Within six months of entering into a new relationship, I was cheated, lied to, and berated.

So I decided to end that relationship, and I quit my job.

My first job out of college came with big promises of exciting opportunities. But it didn’t take me long after I started to realize that I was just there for grunt work and would never have the experiences I was promised.

It was then that I realized that there’s no such thing as job security. The only security that exists is what you create for yourself.

We spend as much time working as we do living, so we might as well build a life and career we truly want to live.

My disastrous first job was one of the last times I worked for someone else. I took things into my own hands to future-proof my career.

I put together a video which talks about this in more detail. Please check it out below and if you want more content like this you can subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here are three ways you can do the same and shape your work to create a better personal life.

1. Be a perpetual learner.
You can’t rely on schools or employers to teach you everything to need to know in life. Take control of your own personal and career development. Pay attention to the tangential so you can see how your skills and interests can be applied to things on the side. Don’t be so heads down that you miss what’s going on around you.

2. Fake it ‘til you make it.
Everyone faces imposter syndrome and often feels like they don’t belong. Don’t let those thoughts take over! When I was starting out on my own, I told myself that I was building something great and was a fantastic entrepreneur. Eventually, I started believing it and found success. What you tell yourself matters.

3. Don’t follow your passion, bring it with you.
This might go against all the career advice you’ve ever received, but don’t go chasing your passion. Passion isn’t something static you can chase, but instead something that will grow and change throughout your life. Most people can’t even decide their passion until they start doing something. Become passionate about what you are doing instead of bringing it with you.

To future-proof your career, you have to take matters into your hands. Improve your work life and you’ll improve your personal life.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to build a life you really want to live.

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If you enjoyed the article and want more content like this here’s what you can do:

  1. Subscribe to The Future of Work Podcast where I interview business leaders around the world each week.
  2. Grab a copy of The Future Leader which has been endorsed by the CEOs of MasterCard, Best Buy, Oracle, Audi, Unilever, Domino’s Pizza, Ritz Carlton, Kaiser, and Marshall Goldsmith. It explores the most essential skills and mindsets for future leaders.
  3. If you are or want to be an entrepreneur then my wife and I just launched a brand new podcast on how to Be Your Own Boss, called the BYOB Podcast where we share what we did and how we did it. You can subscribe to that here.

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