July 28, 2009 99 Comments

You are the Captain

Some truths for you: the HR department isn’t thinking about how to improve your abilities. Your client isn’t wondering how you’re going to increase your revenue next year. Your significant other wants you to be happy (and maybe even successful), but he or she isn’t sitting around thinking of ways to help you achieve that goal all day. In fact, no one is actively trying to move you up from where you are to where you want to go, until after you take command of your own ship.

When I worked at the phone company, I was just an employee. I worked for a check and went home. One day, I realized that I wanted more. I started reading books that didn’t pertain to my job. I borrowed hundreds of books and movies and audio programs from the library in an effort to educate myself. I paid for conferences out of my own pockets to meet people and connect and learn and build my network and my platform (a matter for another post). No one handed me anything. I had friends. I had helpful supporters. But I did the work.

You are the captain, no matter where you sit in the organization. You command a vessel of one. Some day? Maybe a fleet. But start today. And look your ship over.

Do you have the right maps aboard?
Do you have a compass to guide you?
Do you have a telescope to see beyond the next wave?
Do you have a thirst for exploration and a hunger for reward?

Take over, cap’n. It’s what we do.

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Find out more about the framework features
Check out the Genesis demo and the wide variety of child themes
See example designs in the Genesis design showcase

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

http://www.livinghalffull.com/ Peter Mis

As a father of three kids (11, 9, and 16 months), the most important advice I can give to my children is the understanding of the elements of this post. It's all about taking responsibility for the quality of your life. A radical departure for the masses, but in this age of free agency and job insecurity, those who wish to even simply survive need to look at themselves as business people and not as employees.

Welcome to the new reality.

Thanks for the post!
executiveresumewriter

Awesome!

So true. We are in control of our own lives. I tell clients that all the time,'Get out there and take control of your career!' If we sit around and wait for people to 'help us', we'll be waiting a long, long time.

Great post, Chris!
http://blog.harcourts.co.nz/ Bryan Thomson

That is a brilliant post! Thanks for your thoughts.
Bryan
http://www.drewbeatty.com drewbeatty

It can be so damn easy to fall into to complacent cycle of working paycheck to paycheck. Nice to have a little reality check and a heads up. Thanks Chris.
http://www.Guydz.com/moneypowerwisdom/ drmani

Wow! Loved this one. Way to go, Cap'n Brogan!
strive4impact

Hey Chris,

Wow.

Huge insight in this post. I've been looking over my ship a lot lately and it's moving along very well, but not as quickly as I would like it to move. Any suggestions for ways to take a ship (an Internet business that's doing very well (by most people's standards)) and throw some giant motors on the back?

Thanks again for the post.

Warmest,

Jonathan
http://www.ThreeMoneyMethods.com
http://www.mattsingley.com/leading mattsingley

Amen! I've learned this lesson along the way and it sticks with me. Thanks for the kick in the butt.
http://www.netwitsthinktank.com frank barry

It's interesting to see how many people are content to just be. To stay where they are and not put much effort into improving, growing, learning, expanding.

Here's to teaching others how to be a Captain!!

http://twitter.com/franswaa
igobydoc

Chris,

Love the post! Reminds me of when I worked for my family business. While my dad was the “Admiral” and “Captain” of that fleet (30+ employees & at one point 6 vessels), I often enjoyed playing the part of the First Officer. As we decided to sell our company, I was deciding what I wanted to do next… I wanted to start my own company where the role of “Captain” would be mine.

So, as I set sail on my own businesses, rather than just being the Captain, I found myself being the CCBW (Chief, Cook and Bottle Washer) oh, and a lot of the times the “Fireman” as well.

I have enjoyed my journey across the entrepreneur-”ship” sea, and this “Captain” has seen many ups and downs along the way.

As far as your four questions go… I'd maybe ask a fifth: Are you sailing in the right ship?

Reason being, if you are not doing what you love questions one through three really do not matter.

