Colorful Changes in the New Work World

By Mary Ann Faremouth, CPC

With summer almost over and back-to-school time upon us, I’m seeing reminders of the upcoming fall season everywhere, in stores, in the media, and even in the changing colors around us. All of this reminds me of my days growing up in Michigan. I can remember sitting on the porch with my grandmother, looking at the big, beautiful tree in her yard as its leaves burst into brilliant colors, and talking about the changing seasons.

The idea of change stayed with me as I entered my career. I also remember attending a Zig Ziglar seminar and being especially impressed by his “Three Cs of Life: Choices, Chances, Changes. You must make a choice to take a chance, or your life will never change.”

That quote from Ziglar has always resonated with me, and reminds me of the third step of the Faremouth Method: “Step Out of Your Comfort Zone.”

I have found that stepping out of my comfort zone is almost part of my DNA. Many of the choices I have made, including leaving behind a secure job with a Big Three automaker and moving from Allen Park, Michigan, the small town where I was surrounded by my close-knit family, to the much bigger, sprawling H-Town, demonstrate my willingness to walk the talk of that third step.

For applicants planning a career change, look for opportunities to grow: take a class that might be intimidating in a new field; join a networking group such as Toastmasters and Rotary, just as I did; and say YES to a new position out of your comfort zone in which you will find that you can succeed and thrive! As Zig Ziglar said, “Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude.”

For our clients who are hiring, we have found that taking this personal approach of taking a chance has worked just as well for their companies. Some candidates with the exact experience required for a position may not work out for one reason or another. When companies are open to taking a chance on a candidate who doesn’t have the exact qualifications but have transferable skills and the drive and passion to take on a new challenge, they have found excellent employees. To that point, we placed a candidate just like this in a position and she was promoted twice in the first year!

So in this changing season, take the Faremouth Method’s third step, “Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone,” and discover a few colorful growth moments for you or your company!

Zig Ziglar spoke to many of these ideas for this changing season:

1. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

What could you start that might be a bit intimidating but could provide you with valuable training? Is there a Toastmasters, Rotary, or other volunteer role you could investigate?

If you keep telling yourself no, you will never “know” what you are really capable of doing!

Another famous saying from Zig Ziglar that I use often is, “Don’t always tell yourself NO, because you don’t KNOW what you could accomplish!”

2. “You can have everything in life that you want if you just help other people get what they want.”

When I took on a role of club president of a Toastmaster club when I wasn’t really ready for it, it was really about helping others. The role of club president was about helping others expand their presentation and leadership skills. It was demanding, tense at times, and even a bit scary when I had to sit down with a twenty-year member and assist them with a problem.

But by taking time and devoting extra effort to help the club thrive, I learned many valuable skills that allowed me to grow in ways I had never imagined. Sometimes, our own growth happens when we help someone else grow. Just as the changing seasons bring out new colors in the world around us, new experiences can reveal strengths and abilities within us that are waiting to emerge. Is there someone in your circle you could mentor? Or is there an online group you could join where your skills might help others?

3. “Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude.”

The attitude I held in taking on this high-level role was one of excitement and determination to succeed. I’m sure the senior members of the group could feel my sincere desire to lead the club, and together, we achieved much. What might you have a strong passion for or interest in that would allow you to reach great heights in your career or personal life? You are the pilot of your own life. You can take yourself way above the clouds if you navigate your mindset with strong, positive determination to achieve great heights and help others do the same.

4. “Failure is an event, not a person.”

Don’t let fear of failure dissuade you from taking on a new role, new position, or new industry. Failure is just an event, not the person who experiences it. And we can learn from our failures.

From the failures I experienced as club president, I polished my problem-solving skills and learned things about myself. Our comfort zone urges us to stay as we are, without any chance of failing. But we never grow if we are held hostage by our comfort zones. The beautiful thing about change is that it doesn’t have to mean losing who we are. Like a tree changing from summer green to brilliant autumn colors, we are still the same person at our core. We are simply revealing a new season of ourselves.

Make the choice to take a chance that could change your life in the New Work World!

Mary Ann’s award-winning first book Revolutionary Recruiting has been listed by Book Authority as Number #1 Best 100 Recruiting Books; #1 Best Seller, Non-Fiction, Amazon (2019); Top 20 Recruiting books, Recruitics; Readers’ Choice finalist (2019), Houston Literary Awards; Best Non-Fiction (2018), Best Cover (2019), and Best Self-Help (2018), Authors Marketing Guild. This was followed by “Revolutionary Reinvention”, a workbook for job seekers giving advice on how to rediscover your skills and passions and reinvent your career. Her most recent book is “Revolutionary Results” , a collection of life lessons about relationships, integrity and contributing to the world.