Your Sorting Hat: On tiny pivots, being present, and what success means today
Career Tuesday
Careers, Life and Questions (Apr 29, 2025)
Wish you a Happy Career Tuesday!
3 Career Ideas
I.
"Small pivots lead to giant leaps.
You don’t have to overhaul your career overnight. Start with small, deliberate shifts.
Learn a related skill. Take a side project. Shadow a different team.
Career transformations often begin with tiny pivots — not massive risks."
II.
"Curiosity is your unfair advantage.
When you stay curious longer than others, you discover opportunities others miss.
In a world rushing to find quick answers, curiosity makes you a better problem solver, collaborator, and innovator. Ask the extra question. Explore the second option. Your curiosity compounds into career breakthroughs."
III.
"How to measure success
Track personal growth not just by promotions, but by:
- Skills mastered
- Relationships deepened
- Resilience built
Your career grows fastest when you measure what really matters."
2 Life Quotes from Books
I.
Ocean Vuong, Vietnamese American essayist, in On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, on perseverance:
"To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted. Thus we must survive not by being unseen but by being relentless."
Source: Book: On Earth by Ocean Vuong
II.
Cleo Wade, poet and activist, on living in the present:
"The only way we can make the most of our lives is to make the most of our moments. Today, wherever you are, decide to stay. We can know the gifts that lie in the present only if we stay in it long enough to receive them."
Source: Book: Heart Talk by Cleo Wade
1 Question
What does "success" personally mean to you right now—not five years ago, not five years ahead? How will you redefine your goals to reflect who you are today?
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Until next week,
Devashish Chakravarty
Author of YourSortingHat
Columnist for Careers at The Economic Times