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Is Consultant Career For Me?

By alik levin

February 4th, 2009 | Career, Consulting


Really, is it? This question bothered me a lot not until long ago. I am 37 and many of my friends climbed management ladder. VP this and VP that. I am still just a consultant, the guy in the field… common wisdom tells me I am a loser. Am I?  
by crabchick

To answer this question I started to read more books. I think I found the answer in Harvey Mackay’s Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition , he writes:

We heard from the top officers of Honda, Sony, Mitsubishi, and the head of the biggest enterprise of all, the eighty-eight-year-old president of Matsushita Electric:

Question: “Mr President, does your company have long range goals?”
Answer: “Yes”.
Question: “How long are your long range goals?”
Answer: “Two hundred fifty years”.
Question: “What do you need to carry then out?”
Answer: “Patience.”

This is interesting. I decided to check on this company and I found out that during last 30 years the strategy worked. Except 2000’s and today’s recession they look like growing, no?

Panasonic stock

My Long Range Goals

I was reading Jay’s post - Do You have a Full Tank & Nowhere to Go?. He talks about the endgame… At first I did not like the term. Then it got me thinking - really, what’s my end game? What do I want more in my life?

Do you want more fame, fortune, time, or love?

Well, fame and fortune will come naturally when I become an A-List blogger ;).

What I really want in life is more time and love.

Consulting Is Perfect For Me

Back to my VP this and VP that friends. I am truly (no sarcasm!) happy for them as this is what they wanted to achieve and they have achieved this. It is great to see how they set the goal and achieved it. Really inspiring. It inspires me to stick with my goals which is Time and Love.

As a consultant I am able to:

  • …manage my time and I am not boxed into 9 to 5 thing.
  • …time flexibility helps me allocate more time for what I love 

By the way, consultants get paid not bad too ;):

Consultant - $141,111.  -  100 Best Companies to Work For

Am I just convincing myself I am not a loser? Or I am living my dream? What’s your take?

Practice This - Get Results

  • Decide what you want more in your life - focus on this, ignore the rest. 
  • Build your career model - common wisdom is not a secret formula for your success.

My Related Posts



11 comments ↓

#1 tom on 02.04.09 at 4:29 pm

This is a great post because you are right, in the end, having more time for the things that really matter in life. Such as family, friends and relationships.
The people that give you love back.

Your car or house does not give you love back.

#2 Giovanna Garcia on 02.04.09 at 4:55 pm

At the end of the day, it is what makes your heart sing that matter. I had worked very hard and was able to retired. Then I didn’t feel the way I thought I would feel. Later I found my life’s purpose in live and I was so passionate about it. That doing my work is not like work any longer.
The point is “It is not just about the money!’

Thanks
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action

#3 alik levin on 02.04.09 at 9:17 pm

tom,
Great to hear you liked it.
…”in the end” …huh? ;)

Giovanna,
Well said - “it is what makes your heart sing that matter”. Liked it.

#4 Liara Covert on 02.05.09 at 3:26 am

Books certainly offer a wealth of options and ways of thinking. And yet, this is a means of searching outside yourself for answers you already have but overlook. As you are familiar with the way of the peaceful warrior, you may recall that some people defend an identity or vision of themselves they no longer believe in. This is a sign of evolution in directions that are more aligned with who you are.

#5 tom on 02.05.09 at 4:06 am

In the end is one of my phrases I use a lot, but in this case it is referring to the things that matter most when all you have all the money and success. I mean you can’t eat your money or your house, but you can give and receive love from others.

In the end you can also think of what will be left over when your money, car and house is taken away.

#6 alik levin on 02.05.09 at 8:25 am

Liara,
Thanks for helping me identifying the signs that prove i am on track

tom,
good question to ask indeed - “what will be left over when your money, car and house is taken away?”

#7 Gennaro on 02.05.09 at 8:10 pm

Consulting gives you a level of freedom and independence that upper management never gets to realize. In terms of the word, loser, we are successed as long as we are happy with our work and life. Who cares about the way outsiders label?

#8 alik levin on 02.05.09 at 9:34 pm

Gennaro,
I like your take on freedom though I would not say I am completely free as I am working for a company. I’d rather say I am more flexible ;)
The other thing - I liked your take with regards to what labels other stick to me. It does not matter what they think of you as long as you bring no harm to others.

#9 Barbara Swafford on 02.06.09 at 7:33 am

Hi Alik - Oh please, don’t call yourself a loser. I’m guessing you’re a very good consultant.

When I’ve read about goal setting, after writing what our goals are, we should start asking “why?”. And don’t settle for your first answer, keep asking “why?”. Eventually it takes us to our “root”, and we find out why we truly want a specific goal. Sometimes we realize the original goal isn’t what we REALLY want, but it’s something else.

Have no fear, one day you’ll have fame and fortune as a blogger, and I can say, “I knew him when…” :)

#10 alik levin on 02.06.09 at 9:09 am

Barbara,
Thanks for kind words!
Good is not enough these days, must be best, way ahead ;). That is why I am all over for personal dev and improvement.

…when that day comes, I’ll proudly say “these guys lifted me”. Guess, who’s going to be in the list? ;)

#11 Consulting Books List — Practice This on 02.17.09 at 6:05 pm

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