Why to Never Allow anyone Decide Your Career Path, According to AirAsia CEO

For those who are familiar with AirAsia, they must have also hear about Tony Fernandes, the founder a Malaysian-based carrier that offers affordable services to customers. He recently shared some evergreen and wise advice for entrepreneurs to follow.

Fernandes said people should take whatever steps they want and avoid fulfilling others’ wishes. In other words, their careers should be totally their personal choices and not someone’s dictates.

Featuring as a prominent guest on a webinar career-based program last Monday, the CEO emphasized on the importance of going after your desires and getting that particular job which you’ve always wanted in your life. He added that getting a job position just because you feel that the job will be a most profitable profession for you, is not a good idea.

Tony Fernandes 

Passion pushes career

It is important to learn how to take joy in what you do and you should always look forward to being in the office every day, says Fernandes. When your heart is in your career, you will revel in it and become a master of your trade. He pointed out that the current era of intensive technological advancement is the best time for job seekers to enter into the labor industry.

One of the attendees of the Facebook webinar put up a question at the industrialist and wanted to know the advice he would offer the new generation youths that are just about to begin building their professional lives. Fernandes replied that this is the best time for the youths to come into the job industry because it’s getting more interesting, especially with the massive development all over the world and the emergence of the business cycle in its fourth stage. This business cycle is filled with surplus digital advancement made available, with access to data that is evolving in every activity that we do.

Virgin Group CEO, Richard Branson, is a close associate of Tony Fernandes

Fernandes endorses professional experience

Fernandes is an independent businessman who strongly believes in self-employment. However, he reiterated at the webinar that working for and with other business owners is very beneficial to your professional experience. He once had a career time with Richard Branson, the founder and chief executive of Virgin Group. He also worked with Warner Music and gained so much knowledge from these companies.

Rounding up on that aspect, Fernandes recommended that people should first gather strong and viable career experiences before starting up on their own. The practice of self-employment is the key.

The big business mogul pitched his tent in the aviation industry by leading an inexpensive airline based in Malaysia. Apart from that post, Fernandes acquired the lion share of Queens Park Rangers (QPR) investments in 2011. QPR is a club only based on soccer games in the UK.

This bold move was very impressive even to the co-administrator at QPR who expressed his awe at Fernandes’ business zeal, confessing that he personally wouldn’t dare go through the stress of running QPR if the club was designed to become a commercial concept. He also agreed that having an unparalleled devotion to your career is a crucial factor.

On the 24th of May, 2014, Queens Park Rangers gained victory after defeating Derby County at the final playoff tournament of Sky Bet Championship held at London-based Wembley Stadium, England. Fernandes was very excited at the triumph, celebrating with the team members. He confessed that he always does what he does to satisfy his strong passion for different things.

AirAsia CEO is also the owner of QPR in the UK, acquiring successes since 2011

Parental Influence

On the issue of parental influence on children’s career paths, Fernandes said that the love for something should be an extension to one’s choice when picking a specific professional pursuit, and that applies to going against the dictates of one’s parents. He strongly kicked against the habits of parents who always want to choose for their children. Parents have no business in deciding for their children’s endeavors in life, says Fernandes.

Naturally, parents would instinctively want to do everything possible to lead their kids aright, so that they won’t fail as parents, doing this most times through reasonable advice. However, that shouldn’t be an excuse to dictate for their children who have their lives to live.

Sharing his own experience while choosing his career dream as a young man, he explained that he would have become a medical doctor, however, a very terrible doctor at that. When he was just 16 years old, he stood up boldly to his parents and stubbornly rejected the medical profession. Nonetheless, his parents went ahead to force him along that path, but he didn’t pass his courses. Eventually, he was left alone to pursue his own passion, and today, he is better for it.