Ben’s bridge — Part 2

A Majestic Sail To Career Eminence

So Ben finally decided to accept the offer from his former client, Mr David — A man who has risen to prominence at First Bank Plc as the Managing Director. Prior to their engagement, Ben never knew Mr David was the M.D of a Bank, as he didn’t disclose such information to him, he came wanting to buy vehicle Insurance from Ben’s company on that faithful day, and Luckily for Ben he was the sales consultant assigned to assist him.

As always Ben performed brilliantly, if not exceptional on the particular service — which prompted such response from an impressed and well pleased Mr David, he requested for Ben’s contact number in return, without saying anything further and he left.

That encounter seems to have shaped Ben’s destiny and gave him a new sense of purpose, after several years of working as a sales consultant, albeit frustrated most times. Just one brilliant meeting with a single client was all it took to change his story. He reflected back to what Mrs Beatrice (now a former boss and friend) said to him:

‘‘My son, just keep working hard and inputting your best, one day you will finally get what you truly deserve’’.

Those were not just ordinary lines of advise from an experienced woman, it proved to be a motivation, inspiration, a redemption and now a miracle to Ben himself. According to him, he will never forget those words.

Sometimes, burning bridges is a constructive tool that can deter us from taking destructive and unfulfilling paths in life. This tool can serve as a propeller in working towards a goal. The decision to burn a bridge in search of a new opportunities should be a well thought and reflected one, as nobody is expected to send us a boat after we must have burnt our bridge. However if it turns out to be the right decision, that would be a life changing experience we will live to cherish forever.

Back in episode 1, when Ben had to choose between his new promotion and the offer from his client, he went through difficult periods trying to make a choice, such crossroad can lead to one not being able to maximize the choices presented and ultimately not maximizing one’s life.

Deciphering between too many choices is mentally draining and will cause paralysis by analysis instead of liberation. With so many different things to choose from, we find it hard to choose at all. These tough decisions because of excessive choice leads to procrastination. If you speak with many successful people, most will tell you that taking action is the most important part of their achieved success.

If you are paralyzed by indecision, there is no way that you can take the action necessary to make you successful. And those actions often means burning your bridges and taking risks with a greater gain in sight.

Upon resumption, Ben was given some time off — two weeks precisely, to prepare himself both physically and mentally for the new job ahead. After the waiting was over, he was assigned to his new office, while he met his new colleagues, superiors and the rest of the staffs in the bank. He was warmly welcomed and integrated into the team, Mr David briefed him about the banking operations and every other things he needed to know, while also inviting him for a dinner with his family at home.

The new job kicked off nicely for Ben, it didn’t take much time for him to get abreast with the new position of heading an entire customer service unit of the bank, perhaps due to the fact that he’s been so good in customer service, or simply because he was finally doing what he loves best.

This new job offers him a chance to develop his career further and he also learnt about the mouthwatering benefits attached alongside it. Compared to his former workplace, the environment is serene, the people are nice and above all his salary packages are well satisfactory to him. All these splendor he won’t have been able to discover if he hadn’t burned down his old bridge, fair to say he made the right career decision.

Weeks, months and years have passed yet Ben is still cruising through the job like ‘a walk in the park’. There seems to be a new found bliss in his heart everyday he goes to work, he’s never been this happy in his entire career, this was the place he wanted to be. Armed with his inborn mentality, it’s just a matter of time and he will rise to prominence in the banking industry. For a man who couple of years back was crawling on subservience is now sailing majestically to eminence, how quickly things can change in life isn’t it?.

Ben’s story should inspire us that there’s no harm in burning bridges in your career, especially if deep down you realize that the place you are presently isn’t where you want to be, you must first discover yourself and your passion, with passion and dedication you will surely meet your goal, it might take a while but trust me it is worth IT!

I will leave you with this quote by Terry Perkins which says:

With every bridge that burns, a new path is opened for the way your destiny is to be shaped. If you believe in destiny then you must believe that the bridge was burned so you can find a new way to go to find the destiny that you were meant to follow.

****************************************************************** Burning Bridges will return in a more exciting episode!