Do you want to spend your career in the same place? No, I thought not. Everyone has dreams of rising above their current position and achieving something greater. Whether that's rising up in your current employment or striking out on your own and creating something new, everyone should have goals that they strive for. The trouble is, many people simply don't know where to start. They know that they want to push forward, they might even have a specific goal in mind, but they have no idea how to go about achieving that goal. Now, there may not be a secret formula for success, but if you really want to be successful, here are a few things that you definitely need.
Ambition
The first thing you need to do is to stop making excuses. Whatever "extremely valid" reasons you have for not going after what you want, throw them in the trash. If you have a goal you want to reach, then you can't let anything stand in your way. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your dreams. Stop apologising for what you want and go out there and take it! It's your life; you need to take control of it once and for all.
Qualifications
One of the biggest obstacles for a lot of people when it comes to their next career step is that they simply don't have the necessary qualifications. The key to this problem is to think long term. If there's something you really want to do then find the training options available to you and go after them. This could be anything from doing a business analytics masters degree online to night classes to getting trained up by your employer. Finding the right path to the qualifications you need isn't always easy, but it's far from impossible.
Discipline
In the end, it doesn't matter how skilled or ambitious you are, if you're not willing to do something for yourself, then you're doomed to fail. No one ever got anything done by sitting around and wishing that it would happen. If you want your life to change then, go and make it happen. Push yourself even when you don't feel like it. If people only chased their goals when they felt like it, no one would ever achieve anything. Success is not going to be handed to you. You need to be willing to put in the time and energy into working for it. In the end, the success you achieve through your hard work will feel that much sweeter than if it had just been handed to you. If you work for it, your success belongs to you and no one else. Don't let fear or laziness hold you back. Work towards your goals every day without fail. If that means putting in extra time at work or home, then that's a sacrifice you might just need to be willing to make.
The reality is, if you want to get the most out of your career, you've got to be willing to put everything you can into it. The world is just not going to hand you anything. You've got to put in the work if you want to make the most of your career and your life.