‘Careers are like carpets. You weave them with many different colours and shapes throughout your life. Which means you never start from scratch – you start from what you have already woven.’
Andrew Bramley
If you’d been with me and my two young sons at our Village Mall one Saturday morning, many years ago, you would have been part of the conversation in the Persian carpet shop owned by my friend Mirage. Now, if Mirage depended on us for his livelihood, he would no longer be in business. We were just visiting, as we often did.
We were each perched on a pile of beautiful carpets, legs dangling off the edge, enjoying the smell of wool and dust, and seeing the colours change as we pulled the wool against the grain.
Mirage himself is tall and lean with sharp features, a ready smile and perfectly groomed jet-black hair. Enthusiastic and hospitable as always, he speaks with the gentleness of the Persian people. Our conversation shifts from life, to carpets, and back to life, then back to carpets.
“You know, Andrew, I have this very beautiful carpet” he said. “It’s an unusual Shiraz and I know you love those best. I don’t think I will sell this one easily, so I can give it to you at a good price if you like it.”
We watched in anticipation as he pulled it out from the bottom of a pile of irregularly sized hand-woven carpets. It was a mosaic of patterns, flowers, animals, and soldiers, all in the most beautiful colours. We loved it instantly.
“There are many things in this carpet” Mirage explained to us. “The people who weave them include things they see from life around them. See, here is a bird, and there is a deer. If you look at the small flowers, you will see each one is different, and not always in a regular pattern. Sometimes the patterns and shapes come together only once they start weaving.
“You will also notice the sides are not perfectly straight, that’s because they are handmade, but there is a beauty in the imperfection. A carpet like this takes time and hard work, but you don’t do it alone. A family will weave a carpet like this, and it will have the energy of the people who worked on it. That might include the prayer of a mother who needed clothing for her children. It’s that energy that makes each carpet unique and what attracts people to it.
“You may also notice how the orange is darker here than in other parts of the carpet. Sometimes yarn dyed with a particular colour runs out as winter approaches. The family will then move to the south of Iran where it is warmer, near the city of Shiraz – the most ancient city in Iran. There they will go into the mountains and find pomegranate skins to create a similar colour, but the colour will not always be the same.
“Since war was always a part of the history of Persia, here in the middle are Persian Warriors with swords. In that way, the carpet reflects the history and lives of those who weave it.”
We collected our carpet a few days later after it had been cleaned. That evening my son Sam set up a picnic around our new carpet in my home office.
He filled the room with candles to create a magic cave of energy, and over the next few months it became a favourite gathering place.
It fulfilled its promise to draw people to it, and now has pride of place in our offices in Cape Town and attracts compliments.
The array of patterns reflects the history, diversity, and the changing seasons of our lives.
It continues to radiate the energy of the people who made it, even now.
- Our work is part of life
Just as our carpet has images from the world around us, careers also reflect the many parts and chapters of our lives.
The field of Life-Work planning, which you will learn more about in this book, is purposely not called Work-Life planning. That’s because life is the first consideration, then how our work fits into it, and not the other way around. Your career an important aspect of your life, but not the purpose of your existence.
Our lives and our work are also connected, aren’t they? If you unhappy in your life, it can severely impact your working life. And if work is nothing but stress and unhappiness, that will impact your life outside of work.
When you see careers as a part of your life, and not just what you do to earn a living, it sets you free to make choices that are good for you, choices that good for those around you, and choices that help you make the world a better place.
- Careers take time
Like carpets, careers take time and work.
It may take years of dedicated work to create a career that looks effortless from the outside.
The skills you need may need to develop over prolonged periods of time, and there is much to learn in any field of endeavour.
There is no timeline that’s right for everyone, so appreciate the timing of your own journey.
- Careers have a story
Your career too has a story and reflects your own history.
You have been weaving your carpet from when you were young, without you even thinking about it.
Every part of your journey has contributed to where you are now, including everything you have learned, experienced, succeeded at and struggled with.
Which is why you never start from scratch, but from what you have already woven.
- Careers unfold over time
Patterns emerge as a family weaves a carpet, and images are added that weren’t planned when they started.
Sometimes the patterns and colours only emerge as you learn more about yourself, discover what you want and make more sense of what the world needs.
Carpet weaving means letting go of having to work it all out now.
- Careers are not perfect
Careers like handwoven carpets don’t have predictable patterns and straight edges. There are too many variables in the working world for that to be so.
When you give up needing certainty and perfection every step of the way, you set yourself free to create and learn new things along your journey to excellence.
Factory-made carpets have perfect patterns and straight edges, but they all look the same, they’re cheaper to buy, and worth little thereafter.
- Careers are a communal exercise
Careers are also a communal exercise; none of us create our careers alone.
We have all had people who have helped us, hindered us, encouraged us, and pointed us in new directions.
They say everyone in your life is an example or a warning, so even those who were bad examples may have helped you make better choices and set you on a path you might otherwise not have taken.
When we begin to appreciate the people in our lives, we really understand how we are all in this together, and that we can ask for help when we need it.
- Careers have seasons
Careers too have seasons, each reflecting its own colours and shapes. One season of your work life might be colourful, bringing energy and success, while another will be tough and teach you things you could not have learned in good times.
What worked in one chapter of your life does not determine or guarantee what you will do in the next.
Carpet weaving means constantly evaluating where you are now and how you will weave the next chapter of your life and work.
And when winter sets in, you too might need to head into the mountains to collect pomegranate skins to weave the next chapter of your career.
But that variety brings with it richness, experience, and the opportunity to try something new, or to do something in a new way.
A trip to the city of Shiraz may be exactly what you need to do.
- Careers are personal
Choosing a career, like choosing a handmade carpet, is personal.
A career that might be attractive to you, might be wrong for someone else.
It disturbs me to see how many images on social media depict success with a yacht and a sports car.
Success is not having more stuff, it’s about living a life that matters to you, and carpet weaving is about creating the life you want.
Appreciating what is right for you and giving up the need to be like anyone else can be the most liberating choice of all.
- Careers are energy
Your career too will reflect your personal energy and those who have been part of your journey, which makes it unique.
Even if you have a similar role to someone else, you bring your own blend of thinking, attitude, and approach to it.
And while some people will be attracted to your energy, others won’t.
Be proud of your own journey, not everyone has to understand it for it to be valuable.
- Careers are woven one day at a time
Careers, like carpets are woven one stitch, one day, at a time.
You don’t have to do it all at once, you can weave your carpet in small ways every day.
It might be developing yourself, learning something new or working on an important project.
It might mean setting up a business or looking for work.
Your carpet may be waiting for you, you just need to take daily action to weave it.
©Andrew Bramley 2022, All Rights Reserved