Over the course of my career, I've mentored dozens if not hundreds of people. This was both in my music career and in my IT career. Some of it has been formally, some of it hasn't. But there is one thing I learned very early on. No one achieves their goals if they approach them in the wrong frame of mind. If you want to achieve anything, you have to believe that you can do it. If you let yourself think that something is beyond your capabilities, then it is. When I have a goal I wish to achieve, no matter how ridiculous, I always ask myself three questions.
The first is whether there is anyt physical reason why I can't do it. If I can't then I look at what aspect of the aspiration I could do and I adjust my goal to be the best thing I can do which might tick the personal boxes I had. I would have loved to play football for England, but to be honest, I just enjoyed playing. So I found a team with people I liked and I put my heart into it. When I couldn't play 11 a side, I switched to 5-a-side and played until I was 61. It was a massive part of my life. It scratched the itch for me.
The second question is this. If I can physically do what I aspire to, what is preventing me from doing it. Since I was fourteen I wanted to be in a band which did gigs and made records. What was stopping me when I started wanting to do this? I'd been told I couldn't sing, I couldn't play an instrument and I didn't have an instrument. Then I saw Ian Dury and thought, I can do that. I will never be an Opera singer, but I can write songs that suit my voice. I saved up, bought a guitar, taught myself to play and then put a band together. Strange as it may seem, when we had our first rehearsal, I thought we'd cracked it just by having our first rehearsal. I was in a band. That was what I wanted. It took two years to get it together, but it was worth it.
The third question is this. Will this satisfy my financial objectives, is it a hobby or is it a vocation? If I can do what I want and nothing is preventing me, then am I doing it for fun or am I doing it to make money. Some things are vocational. I have volunteered with several charities. This was neither for money or fun. But it gave me a lot and I recommend it. If, like my football career, it is just a hobby for fun, that doesn't mean you can't take it seriously, but you should set your goals and plans around such things realistically. If you are looking to fulfill a financial aspiration, then you need to plan and make sure that you do the right things to achieve it.
Bear in mind that a financial objective may not necessarily be a new job. It may be a holiday in Australia, or a new car. But whatever it is, you need to plan. If you want a better job, my first advice is always to try and ensure that it is an improvement on the old one. This could be more money, it might be more interesting, it may just be to escape a toxic workspace. Th first thing to do is to ensure that what you are chasing is actually what you want, not just a sideways move that will improve nothing. If you have a job, work out what it is that make you aspire to another job, make a wish list of things that you want the new job to do for you personally. Move for the right reasons.
So we are now at the point where you have satisfied yourself that you can physically do it, there is nothing stopping you and it will satisfy your aspirations, comes the part that is so hard for some people to do. You go for it. The reason I always tell people to ask the three questions is because you then repeat the mantra to yourself "I can do this, there is nothing stopping me and it will deliver my aspirations". I other words, there is nothing to stop you. All you have to do now, is to do your homework and make sure that you have given yourself every possible chance to get it. Do your homework. Be as well informed as you can possibly be about what you are going for. If it is a job, read up on the company, look at the profile of possible colleagues on Linkedin, etc. Look at the technology they use. Anticipate their questions, try and work out the best answers, work out all of the reasons why you are the best person to do the job. If the aspiration is to go to Australia on holiday, work out what sights you want to see, what is the best way to get there and get back, how will you minimise Jetlag, so you get the best value. See what offers there are, as the less you spend on travelling, the more you can spend on fun (unless cash is no object). If you want a new car, so your research there. There are always good deals and bad ones. I always check five or six different options, including whether its cheaper in Birmingham etc.
But to do all of these things, first you need to make sure that your mindset is one that gives you the permission to succeed in life. Whenever I mentor people, I ask "What is stopping you doing this?". The real answer is almost always "Nothing", but there are excuses. People set out the reasons why they will fail, then they don't try. There is an old mantra that if you fight, you may lose, but if you don't fight you always lose. So beieve you can win and do everything in your power to win. You may still lose, but take on board why you lost, learn the lessons and go again.
As a final word, I was talking with a young person recently, who was just setting out on the hunt for a job. They said "It's impossible, AI screens everything, so you don't even get to sit before a real person". I said "Have you looked at how and why AI might be screening you CV etc out and how you can make your CV the one it will say is the best". So I asked AI and we looked at their CV. This is what AI said
- Missing Keywords and Hard Skills: Systems scan for exact matches on required skills, certifications, and technical terms listed in the job description. Lacking these core terms lowers your relevance score.
- Unconventional Formatting: Graphics, columns, tables, headers, footers, or non-standard file types confuse the parser. If the AI cannot read the text, it misses your core experience.
- Hard Requirement Gaps: Failing to meet baseline criteria—such as minimum years of experience, specific education levels, or required licensing—triggers an automatic low score or disqualification.
- Generic AI Buzzwords: Overused, AI-generated filler phrases (like "results-driven" or "proven track record") lack specific context and are increasingly flagged or down-scored for lacking authentic proof of impact.
- Poor Work History Relevance: If your most recent role does not clearly demonstrate a direct connection to the target position within the first few lines, the system or stressed human screener moves on.
What was interesting was that in all of these, there was massive scope for improvements. People often do not realise that vocational activities, etc can help. But if you are going for a specific role, make it relevant and make it hit home. If you don't have the basic requirements for a sought after job, then it is unlikely that you will get it, so make sure you are applying for things at the right level.
