“There is a way that seemeth right, but the path thereof leads to destruction”-Holy Bible
“It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end” -Ursula K. LeGuin

The way we get to where we are going matters a lot. It is true that all roads lead to Rome, and that it is not only one way that enters the market. Nevertheless, we will follow only one way, we will journey through only one path. The wrong way or direction, will never lead you to the desired destination no matter how much you try. To increase speed when direction is uncertain is another form of insanity. The end is important, but the path is also important. Someone said, “there is no one way to greatness, greatness is the way”, ponder that for a while, and if you enjoy intellectual masturbation, that should keep you going for days.

If you want to be a STAR, there is a path. A sure and tested path. Being a star means getting to the peak of your desired career. Reaching your goals! Ending where you desired! Reaching for the stars! Flying-touching the skies! You can be a star in anything, it simply means journeying to the end and taking your reward.

For every desire that you have, shortterm and longterm, you can follow this path. Before you do anything at all, you must first of all define your destination in clear terms. What is your objective, what do you desire? Your goal needs to be clear, and to aid clarity written down in black and white. You will never get to a destination that you don’t know, not knowing where you are going will end you nowhere. It’s not something you want to do half heartedly, but you need to define it quickly. Don’t procrastinate – that’s a five syllabled word for fear. What is you goal, what is your objective. Do you want to ride your career to director? Do you want to head a company? Do you want to own $1,000,000 worth of stock? Do you want to be the president of your country? A govenor? What is your goal?

If you have your end clearly spelt out, then we can start defining the path to being a star.

First of all you need to ask yourself, what SKILLS do I need to have that I don’t have today to achieve my objective? This needs to be a honest assessment of what your skill gaps are, what do I need that I don’t have? Do you require communication skills, project management skills, team leadership skills, organizational skills, effective meeting skills, time management skills e.t.c? What skills do you have, and what skills do you need? Which skills do you have but need to develop to the level of what achieving your goals demands?

Once you have done your skill gap analysis, you need to go get the TRAINING that you need. You need to bridge the gap. Training is not just sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher. Training is every intervention that has the capacity to bridge the skill gap. This can involve, reading, listening to audio tapes, attending a class, learning on the job, volunteering, e.t.c. Make it your responsibility to bridge the gap, get the training, use all the means.

The next thing is to take ACTION! Your desired objective will not be achieved because you are qualified for it. It will come because of the action that you took. Break down what needs to be done into small steps and do it one by one. Don’t forget to PDCA that means, Plan-Deploy-Check-Adjust, it’s the cycle of improvement! The plan only gets perfect after you PDCA for long enough. ACT

The final step is measure your RESULTS. Results have a way of reaffirming our strategy, give yourself an opportunity to witness many cycles of results, track them, record them and plan for them. By using your PDCA, you are bound to consistently break your records and get better results.

So, you want to be a star? Skills Training Action Results. S..T..A..R.