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“Happy Feet”, the movie, stars a most unusual penguin named Mumble who was ostracized by his family and colony for not singing his “heart song”, the one unique only to him.  Unable to sing a note, Mumble was born to express his “heart song” by tap-dancing, a completely unacceptable substitute for singing that according to one of the elders “Just ain’t Penguin”.  In spite of it all, Mumble remained loyal to his own colony and others.  He chose to place the needs of his fellow penguins above his own.

The colony was in crisis.  Their food supply of fish had dried up, and the colony was in danger of perishing.  Mumble’s tap dancing was blamed for the shortage.  Mumble, not accepted by his peers, struck out on his own. During his travels, he met a colony of dancing penguins dedicated to a Guru who believed he had been abducted by aliens (humans), the same ones who were stealing all the fish.  Motivated by loyalty to his home colony and his new found friends, Mumble lead a small band of fellow explorers to find the aliens and convince them to stop stealing their food supply.

The winter was bitter cold and the winds were ferocious.  For every step forward, the little band seemed pushed back two.  No matter how bad conditions were, Mumble was always there for his small band of followers to push or even carry them to reach their goal.  Mumble helped his fellow adventurers by refusing to allow a single one to fail in reaching their destination.

The lesson:

Collegiality means caring about the success of others as well as yourself.

Has a protracted job search been grueling and discouraging?  Are you experiencing low self-esteem and hopelessness about ever finding meaningful work that will express you own unique heart song?  How would it feel if a fellow job seeker cared enough to reach out and encourage you when you see no end in sight?  Burn- out is a challenge that most job seekers face everyday.  Caring enough to help your colleagues stay motivated in today’s job shortage is a benefit to you both.  Reaching out to others facing the same challenges may appear to hinder your own progress towards the career you most desire.  The truth is just the opposite.  Caring enough to encourage your fellow job seekers will help each of you maintain your job search momentum.

There are many ways to reach out and support others facing the same barriers to a fulfilling future.  If you belong to a job search club, you can assist others by sharing job leads and tips to further their job campaign.  Partnering with a job search buddy can motivate both of you to perservere in finding your own “heart song”, the one that will inspire you to “tap” your way to the career and lifestyle you so desire.

Collegiality doesn’t stop with the job search.  Employers are more likely to advance the careers of employees who support and assist their team members to overcome challenges to the organization as a whole.  An employee dedicated to helping his or her colleagues is a valuable imputus to the success of all.

Helping others is an act of kindness that can become a two way street.  The more you care about the success others, the more they care about yours.  The search for a meaningful career and lifestyle is a bit less disheartening with the help of caring friends.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

~Dalai Lama

Stay tuned for further job search and career transition lessons from a penguin named Mumble including:

• Multi-cultural communications connect
• Loyalty is mutual
• Recognize that different is wonderful
• Risk-taking is growth
• Blasting through barriers to your career goals

Opening windows to your career success,

Dumont

Dumont Gerken Owen, Ph.D.

Certified Career Management Coach

Career Windows

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