Make Your Own Balala

A few years ago, back in the US, a friend of mine was looking for a new job, a process that is often pretty stressful. To help him stay positive, I pointed out that, between his professional and personal development, he has set himself up to be ready for many opportunities: his education, his experience, the multiple languages he speaks, his willingness to move to a new place…all of this helps him be ready to take advantage of chances that come along, more so than most people. “You’ve always been lucky because you make your own luck,” I told him.

My friend, though, was not originally from the US, and in his 9 years there, the phrase “make your own luck” is one he had not heard. I explained that many people think “luck” is not something that just naturally occurs, but instead, is simply the case of good things happening for us because we have put a lot of work into preparing for opportunities, even though we never know exactly what opportunities might come along. “Well,” he said, thinking very literally, “that’s not luck. That’s something else.”

“Fine, ” I said, “we’ll make up a word for it. Call it ‘balala.’ ”

So yeah…make your own balala.

As we look for opportunities down the road, it’s not always best to say “I want to do one specific thing, and this is exactly what I need to do to make that happen.” That’s tricky, because something might happen to that “one specific thing,” and we will be ready for that but not for anything else. Or, other opportunities may come up that would be great, but if we have locked ourselves into one little niche, we may not be prepared to take advantage of them. While it’s good to have some particular expertise, and have some depth in that field, you also want to have enough breadth in your background that you will be able to branch out and do a variety of things.

As you look at your future career, or at options for your company, it’s best to be prepared for a variety of possibilities. Obviously, some options require something specific; if you want to be a physician, you have to go to medical school. When it comes to the knowledge industries where more and more people are working, though, we often find that developing different ways of thinking, whether through study or experience, sets us up for all kinds of things.

You can do that through formal study, of course. Subsidizing higher education or having a well-designed training program for your employees will help. But there’s more to making your own balala than sitting in a classroom. Professional reading is important, and professional writing can force you to see new ways of looking at things. Travel opens your eyes. Participating in affinity groups at work or community organizations introduces you to different ways of thinking. Active networking, not just to find a job but rather than stay up to date on what’s going on outside your own little world, keeps you current and helps you look ahead. Being physically active keeps your mind fresh.

Whether you do this yourself, as a way of keeping yourself ready for future career options, or you help your employees do it, so that your company is ready for new opportunities, you will find that by being ready for a variety of things you will be able to spot those emerging possibilities. You will also be able to quickly do whatever specific things you might need to do to step into something new.

It’s useful to live your life in a learning and experience-gathering mode, rather than waiting for one particular opportunity to emerge and then trying to get yourself ready for it. Very often, when something new comes up, the preparation for it would take too long; either you’re ready now, or you may as well forget about it. Deciding you want to do something that requires a master’s degree, for instance, means that you’re going to need another year or two before you can actually do it if you don’t already have that degree. Rather than sitting around waiting for things to happen for you, put yourself in a position where you can make things happen for yourself.

And what do you think, can we get “balala” going as a new word?