Bad Things ALWAYS Happen to Rip Van Winkels

It's a sad but absolute truism that when you fall asleep at the wheel (or under a tree) for a significant length of time, bad things are sure to happen.

You SNOOZE, you LOSE!

For countries that fall asleep, bad things happen in the form of failing social services, exodus of jobs, atrophied infrastructure, failing education standards, a dwindling Middle Class, lack in global competitiveness, etc.

When organizations fall asleep, they lose market share, lose sight of their best customers' needs, stop making relevant products or offering services that matter, lose talented employees, and miss opportunities to enter new markets.

When individuals like Rip Van Winkel fall asleep, they wake up to find they spent a career in a job they hated. They miss out on opportunities to develop lifelong transferable skills, have their experience become outdated/obsolete, fail to keep up with the latest trends and developments, miss out on chances for promotions or lateral career moves, etc.

The question we all need to keep asking ourselves is: "how can I stop myself from falling asleep, by applying personal career insomnia?"

Phrased differently: "what can you do to not miss out on life's golden opportunities? Following are a few strategies that you can employ to stay wide awake:

* Pursue lifelong learning;
* Conduct a personal career exploration audit every 3-4 months;
* Hire a career or life coach;
* Go back to school - take classes or teach;
* Turn your passions into a career;
* Monetize your hobbies;
* Update your resume especially if you are happy in your current job;
* Network like a fiend to find out what other people are doing;
* Join relevant industry associations;
* Shake things up! Embrace change...try a new haircut/style, take up an instrument, try a new sport, sign up for an art class, or go see a movie by yourself;
* DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!! Set weekly personal goals;

We all have a tendency to get so caught up in the moment of performing our daily routine that with time it becomes nearly impossible to wake ourselves up.

Let this be your WAKE UP CALL!