Business & Career: Know Your Ruling Star!

"Know your Ruling Star. One man is better received by one nation than another, or is one welcome by one city than another. He finds more luck in one office or position than in another, and all though his qualifications are equal or even identical. Let each man know his luck as well as his talents. Follow your guiding star and help it without mistaking any other for it. Know how to transplant yourself. There are nations with whom one must cross their borders to make one's value felt."
- Balthasar Gracian, (Spain, 1600's)

Have you ever felt, "Here I am, best job I ever had, good money, an excellent career move - but, what in the world am I doing here where I feel so alone and out-of-place with my surroundings? How did this happen to me?"

I've been there, because someone offered me a job and I accepted, knowing ahead-of-time, intuitively I wouldn't feel at home in the town and surroundings.

Or - maybe you love your location but, sadly, are unable to find any openings in your field. I've been there also. Looking back on my years in Austin, Texas, I can't believe the number of short-term, soul-emptying jobs I tried very hard and unsuccessfully do to. My job-duration ranged from only two hours (which was long enough when you hate what you are doing!) to several months (each day seeming like an eternity) before my opportunities in broadcasting finally came.

It's a rare person these days who is able to say, "I love this community, love my home, love the work I do, get along great with my business colleagues and supervisors. How do you beat perfection?"

There is a wonderful quote I repeated to myself many, many times during my ups and downs in Texas.

"Hence the first principle in changing one's character is to seek another environment, to let new forces play upon our unused chords, and draw from us a better music." - Will Durant

That's what I wanted! I wanted another location - another place - where new forces could play upon my unused chords and draw from me a better music.

"There are nations with whom one must cross their borders to make one's value felt." - Gracian

Yes! Yes! Yes! That's what I wanted. To cross borders and feel my native talents valued again.

"Know your Ruling Star," the Spanish priest Gracian wrote in The Art of Worldly Wisdom. "One man is better received by one nation than another, or is one welcome by one city than another. He finds more luck in one office or position than in another, and all though his qualifications are equal or even identical."

We are better received in certain locations or areas than in others, welcomed when we show up, and we most certainly do find more luck in one place than another.

"But where, where, where is THAT PLACE?" I wondered.

In Texas, for every 100% plus I gave in my career, the returns (feeling valued, appreciated, and being monetarily rewarded), always fell short.

I hosted a noon talk show for awhile at an Austin TV station. Our ratings were great. The guests I booked were top names in the literary, entertainment, self-improvement, and political arenas.

After our ratings came in one spring, I couldn't believe how well the show was doing.

Several days later, however, the General Manager wanted to see me.

After all the years of my show's success, he said, "James, I can't complain about your ratings. That's good for ad revenue, but I finally got a chance to see your show yesterday. As you know I only have a tenth grade education, never finished high school, started in sales, worked my way up to where I am today." He beamed proudly, "I didn't understand it."

I knew when he said, "I didn't understand it," my show was doomed.

The GM was the standard by which all business decisions at our stations were made.

I wanted to call him, "Idiot," but restrained myself.

My favorite line in Texas TV came from a female news director who told me, "You have a master's degree. We don't need people that smart to do the news." I never worked at that station.

"Let each man know his luck as well as his talents. Follow your guiding star and help it without mistaking any other for it. Know how to transplant yourself," Gracian reminds us.

Know how to transplant yourself!

Finally, I did transplant myself, once again. It was time to move from the newsroom and go into teaching; use, finally, that masters degree referred to earlier that wasn't needed to report the news.

"There is a simple answer to the question 'What is the purpose of our individual lives?" A.J. Ayer wrote. "They have whatever purpose we succeed in putting into them."

Yet, if you believe you are being guided by and toward a higher destiny, as I do, use what others know (their gifts and resources) to inform and enlighten yourself.

I've also successfully used relocation astrology as an essential tool to follow my guiding star. Through my sessions with Cait Benten, I'm finding, as we'd all like to do, a balance of the "right place" and the "right work" combined.

"This time, like all other times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

http://www.astro-earth-relocation.com

About The Author

Now, after a career as an award-winning media communicator and as a university professor, James has shared meaning-filled conversations with film stars, recording artists, US Presidents and first ladies, state governors, world-famous authors, scientists, and people from most every walk of life.

---

Counter-Offers: Do They Merit Consideration?

You are one of the fortunate few who have not... Read More

What is Experience Anyway?

I learned in first grade that one plus... Read More

Do You Have a Hotsy-Totsy Resume?

I begin this article with a bit of slang description.... Read More

Whiners Need Not Apply

Sometime last summer I decided to host a pity party... Read More

How To Get Promoted - Take Control Of Your Destiny!

It Is Up To YouSo, you want to get promoted.... Read More

Helping Mid-Life Employees Find Meaning

People work to live, but most also live to work.... Read More

Yesterdays Project Manager is Todays Project Engineer

The rapid growth of technology, greater exposure to knowledge, higher... Read More

Fact or Opinion?

"You ain't going nowhere, son. You ought to go back... Read More

Take This Job and...Re-staff It

Deciding to leave a job isn't easy. In fact, quitting... Read More

How to Write Cover Letters That Increase Your Chances of Winning an Interview

Submit a poorly written cover letter and the chances are... Read More

Jobseekers! Look For Smoke, Not Fire

"If you always do what you've always done, you will... Read More

Dont Quit Your Day Job! Convincing Your Boss To Let You Telecommute (Part 2 of 2)

Ok, so you've determined that you have the right skills... Read More

Learn How To Network for HIDDEN Jobs

I'll quickly cover the following:A) Why Network With People? B)... Read More

10 Keys to Getting Paid What You?re Worth!

Asking for money is so taboo in our culture that... Read More

Why Are 95% of Job Applicants Not Called Back?

Have you been desperately looking for a job and keep... Read More

Wishing and Hoping

Years after Disneyland was built, after the completion of Walt... Read More

My Landscaping Business is Better Than Your Lanscaping Business...

Yesterday I was having a discussion with Mary who I... Read More

Internships: Bonkers or Brilliant?

I have something to say that's driving me batty. It's... Read More

Workplace 911

I've watched a few episodes of Nanny 911 and with... Read More

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Copywriter

Ever wanted a job where you could spend all day,... Read More

Resumes That Work: 3 Steps to More and Better Interviews

All of us involved with helping you get a new... Read More

Find Free Resumes Online

Have you been spending money on countless job boards, only... Read More

How To Deal With A Nightmare Boss

It can happen to anyone. there's a change in the... Read More

Unemployment Survival: Taking Back Control

One of the most emotionally crippling aspects of unemployment is... Read More

Does Your Career Change Itch or Burn?

Two weeks ago, I received a newsy email from a... Read More

Why Employers Want an Employee with a Degree

You wake up in the morning, head to work, and... Read More

When the Teacher Becomes the Student

A relationship expert once said that during an argument, there's... Read More

College Labor is Available in Ohio

Ohio has always been big on education and that means... Read More

Seven Steps to Making a Successful Career Change

My first job was secretary to Moses. Having to transcribe... Read More

Pair Your Powerful Resume with a Great Cover Letter

Every great resume deserves a great cover letter.A cover letter... Read More

Acceptance is the Answer to All Our Problems

Many people today have lost jobs after decades of service;... Read More

Leave Your Dead End Job?For Good!

So here you are?stuck in a dead end job. Are... Read More

Discuss Your Accomplishments During the Interview

When preparing for your interview, you need to be ready... Read More