Thanks for the post… Cap'n!

Doc
yigalc

Great post, Chris.
My own version for that is – Give yourself one-sentence-answer to these 5 questions:
1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. How we do what we do?
4. What is the value we create?
5. What we learn along the journey?
If these five sentence combine together to a logic and coherent paragraph, you ar on the righ direction, go full speed ahead.
annewalshcoach

Oh, no! does that mean no-one is coming to rescue me boo-hoo (:-). I think the realisation that one is the captain is both depressing (oh, not I have to do the work MYSELF!) and deliciously liberating (hey, I get to CHOOSE) . But we do need the help and co-operation of others to go where we want to go. Someone else has made the maps and compass and how can our journey add value for others?
Ritika Agarwal

wow…truely, we are masters of our own ship called life!! and it depends on us entirely how beautiful the sailing could be…thanks for the wonderful realisation.

Regards,
ritika
Pingback: Inspiration - is sometimes just one click away : DadsPokerBlog
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

That's when you're ready to join or lead a fleet. My feeling is that it comes later. We have to captain our ship first. : )
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

That's very well done. I like it.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

That's a pretty darned good fifth question, Doc. Always good to get other people's perspective. : )
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

Specific to that point, I used to want to teach others to be captains. I used to try really hard to get people at the office to swallow the red pill (switching analogies to The Matrix, because hey, I can). But no. Too many are very willing to be mates on someone else's ship.

Fine by me. They have their own way.
avilbeckford

Chris, I really appreciated your post, not only because of the stunning ship imagery that most people can relate to, but because of the whole idea of self-responsibility. We have to take control of our work and life. I like everything you are saying and I would go even one step further. With the Invisible Mentor concept that I am always refining, and with information at your fingertips, you can choose anyone to mentor you. All you have to do is study the person, learn about their philosophy in life, ideas, models or concepts they might have developed. And with everything, be discriminating, do not accept everything you read, every information you consume. Apply rigor to your thinking. Make sure that you know where your ship is going and have the right maps to take you there. And if you veer off course your compass will alert you.

Thanks again fro the great post.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

Let's say you had motors. They would get you to a destination faster. But it would also be uncontrollable. Your growth might be so rapid that you shoot past the goal and into an unplanned shoal (a diversion, or a different revenue end).

Rapid growth isn't always bad, but it's rarely sustainable.

The better questions you might ask yourself are:

* Is this still the right ship? (Should I grow into something bigger?)
* Would I do better with a fleet of ships?

I'm guessing, in your part, that the second question holds your answer. Branch out with more people, and/or find some synergy with others.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

That's EXACTLY the biggest problem we face. If we sit still, we're helping no one.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

Happy to help, Dad. How come you're not writing over at Dadomatic.com?
http://inchoo.net/ Toni Anicic

I wouldn't say no one, your parents should care and think about how to motivate you and move you and move you from where you are to where you want to go. At least good parents do that :)

Anyway, nice point.
Jeffrey

Just wanted to say right on Chris. It took me a long time to realize this – somehow I was always waiting for someone to give me a chance to show how brilliant I was – I mean that's how it worked in the past. Times change. You rock.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

You just hit it, though. “should” care. Don't count the fact that both you and I had great parents as proof that all/most/some parents are living with their kids' interests at heart.
http://www.obsessedwithconformity.com Jim Mitchem

You also need a solid crew to get you where you're going.
http://edcabellon.com edcabellon

Great post Chris. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that we must take control of our lives if we ever want to achieve the things we know we can. Great stuff, thanks!
http://www.stevewoodruff.com stevewoodruff

It may be some time before someone is finally ready to venture out on their own. But, as you strongly suggest, the preparation time beforehand should be invested with building skills, knowledge, and contact – not just drifting without a rudder. Maybe we don't quite know what shape our own ship will be, and what exact direction we'll take, but as long as we're learning “captain” skills, we'll be ready when it's time to launch. Took me 'til my mid-40's before I was ready, but the hunger was there many years leading up to it…
http://www.reachpersonalbranding.com williamarruda

Chris,

When we did research for our book, Career Distinction, we set out to learn what made some people wildly successful and one of the four things these people had in common is that they actively managed their own careers (and had no expectations of their managers of HR doing that).

