2013 Predictions

Since the world is ending in a few days, it's important to make predictions about things that nobody will be able to verify if they occurred or not. Since I made a few in 2011 and 2012 (and 2012+), I suspect I can't do anymore harm making a few in 2013 as well. A couple of the sites that syndicate my content have published them (here, here)

What Will You Do for FREE in 2013?

The most frequent conversation I had this year was with colleagues who asked for advice on their "career path". How should they stay motivated? How do they take on new or bigger responsibility? How do they earn more money?

A year ago, I wrote that people looking to advance their career should have at least one (if not a few) projects that they do for "free". Something outside their day-to-day work that lets them explore new skills or new ways to address challenges in a new market. It's not an easy thing to do, as we all live busy lives, but I continue to believe it's critical for anyone wanting to have greater control over their career and their future.

I thought it would be useful to highlight a few examples of people doing things for "free" that not only helped them learn new things, but opened new opportunities for their "career paths".