What are your odds of success…
in your chosen field?
Written by R. A. Stewart
This all depends on what your definition of success is.
As kids all of us wanted to be somebody when we grew up. It did not necessarily mean being a rock star, it could have been as a policeman, a train-driver, a fireman, a farmer, a nurse, or a school teacher. I wanted to be a champion athlete and a horse racing trainer who trained champions.
Some dreams are achievable, there is a shortage of policemen and nurses in New Zealand. In other occupations there are more people wanting to break into those roles than the number of vacancies available to fill them.
It certainly pays to be multi-skilled as it will give you more options in life. It reminds me of a quote from my great aunt Ann Stewart, who was a nurse. She said, “Always have other strings to your bow.”
Other careers need lady luck on your side to enable you to reach the top.
Horse racing is one of these.
It is no secret that owners and trainers dream of winning the Melbourne Cup in Australia. The odds of achieving that feat are not on your side.
The same can be said of becoming an Olympic athlete. Of all of the millions of people who play sport, a relatively few get to take home a gold medal.
Life mirrors that of a pyramid.
Here is an illustration of this:
In rugby only a tiny percentage ever get to play for the All Blacks. They are at the top of the pyramid. They get paid the most.
The next level down are the Super Rugby Players, the majority of whom do not get to be All Blacks. There are more players in this category. They get paid less than the All Blacks.
The next level down are the Provincial Players, who do not get paid apart from get some kind of reimbursement. They have jobs to go to outside of rugby. There are still more players in this category.
At the bottom of the pyramid are the club players who do it purely for the love of the game without any thoughts of advancing up the pyramid. For most people rugby is a sport to be enjoyed. The majority of rugby players are at the bottom of the pyramid.
All careers follow the same pyramid pattern where those at the elite level are at the top of the pyramid and the further down the pyramid you go the more people you will find.
Working in your chosen field
You may not have the talent or inclination to be an international sportsperson but you can be an asset in your chosen field and that does not mean that you have to be something out of the ordinary to become a valued member of society. A person who works at an entry level job can do so with such a good attitude that their diligence will not go unnoticed by their employers.
You may not particularly like your job and have any control over what happens at work but your attitude is something you can control. An employer with a bad attitude will take that bad attitude with them wherever they go.
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