Life works in mysterious ways

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I promised yesterday that I'd share another story about the power of positive thinking and I'll try to be succinct (my new word for the week and meaning 'expressed in few words; concise; terse') Yeah okay you don't believe I can be succinct at all do you?

Anyway, in 2006 I was working part time in a crappy little job in a factory so that I could finish my university study. The family owned company that I worked for had just been bought out by a large national company and everyone was feeling unsettled by the changes. I'd heard that the new boss had arrived but I knew very little else about him.

The one thing that I was entirely certain of was that he was a man I had to meet, that in some way he was going to be important to my career future, I just wasn't sure how or why I thought this. I considered interviewing him for an article I was writing for uni and then decided he would probably think I was a twat for wasting his time when he had more important things to focus on, so I chickened out of asking him.

Not long after his arrival there was talk of forming a consultative committee to formulate an enterprise agreement for the employees. I was incredibly busy with uni study and three boys who were playing numerous sports at the time so I didn't give it much thought. By default though I ended up being the representative for our department.

Remembering here that I'm trying to be succinct, suffice to say that during those meetings about employees rights I was my usual outspoken and forceful self and following a 100% approval by employees for the new enterprise agreement, the HR Manager approached me and said he wanted me to come and work for him. At this stage I'd only briefly met the 'new boss'.

Their incredibly generous offer (remembering I was on a pitiful part-time factory worker wage) coupled with the knowledge that I could finish my remaining 12 months of study and then move to a full time role was enticing. This was all despite the HR role not being related at all to what I was studying.

Six months after I completed my study, the 'boss' who I'd had a number of dealings with, approached me about moving into a role as his personal assistant. I told him while his offer was an honour I was not prepared to lose my handle on HR. I'd found a role that I loved - working with people to improve their working environment.

I was doing a lot of focused positive thinking at this time about what I wanted for my future. My refusal actually worked to my advantage because the HR Manager and boss agreed to split my duties so I could have the best of both worlds and they hired a HR assistant to help me.

The thing is, when the boss left the company in May last year to move to a new role at the corporate office, I was devastated. I was also doing some heavy duty thinking about what I really wanted to be doing with my future. Ironically when my position was made redundant in August last year guess where I ended up - at the corporate office with the boss.

Admittedly it was an administrative role on a project that had yet to receive approval. My boss is one of those people who doesn't think much of position descriptions and focuses more on a person's talents and abilities, so I was willing to give it a go. Now in just one short week I will move into a role in communications which has been my main goal since I first signed up for uni.

So five years after our company was bought out I've finally got to the role I wanted, a role that didn't exist at my original company. A role that evolved out of my communications work in HR. Ironically the HR role was one of the greatest learning curves for me and strengthened my communication skills tenfold.

So was it positive thinking, coincidence, dumb luck or hard work. It's probably a combination of all of them. The thing is I believed that I would eventually get my dream job and before even meeting the man, I knew he would play a part in my career future. Amazing how things work huh?

So if there's something that you really want badly; imagine it, work towards it, believe it and then just do it.

and yes you're right, I have no ability when it comes to being succinct.

Cheers, Fi

I don't believe that old cliche that good things come to those who wait. I think good things come to those who want something so bad they can't sit still. ~ Ashton Kutcher