You may not be able to “connect the dots” of the future by yourself, but does this mean it’s not possible? If you want to move quickly in your career, keep in mind that mentors often already have a complete picture of where you’re going, because they’ve “been there.” They know what dots are and how they connect. An excellent mentor also knows you well enough to see the points that apply to you personally.
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, gave a well-known commencement address to the graduating class of 2005 at Stanford University.
One of the stories he told was “Connecting the Dots”. He related to how dropping out of college gave him the freedom to “take” a calligraphy class, and how 10 years later, his love of calligraphy carried all the way to the first Mac. He said:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust something: your instinct, destiny, life, Karma, whatever.” .”
Because I have a traumatic brain injury (TBI), I have a lot of trouble with my “stitches.” It’s comforting to know that even geniuses like Steve Jobs couldn’t connect their dots ahead of time. Nobody else could have made that connection with Steve Jobs when he took that class.
However, there is a level where we can get help with our points, which is really helpful. My experience has shown me that the “something” to “trust” can be a mentor.
Why? Because my mentor has a vision of my abilities, my future and my success that I cannot see. See the points as if they are already connected; it is completely clear. I see them scattered everywhere.
He has been guiding me to do certain things in a certain order, which I sometimes resist, because I don’t understand how everything is related. Tremendous opportunities often arose, all because I trusted my mentor’s vision and followed his instructions. In true Mr.90DayGoals style, it will say “It’s all part of the Plan.”
The bottom link is that the only way to connect the dots looking forward is to have these things in place:
1) A vision or goal that you need to achieve
2) A mentor who can see the points before you
3) A “Why” big enough to keep you going, even when you can’t see the next step.