Quest for the True North

The world according to a traveler and beach bum.

Archive for the ‘career’ Category

Aug
20

Paradigm Shift

Filed under career, wealth

I grew up thinking that money was evil and that businessmen were shrewd. It didn’t help that I attended the University of the Philippines, said to be the bastion of the communists. I became a student activist, became an agnostic for awhile, and began to hate imperialist America.

But because of a twist of fate, I landed in the corporate world in a job I didn’t know existed before and never imagined to have. My employer was American, and so it didn’t come as a surprise that I had go to the land of milk and honey to meet the people I worked with and get some training. Anyone in my shoes would have jumped for joy, but I flatly refused to go. I did not want to go. I didn’t see the point in going, because I already knew how to do my job, and I did not want to sign the bond that came with the trip.

Fortunately for me though, I had a manager who had amazing convincing powers. She told me that I would come back a different person–that travel would change me, that there was an experience waiting for me on the other side of the world that I couldn’t get anywhere else. That was what convinced me to go. I signed the papers and packed up. That was how the shift began.

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Jun
10

The Hedgehog Concept

Filed under career, people, personal

When I was 19, I attended a career and leadership training wherein the speaker introduced us to the Hedgehog Concept. At that time, like many students about to finish college, I didn’t know where I was going or what was ahead of me. I was very passionate about journalism,  but I wasn’t sure where it would take me or if it could support the life that I wanted. The Hedgehog Concept changed that. I applied it to my life, and it hasn’t left me ever since. I still use it in making important decisions.

Today, I think I already know where I want to be for the long haul. I feel immensely blessed that I found my niche early, and that it gives me the challenges that I need and provides for the lifestyle that I want. I am very grateful to that man for sharing what he knew. I was prepared early. I saved precious time.

The Hedgehog Concept is simply a Venn diagram of (1) your passion, interests, and hobbies, (2) specialties and skills, and (3) the job market or the times. Somewhere in the middle, the three intersect, and that is your place under the sun.

hedgehog2.gif

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