Notes

Finally, The Career Advice That We Needed To Hear…
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There’s a lot of advice floating around on LinkedIn and in depths of the internet. Actually, there’s a lot of advice wherever you look. We seem to all love to give advice. Which is why it’s so rare when you hear something that makes you sit up and remember it.
Especially when it comes to career advice. The different pieces of career advice you hear, is like which politician you can vote for — there are lots of different types, they’re all hyped up, but they’re mostly useless.
The advice that made me take note was good and practical. It was simple, which is important. And what I liked the most, was that it was grounded. Its mindset was about today and about you, today. It wasn’t fantasy.
My girlfriend is a secondary school teacher in North London. She works at Kensington Aldridge Academy. If the name of the school sounds familiar, it’s because it sits in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, not even a stone’s throw away. KAA has been praised in the news for its resilience, its strength within the community and the remarkable results the pupils have achieved, despite the most tragic of disruptions. That story of fortitude, togetherness and hope is worth sharing, but that’s not the purpose of what you’re reading.
The cast for the hit-play Hamilton visited KAA last week to do some drama workshops with kids and answer a Q&A. My girlfriend, who was supervising the session, told me about some of the answers, one which struck me, and seemingly the audience.
There were lots of questions from the students, asking the cast about how they made it, tips on how to succeed in acting and what was their ‘big break’, amongst other things.
So, there was plenty of opportunity for some dodgy career advice to be dished out. And lionised as these actors are, there was a very high chance that the advice would be listened to intently, and perhaps acted upon.
The lead actor who plays Hamilton himself, Jamael Westman, only had one piece of advice to all of those career-like questions.
‘Impress your Mum, everyday’
That was it, really. If you keep trying to impress your mum every single day, you’ll get to where you want to go, he said. I found this disruptively simple and relevant.
He went on to say that he saw his ‘biggest break’ as whatever he was doing right now. He never once pined over a bigger opportunity than the one he had currently. And if there was an event that made him realise all that, he pointed towards his first ever play, the school nativity. He said he enjoyed that just as much as any other play he’s ever done. He realised how important that play was, and how important every play is and was, to him ‘making it’.
The kids were incredulous. ‘Impress your mum’? ‘The school nativity play?’ ‘That’s how you become an actor?’. They understandably wanted tall tales of RADA, of big crowds and of breath-taking moments. But even though Westman’s short career has been full of that stuff, that was not the answer to the question.
He said attempting to impress his Mum in whatever he does, has been the key to his rapid-success.
But, why is this seemingly fable-like, childish advice any good when it comes to thinking about your career, and why should you care?
Four simple reasons.
1) Firstly, it is real and grounded and comes from someone who has accomplished. So much advice is doled out by talkers not doers. Westman’s advice is all about ‘doing’. Impress your mum today, do better today — rather than think about what ‘could be’ tomorrow.
The nativity play was so important because it was directly in front of him. What is the opportunity in front of you? What are working on right now that could be your big break if you make it so?
2) Secondly and relatedly, his advice helps us see the power of patience. Here is a man who is, quite literally, in the limelight on the biggest show on earth at the moment. And he warns against thinking about those dazzling lights too early. His knows he is judged on his performance now, so his focus is on that, not the potential rewards of the future.
Having the belief you will make it, is obviously crucial to success. But always thinking that it will come by ‘this time next year’ is never helpful. Have a plan of course, but know that patience always precedes accomplishment.
3) Thirdly, the advice is not just about accomplishment. Impressing your Mum is really about integrity — which we could all have more of. Asking the question, ‘Would Mum be proud of my actions today?’ is a pretty good life-hack for keeping things honest. Obviously, this works the same for Dads too.
4) And lastly, and I think most unhelpfully, Westman talks about enjoying the nativity play just as much as the first night of Hamilton. The point is that he’s found something he loves doing. Hard to do for us Average Joe’s, but something to aim at perhaps.
I think the more useful take-out here is trying to perform to your best on the small projects and smaller pieces of work, just as much as on the big, credit-inducing ones. Do great work for your own self-respect and do it across everything you do, not just the bits that get you noticed.
‘Impressing your mum, everyday’ is hardly life-changing advice. But career advice is not meant to be, that’s where it often goes wrong.
It’s a simple and potentially powerful way of thinking about your job and your career. It might help you frame what you’re up to slightly differently. It did for me.
Hopefully you find it useful. If so, credit to him.
Go on, ‘Impress Your Mum’ today.
Thanks for reading.
Jamie

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