All That Mumbo Jumbo About Attaining Your Goals... Actually Works

I've reached the end of my 6 month contract at my job. Don't worry, they renewed it for a few more months until May. But the other day, I was sitting at my computer working on a web banner and it hit me! I've reached my goal! I actually did it! I'm exactly where I wanted to be and I did it! I realized that all that crap they talk about in order to achieve your goals really does work! And I realize that not many people believe that it actually does work, so I thought I'd make a post about it. How I did it. Because it doesn't work exactly as they say it does. Close, but not exactly. They don't always mention one key factor. Here... Let me 'splain.

A whopping five years ago I was working at a job that was no longer working for me. The location wasn't ideal because it was in an industrial area. Not a lot of creative juices flowing in a neighbourhood like that. And it required a long commute to get there. I tried taking the bus, so I could catch up on some reading, but that used up four hours of my day whole day. (Two hours there, two hours home.) The driving was making me lose my mind. Bumper to bumper for an hour all the way there. Bumper to bumper for an hour all the way home. Let's not even talk about the delays if it snowed more than one centimeter! I also found that although I had grown as a designer since I had started there, I was having trouble growing some more and that was frustrating my creative juices.

For two years, I tried looking for a new job. I applied all over the place. I went for a handful of interviews, but things just didn't work out. While I was job searching I noticed that more and more companies were looking for a designer who had skills in both print and web. My web skills were severely lacking since I hadn't kept them up to date over the years since graduating from school, and I realized I needed to upgrade myself. Fiona 5.0, if you will. I tried some tutorials online, but I felt very lost. I looked into taking night classes, but because I was so far away from most colleges, I didn't think I would make it to class in time. And when I thought about it, it was going to take me the next five years of night classes to learn everything I felt I needed to learn. I needed a change now, not in five years. My boyfriend (now husband) was unemployed at the time, only doing odd jobs here and there, so I felt I needed to keep working full-time to support us in case his bank account ran dry and he couldn't support his half of the bills. How could I make changes when I felt there were no options?

It took me a long time before I finally sat down at my desk and thought, "What the hell. No harm in trying all that mumbo jumbo about attaining your goals." So I wrote down a set of very specific goals, like they say you should do:

The office has to be downtown, within biking distance.
It should be in one of those old downtown buildings that they've converted into an office, with wood floors, big windows and brick walls. And they should let us bring our dogs to work.
I will work in a team so I can learn from my coworkers and we can inspire each other.
I will be appreciated and paid what I'm worth.
I will have the opportunity to grow as a designer.
I will have the opportunity to be challenged.

Not too long after, I felt I had no other choice but to quit my job and go back to school. My boyfriend had been doing odd jobs for two years and he was doing okay financially. After further analyzing the situation, I realized that I had enough money saved up to pay for school. And if I got a part-time job while in school, and we spent our money very, very wisely, we'd be okay financially for a while. So I applied for web design courses at several colleges and ultimately chose to take Humber College's two-year Multimedia Design and Production Technician program. It would teach me web design and development and some video stuff too.

Now, here's where all that mumbo jumbo about attaining your goals can sometimes be deceiving. I had written down my goals and I was now taking steps by being in school to achieve those goals. But what they sometimes forget to tell you is that you have to want it! You have to want it very badly! You have to want it more than anything! Not only that, but you have work your ASS off! You have to work harder than you've ever worked in your life! You have to do whatever it takes to make yourself reach those goals! Yes, it will be very, very hard and it will take a lot out of you, but you will reach those goals.

So, how did I do it? It most certainly wasn't easy, I can tell you that! I wrote little goals for myself along the way. I tried to go above and beyond on every single project. I managed my time like a fiend. I took advantage of extra help and working with my class mates so we could solve problems together. I didn't sleep a whole lot during those two years of school because I was pushing myself to be the best that I could be. I surrounded myself with people who supported me, so when I was bawling my eyes out because I didn't think I was going to make it, they were there to pick me back up again. I worked harder than I've ever worked in my life! And eventually it paid off.

I graduated from that program at Humber at the top of my class. I'm extremely proud of that because of how hard I worked. And that hard work and all my accomplishments gave me the confidence I needed when I graduated. I made sure to participate in the portfolio show at the end of the year, I attended FITC, and I got a smart phone to immerse myself in the social media aspect of job hunting and getting my name out there.

Before I knew it, people were calling me to hire me for jobs! It had only been two weeks since my last day of classes when I got a call from the department I interned with at Rogers Publishing. They needed somebody right away. I also got calls from a couple of head hunters who saw my profile on LinkedIn. And just before my contract ended at Rogers, I was hired on at SapientNitro, where I am now. And it's almost exactly the place I wrote down in my goals. Everything matches except the part about allowing your dog to come to work with you. (Good thing I don't have a dog.)

It took me five years. Five years, some written goals and a LOT OF VERY HARD WORK! But I made it. And I'm very proud of myself for that.

Now... What are your goals?