Planning for 2019 - Information Technology Goals - CCNA | AWS | MCSA

NetworkChuck Technology Careers Career & Money

About this video

Chuck lays out his approach to goal setting for 2019, using his own career and certification plans as the example. He first urges viewers to ask what they actually want their life to look like: he originally aimed to become a senior network engineer at a large company, but after reading Michael Hyatt’s ‘Best Year Ever’ he realized he valued time, work-life balance, travel, and working from home more — he had been in a 9-to-5 job with two hours of commuting a day — and says he reached that control-over-his-time goal within the last year and a half. He then applies the SMART framework (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) to certifications: getting the CCNA in six months from nothing is attainable, by dividing the official certification guide over three months of daily reading and spending the next three months reinforcing with a video course and labs. His core tactics are to schedule the exam immediately (he publicly announces his own CCNP TSHOOT exam for January 15th, 2019), set small milestones with little rewards along the way, announce the goal publicly for accountability, keep your ‘why’ in focus — for him, providing for his wife and kids — and review progress at least weekly, which he plans to do with a planner. The video closes with his 2019 channel goals: growing the community and reaching people stuck in dead-end jobs, as he once was selling toilets and working call centers living paycheck to paycheck, plus viewer feedback on ideas like gaming content, PC builds, and more topic-focused training.

Key takeaways

Start by deciding what you want your life to look like, not just your career: Chuck scrapped his big-company senior engineer goal once he realized he valued time, balance, and working from home more.
Make certification goals SMART and bite-sized: a CCNA in six months is attainable if you split the study guide over three months and spend the next three reinforcing with videos and labs.
Schedule the exam right away: a fixed test date creates the deadline and pressure that a vague intention lacks, as with his announced January 15th, 2019 TSHOOT exam.
Use small milestones, small rewards, and public accountability: celebrate mastering topics like OSPF or EIGRP, and tell people your exam date so you have to follow through.
Review progress at least weekly and anchor the goal in your ‘why’ — for Chuck, providing for his family — rather than only checking at year-end whether you made it.

Episode details: published December 17, 2018 · 19:50 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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