Who do I want to be?

Who do you want to be?

Not what career path does your family think you should have, or which suburb you should live in, or how much money you don’t have. None of that defines you. Who do you want to be? What do you want to achieve for yourself? What will make you feel proud of yourself?

You will have moments in life that will define you. Moments when things don’t go your way, or take a turn and shake you to your core and you will say to yourself, “Is this all I am? Is this what I want? Do I even have any power to change this?” That moment is your pinnacle, your opportunity to redefine your path, your goals and your strategy.

I remember studying marketing and advertising, I would work nights as a bartender saving every cent of my $15 per hour gig and every single tip. It was great fun but there was no way I wanted to do it forever. By the time I finished my degree I applied to every advertising agency in Melbourne asking for a job, I wrote letters and called every office. And no one wanted to hire me.

That was my moment, my opportunity to throw in the towel and find a new $15 ph crappy job and feel sorry for myself. I had tried. I could begin the pity party celebrations, or I could ask myself who I wanted to be. I chose the latter.

My answer was someone who worked in advertising. I reversed my approach and instead of attacking ad agencies, I applied for jobs at companies that hired advertising agencies - surely there was something I could do there that was advertising-y? I called the likes of Channel 10, The Age, Fox FM and a bunch of others. And I got an interview. That was all I needed. The interview was interstate so I put my bartending money to good use and flew up for an interview and to my surprise, I got the job. Within 2 weeks I started working as an Advertising Cadet at The Financial Review for Fairfax Media in the big smoke … Sydney.

In that moment, I knew who and what I wanted to be. Tick. I had hit my goal. Double tick.

I updated my goal to ‘must survive for 1 full year working in advertising on my $28,000 salary, living in a share house and new city where I don’t know a soul’.

After studying for 3 years at uni I was determined to put my all into this job. I just needed to survive one year to feel the success of my study, determination and pride for doing it solo. *Cue Destiny’s Child Survivor*

Your goals are on a sliding scale; they are not written in stone. At the planning stage ask yourself, “Who do I want to be?” and when you hit your milestone ask yourself again, because your answer will always change. And that's ok. That is the reality of evolving and growing up and learning about life and yourself.

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The information in this blog is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial situation. It is for educational purposes only, and does not constitute formal financial advice. You should always seek personal financial advice that is tailored to your specific needs. Facing financial hardship? Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007