4 simple steps to get what you want in work & travel
One of the best ways I’ve found to get what I want in life is simply to ask.
I know it seems simple, but people can’t read my mind, and I’ve found most people are normally very willing to help. But they can’t help if I don’t ask.
I generally tell people what I want and am striving for, but I hold a broad definition of what the result or fulfillment of that could look like. I have a vision of a certain type of experience, but I hold the details of it very loosely to enable the universe (so to speak) to fill in the detail and color it in.
- Pick a broad goal
- Tell lots of people
- Be open to anything within that broad goal
- Let the world surprise you :)
This structure of thinking, practiced separately, led me to work in Shanghai and Australia for a year each in my late 20s.
Here’s a quick snapshot of how.
Working in Shanghai, China
After returning from my first real overseas trip, working and traveling in the UK and Greece, I knew that I wasn’t done and needed to venture back out. I chatted with many friends and relatives about my travel experiences, always mentioning that the plan was to go back, but I wasn’t sure exactly how. Then I got into a chat with my Uncle at a wedding and I told him that I was interested in continuing to travel, but wasn’t sure where, but hopefully Asia. He said, oh interesting, I know someone in Shanghai who may be able to help out.
At that stage, I thought Shanghai might be in Japan, but I wasn’t sure. Oof.
The next day I was on the phone with a Chinese businessman and a week later I was on a plane to Shanghai, China.
I held strongly that I wanted to travel Asia, but loosely exactly where. Then I had one of the most transformative years of my life.
Working in Sydney, Australia
After Shanghai, I returned to Canada for some more schooling, but knew that I wanted to get back overseas. During the school program, I had a co-op work term with a multinational company. While at the company I made good relationships and asked one of my managers if he knew anyone else at any other of their offices in the world, that I could maybe chat with about doing a work term there.
He came back with a list of several offices and countries, which included the UK, Russia, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and Australia. I wrote cover letters to all of them and heard back from only one- Australia. A few months later I was on a plane to Sydney Australia, where I worked for a year.
The trend here with both of these is that I had an idea of what I wanted, told people, and then was open to many different possible solutions for how that might look.
People can’t read my mind, so simply telling people what I’m interested in and want, goes a long way to me getting it. At least a lot more than doing nothing.
