Turn Off the Noise!

Turn Off the Noise!

The quote on the Absolute Transitions website this month is all about opportunities and possibilities. Opportunities and possibilities may emerge in different ways. They may come from a chance meeting with a friend or new acquaintance. They can come from something about which you read. Or they may come from someone knowing you and your interests so well, that they recommend you as a candidate for something that fits your skill sets perfectly.

I suppose like me, many of you are bombarded by solicitations via email or US mail on how you would be a perfect candidate for an opportunity. Those solicitations may come because of the profession of which you are a part, the way you work (entrepreneurship say as opposed to working for a mid-size or large company), because of your age or perhaps because of the interests you express on your social media profiles. In some ways this blog can fall into one of those “solicitations,” if this is a topic not of interest to you.

In the first half of 2022 I began to feel overwhelmed about such contacts. They would come to me in the form of email. Usually the pitch was how the solicitor could help me grow my business by providing me a stream of never ending leads and potential customers. Others would directly insult my website indicating it was out of date, not effective, etc. Some of the more annoying ones for me came through Linked In, (which is frankly a tool I value for professional presence and would never steer my clients away from). An individual would ask to connect. Often, they were connected to some of my fellow connections. Then the next thing I knew was that they were sending me a note about their product or service, and how perhaps we should talk and see how it would benefit me. There was no, hello, I wanted to connect because I see synergies in terms of the type of work we do. No, would you like to have a conversation to learn about each other’s business. No, how I think your background and experience could be of assistance to me.

As 2022 went on, (and admittedly it was a slower year business wise for me than the previous year and several years before), I began to realize the things I enjoyed most about what I do. At the top of the list was the direct engagement with my clients and helping to work with them to develop a strategy for their job search. I also have for the last 3 years been doing far more in the way of presentations on career strategy related topics and have enjoyed that aspect of my business. Additionally, I realized that what I do as a profession is A PART OF MY LIFE, and NOT MEANT TO CONSUME MY WHOLE LIFE.

Every day THE NOISE keeps coming my way. Sometimes I am guilty of bringing it directly into my life (think scanning news articles on my telephone or something catching my eye as I sign onto my Yahoo account). However, I look to continue to discipline myself to TURN OFF THE NOISE, and be aware of the messages that really resonate with me. While I receive emails that immediately go into my SPAM folder, I find myself deleting a good many emails when I can quickly deduce they are for a product or service in which I have no interest. Many email connections to connect get declined especially once I have reviewed the person’s background and my perceived interest as to what they may have in common with me.

Is it possible that I could be casting aside opportunities or possibilities? Perhaps, I may be. However, I feel on the other hand that I have sharpened my skills to be more aware of those opportunities that come my way that align with my skills, interests, clients that I enjoy helping and allow me to work in a style and approach that is the way that I choose at this point in my life. If you are feeling overwhelmed with what comes into your life everyday as offers or ways you should be living or working in your life, consider what steps you may need to take to become focused on the messages that connect to the individual that you are looking to be.