Your career is like a journey; there are bumps here and there. But like every trip, it starts somewhere, goes through a path, and ends somewhere. You are always at a specific point in your career journey; starting, on the road, or at the end of the road, and I hope you prioritize these four things as you hope to make success of your career.

Purpose

This is the definition of your “why”. You cannot remotely say you had a successful career, if you never had to define your purpose. This is the destination you hope to reach in your journey, and it must be your first priority. You may have missed this in the beginning, but it is never late to evaluate and define your destination. It answers the question “where am I going?”

Value

Make it your second priority to describe what value you stand for. The price tag you carry in the labour market is specifically tied to the value you are expected to deliver. Friend, you have to ensure you are a valuable person; to friends, colleagues and organization. Let it be easy to identify your value, to you as well as others. It answers the question “what do I bring to the table?”

Relationships

A critical asset of any success career is valuable relationships. There is hardly any business endeavour that does not require relationship management; you need people to hire you, to buy from you, to sell to you, to talk about you, and so on. Make it your priority to build, nurture and keep relationships. It answers the question “who do you know?”

Legacy

Lastly, keep legacy in mind. If your work doesn’t outlive you, you have worked poorly. You must intend to leave a mark in any office you have worked in; in the lives of people you worked with. It is the priority of great career persons. Nothing brings you to mind like a great legacy. It answers the question “what do I leave behind?”

These four career priorities have been applied in very many disciplines in the past; medical practice, politics, academics, sports, business, you name it. They are all built around purpose, value, relationships and legacy.

You have a chance today to start prioritizing these too.

Cheers my friend.