There are success stories everywhere you look. Whether the story is downloaded on the web and social media or heard by interacting with people. Everyone is different and people tend to have a different approach when living their life. My story is kind of cool…. Five years ago, I myself had made the first step towards what I want in a career.
A couple months after I started working for FOX Sports one night, one of the bosses took the lead in the nightly meeting. We touched on the news of the day, and what the night crew should be looking out for as far as content for the websites.
As we were getting ready to break loose to get started on our tasks, we were introduced to an eye-opener. She asked us, rhetorically, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” I knew the answer to that right away. My answer to myself was, “I saw myself working with a production crew.” That was roughly October of 2010.
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
That talk happened at the beginning of my 5 years with FOX. Today, 2015, I remain working for FOX Sports. During this stretch of time I recognized a progression from the first to the current year.
THE FIRST YEAR – AWARE OF WHAT YOU WANT
You have to start somewhere right? After the question was posed to us, from there on the whole year for me was about being aware of what I wanted. One of the things also mentioned, to not just see yourself where you want to be, but act as if you are there already. Treat your current role as if you were in your dream career.
Keep in mind that the first year in a new career everything is new. You’re learning a new way to be. It’s all about being aware of what you want, because without that awareness of your goals, you have no clear path.
“…without that awareness of your goals, you have no clear path.”
THE SECOND YEAR – LEARN SOMETHING NEW
I have the awareness; I know what I want to do, where I want to be. But there is a bit of an obstacle that I run into. Obstacles are all over the place, that’s a guarantee. It is time to start thinking about change so I can clear obstacles. It just so happens the crew was starting to learn a new task that was quite huge.
“…change so I can clear obstacles.”
We not only had our initial task of publishing clips, now the department started to live stream events over the web. There was a learning curve that came with this task because live streaming hasn’t been done on a large scale like we did it before then.
THE THIRD YEAR – THE CHANGE IN ME
You know how in the military one of the first things a new recruit goes through is boot camp or basic training? The purpose of that training is rebooting your mind leading to a change of how it controls your body’s reactions. There is a change that takes place. The same thing happened to me in this third year. This was the year of rejection for me. I needed to change. It wasn’t enough that I knew what I wanted to do and that I had began to embrace change.
“I needed to change.”
The department was being disintegrated and transferred while the staff was looking for their next role. I did so too. I reached out to a couple of postings and job roles that were made available. I ended up going for three different interviews, and getting rejected every step of the way. The third rejection really sunk in. For about a day it was the lowest point emotionally of this five-year progression. The good news, the progression started rising back up ever since that day, and I still had a job to keep me going.
The important thing to take from this was that this was the moment I needed to realize that where I was in my career didn’t jive right. And to this day I am thankful that I didn’t land any of those positions I interviewed for. At the time of the interviews, if offered any of the positions, I would have accepted one I really wasn’t looking for.
“…this was the moment I needed…”
THE FOURTH YEAR – EFFECTS OF CHANGE CREATE MORE CHANGE
That third interview and rejection came in July 2013. A year or so back I had actually been introduced to a non-profit organization, you may have heard about Toastmasters International. Right after my third interview and rejection, the following month I started to look at Toastmasters clubs in the area. I found one and joined up after visiting as a guest.
Most people who look to join a Toastmasters club usually have the fear. The fear of public speaking, the fear of locking up while giving a public presentation, the fear of what people think of you. And there are other (hidden) benefits of joining Toastmasters too.
Let’s just say, I took advantage of all of the above benefits. The one thing that I lacked was the confidence to be myself. I reached out for help, and here came Toastmasters to the rescue. Today, I am overflowing with confidence.
“Today, I am overflowing with confidence.”
THE FIFTH YEAR – A BETTER VERSION OF ME
Just over two years with Toastmasters and five years working for FOX, the last four years up to this point (in the 5th year) have been a hell of a journey. I started right out of college on an emotional high. I had been broken down and had my heart pretty much ripped from my body for a little while. But as I complete the fifth year, remembering everything I have gone through in the last four, I notice a better version of myself that even I didn’t think possible.
I am getting ready to start the next phase of my journey. By the way, in this next role I just accepted, I will be working with a studio production team at a regional sports network. Is that where I saw myself back in 2010? It’s pretty damn close!
“I will be working with a studio production team”
I have gained an incredible amount of knowledge of myself as well as the process of development. Things don’t usually develop overnight; just like in my case, it takes several years. The key is not to rush it but to enjoy it as it’s happening, learn from it.
In today’s world, people are in a hurry so much to get where they’re going they forget to stop and enjoy the journey. You have no control over the timing, so don’t try and adjust it. Let progress take its natural course.
“Things don’t usually develop overnight…”
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Tommy Kenyon 