All About You — Day 19: Your Dream Job/Career
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[For “Day 18: Your Soul Mate,” click here.]
ALL ABOUT YOU — DAY 19:
YOUR DREAM JOB/CAREER
We’ve looked at a lot of different clues in this “All About You!” series to help you figure out what your dream job or career might be. We found about your most basic personality traits, your happiest childhood memories, and your own top 10 lists.
We’ve also looked at: what you want; what you’re good at; what you love; what you wish you could do now; what you’d do if you could do everything over; what you’d do if you had only one year left; and your purpose in life. All helpful to point you to your dream job/career.
With all those thoughts swirling around in your head, time for another brainstorm. This one goes straight to the heart of the problem in most people’s lives: finding the work you love. Most people go about it all wrong. They pick the job they think pays the most money that they can get, and then try to make themselves love that job. First, they pick the occupation. Then, they invest the time, effort, and money needed to get the proper education, training, and experience to compete for a starting position in that chosen occupation (earning not nearly what they hope to get paid if they stick it out 10 - 20 years, slowly climbing their way to the top of that particular field). But, not until they are finally in that starter position for at least one full year, does anyone ever seem to ask themselves if they can actually stomach that kind of work long enough to make it 10 - 20 years—especially when they must compete with some coworkers who strangely do love that kind of work. Sounds kinda crazy when it’s all laid out like that, doesn’t it? But, don’t worry. Most of us picked our occupations this way. That’s exactly how we ended up miserable.
Is there a better way? I think so. First, you find out what you love to do. Imagine, design, and create what your dream work/job/career is from the inside-out. Figure out what you would love to do all day long. Then, look for ways to make money doing it. That’s exactly what Bill Gates and Paul Allen did. When Gates was 12 and Allen was 14, they, along with a few other classmates, just could not get enough of a terribly expensive, giant GE computer that even their exclusive private preparatory school could not afford to buy outright. So the school had merely purchased a limited number of hours for their students’ use that year. These boys fell in love with the computer immediately and could not bear to tear themselves away from it even to their their regular schoolwork. Naturally, the total purchased number of hours were used up way to quickly for these love-struck, determined kids. So, they hacked into the program that kept track of the number of hours the school had used and reset it. They studied everything they could find about computers and tried new things out themselves on the only computer they had access to till they finally got busted for hacking into the company’s software.
They were crushed when they were banned from further use of the computer for a few weeks. Then, the company offered them unlimited hours of computer use in exchange for a few hours of work debugging their system that crashed too often! That’s when these boys knew that somehow, some way, they must figure out how to make money from their unquenchable desire to always work with computers.
So, first, find what you love to do. Then, find a job that lets you do that. Or, if no such job exists, like when Gates and Allen were boys, create it! It happens all the time. There was a time when no one ever heard of a blog. Now, some lay people earn as much as $40,000 a month providing free personal development advice on the internet with up to 2.5 million readers per month! (See “FBO: Why Should Millions View Your Blog?”) Talk about doing what you love and getting paid for it!
BRAINSTORMING EXERCISE
1. Preparation
Clear your mind of all other thoughts. If stray thoughts not related to this exercise wander into your mind, let them drift right back out of your mind without paying any special attention to it. (If you think it’s something important that you’re afraid to forget later, just jot it down quickly and let it out of your thoughts again.)
2. Let it All Flow Freely
Use paper or the computer. Whatever is more comfortable for you. Jot down or type everything. Don’t cross out or delete anything (even if you suspect you might have already recorded it). Don’t reread your answers either (or check if you already recorded it) because doing so will break the flow. Just keep going. Ask yourself the question repeatedly and write down every answer that pops into your mind.
Complete this sentence: “My dream job/career [is] …”
- a. Stay in the Present
There are probably hundreds of possible answers to this question. I list below the ones that immediately came to my mind as the answers that different people might come up with. Don’t judge yourself based on your own answers. That’s not the point of this exercise. The words you choose are merely clues to help you see and start to understand the bigger picture of who you are right now, right here—as well as who you no longer are or who you would like to be but have not become yet.
- b. My Answers
challenging
rewarding
enriching
fulfilling
fun
funny
humorous
delightful
enjoyable
pleasant
calming
relaxing
soothing
cathartic
comforting
nourishing
nurturing
ennobling
uplifting
important
significant
meaningful
useful
practical
pragmatic
honest
sincere
relevant
appropriate
respectful
polite
gentle
considerate
thoughtful
encouraging
hopeful
energetic
enthusiastic
positive
proactive
thought-provoking
inspiring
motivating
exciting
promising
enlightening
illuminating
edifying
educational
instructional
reasonable
intuitive
instinctive
emotional
sympathetic
empathetic
passionate
compassionate
moving
touching
feeling
expressive
respectable
honorable
admirable
direct
real
true
hard work
dedicated
creative
imaginative
innovative
introspective
expands your mind
expands your possibilities
changes the way you think
changes the way you do things
helps you be happy
helps you be loving
helps you be wise
helps you be strong
helps you be free
flexible
never the same day twice
full of unlimited opportunities
gives me and much as I put into it
helps me become a better person
lets me really be me
makes a difference in the world
makes me rich along the way
makes people happier
makes people’s lives easier
helps improve relationships
helps people achieve their dreams
helps people reach their goals
helps people do/be/see a whole lot more
helps people get and stay rich
helps people love themselves the most
helps people avoid wasting time, effort, and money
helps people avoid cheaters, liars, and users
helps people overcome their prior hardships
helps people be honest with themselves
helps people take responsibility for their lives
helps people find their passion for life again
helps people take control of their lives
helps people help themselves
helps people be awesome in their own eyes
helps people become their own greatest heroes
exactly what I’m doing right now!
TO BE CONTINUED …
This is going to be an adventurous journey into our past, present, and future lives. None of us can be prepared for what we might find along the way. So, just sit back and enjoy the ride! Also, I hope at least some of you brave souls will share your answers, insights, and revelations in the comments below for everyone’s benefit!
When you’re done, collect your answers and keep them in a safe place. I recommend a diary. It makes a precious gift to someone you love, especially you!
[For “Day 20: Your Gift to the World,” click here.]
[For entire “All About You!” series, click here.]
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[For “200 Work Quotes,” click here.]
[For “300 Entrepreneur Quotes,” click here.]
[For “Requests for Cuckoo in Your Nest!,” click here.]
[For “How to Be an Extrovert,” click here.]
[For “My 10 Commandments,” click here.]
[For “Fan Your Inner Flame Till It Burns Bright,” click here.]
[For “Change Your Mindset to Change Your Life,” click here.]