Decades ago, when you worked for one company for 30 years and then retired, your company managed your career for you.

Today's environment is different. It's easy to get lost in the countless emails and voicemails and meetings … and years can go by without you noticing. In the new world of work, you need to be thinking about your career every day with everything you do – asking yourself regularly “How is this going to help me reach my goals?”

Thanks for the great reminder, Chris. I hope it makes people sit back today and think a little more about their goals and their careers.

Best.
William
http://www.reachcc.com
Pingback: WhyHire.me
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

I love it, William. I'm sure your book does wonders for people. Thanks for sharing your perspective, especially about the way jobs used to be.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

There's never a right time to leave port. That's for damned sure. Just do it when you feel closest to it.
http://www.netwitsthinktank.com frank barry

Agreed. I still try. Not sure when I'll learn my lesson. It's a tough
spot to be in especially when you are trying to build something or make
something happen and some folks around you are stubborn, resist or, as
you say, are content to be mates on someone else's ship. At the end of
the day we can't control others. All we can do is change ourselves.

Here's to being a captain, loving your mates and being observant enough
to find those that aspire to be a captain some day.
http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

I'm happy that it worked for you. : )
BigSea

Thanks for the post. I just took a very big leap with my small business and have been reiterating this point over and over in my head for the past few weeks (as I simultaneously try to suppress the anxiety of now having two other people's livelihoods dependent on my own ability to succeed).

Needed the encouragement!
http://twitter.com/pattichurch Patti Church

Thanks for sharing your story.

We are presently teaching students at the college level about personal branding and social media tools. The first hurdle is getting them to take ownership of their careers and intern their brands. The Captain analogy works well. Hope you don't mind if I use it in class.
Nate

This post reminded me of one of my all time favorite songs. 'The Captain' by Guster.

“It's simple, so says the Captain. Face forward, move slow, forge ahead”
http://www.miguelallano.com/ Miguel Llano

This is a really great post and I hope that more and more people read it. I believe that this mindset is even more relevant to adults. Speaking personally, after college where I played a sport and excelled academically, I had no one to push me anymore. No coach, no teammates, not anyone. After two years of doing what I “thought” I wanted to do, I decided to be the captain of my own ship which also involved a 54% pay cut, loss of great benefits, and a company car. I went to work for a start up, got my MBA, and made networking a priority. Now, I am much happier in my position.

As an adult, no one will push you to run farther or perform better. You are the master of your own domain.
nicolaes

Hi I've taken the step and set sail on my own ship together with my business partner. Instead of calling thousands of people we select two companies a week that we would like to work with. We look at their current marketing and think about how we could improve upon it. Collectively we've worked in marketing, PR and advertising for 26 years and we are educated to degree level.

For the first time we feel alive and have learned more about putting all our skills in to practice over the last three months than ever before. So far we have gained 4 new clients with 2 pitches coming up in August. Our web site and blog is nearly ready to start shouting about. Biography films pending test shots live and looking a bit pale at the moment!

We have a plan and we plan to succeed. http://bit.ly/13LaVk

Thanks for the post and for the inspiration.

Nicola
http://www.AzzarelloGroup.com/blog Patty Azzarello

Once you take control of your own career success you can get where every you want.
You also need to recognize that doing good work, alone, is not enough. That is not taking control of your career…You also need to create positive visibility for your results. this is not about ugly politics, it is about building your credibility and relevance. And then you need to build a network of support. Biggest career boost: Get Mentors!
http://twitter.com/billhanifin Bill Hanifin

There is no substitute for setting goals, and accepting personal responsibility to achieve them to the best of your ability.

