The right risks to take for a great career (w/ Molly Graham) (video)
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This is How to Be a Better Human. I'm your host, Chris Duffy. Today on the show, our guest is Molly Graham. And Molly is, among many other things, a very successful business person, a writer, and the new host of Ted's Work Life podcast. So we're going to be talking to her about how the rules for building a great career have evolved and what it takes to navigate this new work landscape. You know, when I was searching for my first job, I really, really, really wanted to write for a newspaper. I was positive that I wanted to be a traditional newspaper journalist. But then everywhere I applied, They were cutting positions rather than hiring. I couldn't get a job and I needed a job that would let me pay my bills.
So I just started applying for anything and everything. And I ended up getting a position teaching English abroad. And then I got a job teaching at an elementary school in Boston. And I could never, ever, ever have predicted that starting there would lead me to be here hosting this podcast and talking to you right now. In fact, one of the biggest lessons that I've learned, maybe the only career lesson that I feel totally confident standing behind is that you cannot predict how things will turn out. Like it or not, you are going to be surprised. So how do you help people to figure out how to navigate a career path if you can't possibly know what's coming next? Well, that is exactly the kind of challenge that Molly lives for.
To get us started, here's a clip from Molly's TED Talk where she's addressing one of the biggest misconceptions that people have about their jobs and their career choices. Here's Molly.
There's a lot of pressure around what it takes to build a great career. And it all comes back to this idea that you're supposed to know what you want to do. It's an idea that I like to call the stairs. Here's how the stairs go. You show up in college, and you're supposed to know what you want to major in. That major is supposed to lead you to your first job. And then you get another job, and you get promoted and promoted and promoted forever. The best part about the stairs is safety and security. It feels like you know what you need to do to get ahead. The worst part of the stairs is that it's like a weird video game that you can get stuck inside of for years. The stairs will make you feel like your self-worth is tied to your title.
or your last performance rating, or your next promotion. But the truth is that the stairs are an illusion. These days, excellent careers are not built by excellent stair climbers.
Okay, we're going to figure out how to get off the stairs and into a great job or a great series of jobs right after this break. But first, my job includes the requirement of reading you these podcast stats.
This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive in over 40 currencies with no markups or hidden fees. Whether you're sending pounds across the pond, spending reals in Rio, or getting paid in dollars for your side gig, you'll get the mid-market exchange rate on every transaction. Join 15 million customers internationally.
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