BLT #5 | Staying inspired while building your path

Building your own career path is hard work. Getting (and staying) inspired along the way can help fuel your career even when you feel completely burnt out.

WE BELIEVE:

We all need to aspire, and inspire.

Having a strong role model or mentor is one of the most impactful ways to make progress in your career, especially when the going gets tough. Whether it's admiring someone's character traits, the path they've carved for themselves, or how they've faced adversity, looking up to someone gives us a north start to aspire to in our own careers. And when we're inspired, we can use that energy to give back to others who need support, too.

Has someone inspired you in your career? Tell them thanks.

SOMETHING WE LOVE:

"We cannot be what we cannot see."

Dr. Nina Ansary, on the power of role models

Dr. Ansary is award-winning Iranian-American author, historian, women’s rights and gender equality advocate. She is the director of the University of Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum Women’s Leadership Initiative, and former director of the World Affairs Councils of America Global Women’s Lecture Series. This quote comes from one of her two published books, Anonymous Is a Woman: A Global Chronicle of Gender Inequality.

YOU SHOULD TRY THIS:

Try these strategies to get inspired.

Not sure where to look for inspiration when building your own path? This week's podcast explores these three tried and true strategies.

• Use your personal relationships | Don't reinvent the wheel. Talk to people you already know to learn about their journeys and how they built their careers.
• Go big | Creativity thrives when we take off constraints. Look out into the world to find people in other industries and fields who you admire. Take note of the characteristics they embody that you appreciate.
• Give back | Helping others get where they want to be can help you expand your perspective about your own career. Offer help to someone who is exploring your field, make a connection, or simply support someone with a 'like' on a LinkedIn post. You'll be amazed at what comes back to you.

Join Career Sandwich for more ideas, tips, and scripts for ways to build your own career path.