You have crafted a clever post that, if shared and assimilated by middle school children and beyond, would serve us all well to raise the level of productivity in this country.

Way too many people are willing to point fingers and cast blame on others for their own shortcomings. We need to self educate throughout our lives to fully develop our talents and stay bright and active. Thanks for a sharp post.
http://twitter.com/SusanCHammond Susan C Hammond

Well stated. We need to get over ourselves and just do it!
http://twitter.com/guarruda Gustavo Arruda

So true. It is sad to see, though, that most people don't take responsibility for their lives. They simply keep going waiting for things to happen. I'd rather move 1 millimeter towards my goal than 5 kilometers towards an unknown destination.
mtuckerb

This analogy really strikes a chord with me because in my case rising up and taking command of my life litterally means becoming captain of my own ship. If all goes well, in October 2012 my family and I will be setting sail for a circumnavigation.

Thanks for brightening my morning!
http://www.softwarecandy.com softwarecandy

In the US military, a Captain is above 20 or so other ranks, but still below a Major, a Lieutenant Colonel, a Colonel, a Brigadier General, a Major General etc. …
http://capecodbranding.com/blog/ John R. Sedivy

I had heard a variation of the theme while serving in the military – “you are your own best business manager.” Ultimately you are in charge of your own situation – if you don't like it, change it! Of course, some situations are harder to change than others – but the idea holds true. Thanks for sharing your personal experience!
marvinhimel

This post will really hit home with the majority of your readers. As a person who has created a number of businesses, some successful some not so much, I am currently undertaking a new venture in unexplored waters, pun intended. Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed and have to ask myself, “is it worth it?” Then I come across posts such as yours and it reaffirms in my mind that I am absolutely making the right decision. We will never never know what we are capable of unless we attempt to charter those unknown waters and command our own vessel during the voyage – you are absolutely right. Thanks, Captain Chris!
http://www.loususi.com loususi

Chris … dude! … right on … you hit the nail on the proactive head my friend … I've been saying the same thing now for about 2 years or so ( at least to myself ) just with a different metaphor … it happened to come to me, surprisingly or not, when I was working within the belly of the beat @ Monster …

One day, in conversation w/ some folks, half jokingly and half w/ complete + utter belief and metaphysical certainty, I blurted out ( now, this was midconversation about something I could elaborate on more in person @ a later day ), 'That's alright! No worries … I know that ultimately we're all the CEO of our own career in life' …

I have to admit, I was being a little theatrical, extremely passionate, and a perhaps a smidgen of a jerk ( jerkFace, jerkOff, whatever flavour of jerkishness you want to assign me … I have had my grand episodes of grand jerkitude my friends, I'll admit it, learn from it and move on ) … but in the end, its the truth … the honest to gosh darn it truth … you're not gonna get anywhere putting trust in your career and where it may or may not be going without grabbin' the wheel and puttin' pedal to meddle …

Dream it up. Close your eyes tight my friends and run full force, headlong into what you love … you will NOT regret it ;]
http://www.youtube.com/user/livemercial livemercial 'in

It sounds like yahoo! should have listened to your advice. Maybe they wouldn't have had to make a deal with Microsoft that allows them to fade away gracefully and compete with AOL for free email and fantasy sports users.

Or maybe I'm that cynical. Maybe 2 search engines can use bing's algorithm.
http://anniegirl1138.wordpress.com anniegirl1138

Learning is the work of life. That's what I tried to teach my students when I was still teaching. Now I am learning to be something else and I do have map.
sarahamil

This is so true and so important to be reminded of from time to time. It's easy to get pulled down when you're unhappy with your situation or feel like you're not going in the direction you'd like to be. The difference you'll make when you finally take control of your own path is amazing. Thanks for the reminder, Chris!

You are the Captain

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

Supporters

About

Subscribe