#216 Visible and Invisible Assets in Your Career

What do you think of when you hear the word "career"? I took a corporate training course the other day, and I would like to share some of the things that made an impression on me through this experience.

The subject was simply “careers.”

Many people think that a "career" is only for people who are working.

However, a career is a comprehensive aspect of one's life that includes more than just work.

When taking a comprehensive inventory of your career, the key is to inspect the "assets" you have.

This includes both visible and invisible assets.

Visible assets include qualifications, but I focused on the invisible assets.

In my case, I was impressed by the fact that many of my assets were acquired by chance.

I was reminded that I am who I am today because of the connection of many coincidences, such as relationships with people. A chance encounter led to a turning point in my life and career path.

In order to inspect assets, it is necessary to understand oneself first.

The second thing that made an impression on me was that many people were unclear about what they were actually seeking.

For example, if you think of "career" only in terms of work, you can come up with a variety of ideas, but when asked what they are looking for in terms of their own life, in some cases, they could not immediately come up with anything.

Flexibility and the ability to be balanced overall will become more and more necessary in the future.

I would also like to share an episode from a café I visited later in the week.

This café is a completely custom-order café with no menu.

You tell them what kind of coffee you like in as much detail as possible, and they make the best coffee for you.

The problem here is that you have to know what you like, which can be difficult for people to clarify, especially in a culture like Japan where one’s own preferences and wants are not prioritized.

This is where self-understanding comes in handy.

I enjoyed a mild drip coffee this time, pictured above in a cup that they also select for you.

A simple cup of coffee showed me how self-understanding and self-reflection is so important.

I wish you all a day with as many smiles as possible!