In our introduction we indicated that you are indeed a “coauthor” of this book by how you react to the material presented and integrate it into your life. We believe this book is not complete without your notes in the margins and your use of the concepts in your own situation.
In Chapter 13 on Adversity, we introduced the concept of E+R=O, or Event + Reaction = Outcome. In its simplest form, the event was your reading this book, and the outcome or result cannot be determined until you determine how you will react to it. Then, and only then, can you truly know how this book made a difference in your life.
By now, we hope you understand our intentions and that you have actively played the part of a coauthor. We hope the experience has started to make a difference in your life and has led you to explore your personal and professional development in a new light.
Take a moment to stop and reflect and celebrate the new beginning of the rest of your life! Take what you have learned, add it to your experiences, and go forward with a newfound confidence and zeal for becoming the best you can possibly be! Take the time to enjoy the journey along the way. Don’t focus so much on the future that you forget the joy of today.
Please continue to revisit these lessons to reactivate additional learning and write more notes in the margins to personalize and memorialize your journey.
You should also by now have a good understanding of the value of asking “Am I Doing This Right?” not as an indication of weakness but as a seed of strength leading to deeper understanding of how to grow a successful career and lead a more fulfilling life.
There are many debatable aspects of career development and certainly we could have included more topics. However, in our research, our collective experience, and in the feedback received, we believe the topics we addressed represent a solid list of issues that are critical at the beginning of any career.
As your career grows and life becomes more complex, different issues will emerge that present the promise of exciting growth as well as the perils of more headaches. Within these joys and struggles lie professional challenges such as more responsibilities in your job, leading other people in their career, changing jobs, more senior-level executive experiences, dealing with setbacks in positive and constructive ways, and many, many other topics.
At the same time, you will most likely find changes to your personal life in your relationships, the potential for marriage and children, a higher level of interaction in your community, and a more advanced understanding of who you are and what your impact on the world is.
Even greater pressures emerge when you think about mid-career or senior-level stages of your career. Strategic thinking, leading large organizations, dealing with constant change, recruiting and developing high-potential talent, determining succession plans for critical roles, the art of delegating, and making complex decisions and so many more issues present challenges in the latter stages of a career. At the same time, at a personal level, your thoughts shift from being successful to what your legacy will be and how your contributions will make a difference for others after you retire.
These mid-career and senior-level issues present challenges of their own. The concepts presented in this book are meant to serve as a base foundation for a strong career and a more fulfilling life by focusing on early career development. We have plans to address issues that are critical to mid-career and senior-level professional development in future editions of Am I Doing This Right?
We also designed each chapter around a key topic, providing well-balanced, concise, relevant insights, tools, and advice regarding each topic. Each chapter should provide you a space to focus on the topic at hand and lead you to a deeper understanding of how the topic impacts your life and career. But in the end, it’s how this book impacts your whole person that counts.
The “Whole Person Concept” is the reality that no single idea, decision, or characteristic will automatically define you completely. You are way more than any individual element—furthermore, you are way more than the sum of individual pieces. You are the “complete person,” and all of your experiences, day-in and day-out, continue to propel your development.
We hope this book has helped you become a “more complete person” indeed!
Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
It’s our sincere hope that your career and life have changed as a result of reading this book. To continue to gain the most from this book, we recommend taking the following actions:
• Stay active and keep this book handy… to revisit often as your career and experiences grow. As you make decisions in your life, and as the world continues to change, the lessons in this book will take on new meanings.
• Pass along what you learned… by sharing the insights from this book with others. The power of your reaction to this book is significant to you and to those with whom you share it. You will learn more as you talk about your reactions to this book.
• Invest in someone’s career… by sending a copy of this book to someone you care about. They may be a college or high school graduate, someone taking on a new role, or people struggling to get their feet underneath them in the beginning of their professional journey. If your company has an onboarding program, this book would make an ideal addition to the process. If you teach a class to college students, this would make an excellent addition to their reading list.
• Order individual copies on Amazon or contact Business Expert Press for bulk business or academic orders.
• Connect with us! Follow Tony, Matthew, and Jeffrey on social media and let’s help each other get better every day.
• Visit www.doingthisrightbooks.com to share your story so others can gain from your personal experience.
• Sign up for monthly newsletters that connect community members to the latest trends in personal development, stories that share experiences, and insights from the authors.
• Write to us and let us know how this book helped you or someone close to you. We are working hard on future editions for mid- and senior-level careers and value your feedback.
Lastly, we sincerely hope this really isn’t the conclusion or the “end” of the book as far as how it has influenced your career and life. We hope it’s the beginning of something great.
Sincerely,
Tony Thelen
Matthew Mitchell
Jeffrey Kappen
October 2022