Advanced Leader Bronze Awards by Toastmasters. She cofounded Jobs: Houston magazine in 1997. Mary Ann maintains affiliations with professional organizations in various other industries, including oil and gas, financial, construction, IT, and structural, mechanical, and civil engineering. She has a keen understanding of the marketplace and its specialized needs and requirements.
Mary Ann brings a wealth of expertise to clients looking for the right individual to maximize and empower their team. As a consultant she is available to assist both the applicant and the client to quickly adapt to the New Work World. She also offers virtual and in-person workshops to guide individuals through personalized self-discovery to find new career paths. She continues to build her affiliations with recognized leadership organizations to best serve her clients and applicants by creating a network of highly professional contacts throughout the world. She utilizes her platform as a writer and speaker through her articles and affiliations to reach those in need of help, offering hands-on guidance to navigate this uncharted territory. (More information on www.faremouth.com)
Mary Ann’s award-winning first book Revolutionary Recruiting has been listed by Book Authority as Number #1 of the Best 100 Recruiting Books; #1 Best Seller, Non-Fiction by Amazon (2019); Top 20 Recruiting books by Recruitics; Readers’ Choice finalist (2019) by Houston Literary Awards; Best Non-Fiction (2018), Best Cover (2019), and Best Self-Help (2018) by Authors Marketing Guild. Her books support individuals and corporations, teaching them how to tap into each candidate’s unrealized potential to find the right person for each job, maximizing both employee satisfaction as well as the employer’s bottom line. Mary Ann also showcases her expertise of the recruiting world on a monthly podcast for The Price of Business and weekly articles for USA Business. Mary Ann lives in Houston, Texas.
