Not so dedicated to your career? Well now's the time to reassess and choose

This is for everyone but I will focus this for the majority of my friends with whom I have consulted with (as consultants for organisations) over the past eight years. This is for this bunch of people who are extremely talented but for one reason or another fell into a job that though it paid well, gave you some street cred and provided international travel came no where near to fulfilling them personally or professionally. Day after day it was simply a matter of going through the motions and pretending this was the life they wanted.

When I say going through the motions I will state that there were times when we had to work extremely hard. That's a given. However, and this is the consultancy and financial sector world over, there are many people who get paid well to actually do very little. Not only very little but nothing of any importance; not personally fulfilling, not helping society and not changing society. The money was great for the effort but looking back the money wasn't that great...particularly when it meant driving yourself into a career that you didn't really want, all the while making it more difficult to turn back and make that critical change. I speak to many of these people today and not many have moved out of that old way of life and they are hating it or worst still, resigned to their fate.

So in the face of current economic challenges I'm writing this for my friends above encouraging them to change careers - this is the time to make that switch, the easy times in financial services is over and it is time to take control of your life. You may have been made redundant, hoping to be or one of those unfortunates still in that thing you call a job. However regardless of your position you must move....OR commit 100% to your job.

I say that the option of not really trying in a career you don't like is no longer an option. There is no more easy street or automatic promotions and if you don't work hard and achieve you will move backwards. More importantly you will find yourself thinking yourself more and more worthless as time passes you by. If you're not prepared to go for that dream career then at least achieve in your current career - or something. Choose something, but at least put some effort into it. Achieve some good things and perhaps your career won't look so wasted.

But please, either change careers or commit and achieve - these are the only choices.