Photo by Bartek Szewczyk/fotolia
John Rusciano and Lisa Brezonik are Twin Cities financial planners and business consultants who partnered up to write a guidebook for professionals at a crossroads in their finance, work, and life goals. Their strategy (and the book’s title): Fire Yourself!
Take Control of Your Situation
“Change is inevitable, but success requires taking control of your own affairs,” Rusciano and Brezonik write. Getting to where you want to be means being willing to take risks and take ownership of your life and career decisions.
Be OK With Being Uncomfortable
The core of Fire Yourself! is simple: If you were fired today, what would you do to get another job? What changes would need to happen for you to get where you want to go? Often, opportunities for growth, change, and improvement exist outside of your comfort zone. “Growth and comfort cannot coexist,” they write.
Take a Long Look in the Mirror
The book recommend readers objectively evaluate themselves—not just career-wise, but also personally. Comparing your own perspective with other people’s can help you discover things about yourself that you might not have known—such as untapped potential, or things others might see as shortcomings.
Imagine Your Future
“What is happiness to you?” Rusciano and Brezonik ask in one of the book’s chapter worksheets. In the long run, what will make you the happiest in your work, retirement, and personal life? Visualizing where you want to be makes next steps more manageable.
Put Your Best Self Forward
Cultivate your strengths, bring passion, and keep your energy positive. In a world of constant change and complexity, it’s up to you to bridge the gap between the present and the future. “The path won’t be easy, but it will be yours,” they write.
