Explore. Dream. Discover. Work Your Passion!

You deserve to work your passion.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

The value of this advice is fairly self-evident.

It nags at those who always play it safe in their careers . . . never (or rarely) taking risks . . . never being fully satisfied with the work they’ve chosen.

As a near life-long entrepreneur in various industries, I’ve been fortunate to do work that fulfills my passion for writing, and get paid for it. I’ve been able to take the risks that allow me to adjust and grow, as I branch out in new directions in my business.

Does Twain’s quote hit home with you? Does it shake you up a little and make you want to rethink your next career move?

If your career path has been unsatisfying for years, maybe it’s time to reconsider continuing to walk down the same path.

Do you fear taking that first big step to pursue your passion and get paid for work you truly love doing?

Or do you think you’re too old, and it’s too late for you to strike out in a new direction?

Maybe it’s time to get serious and create a game plan for getting there. It may not be too late to shift gears and go in another direction. You’ll never know unless you try.

Do some reading . . . talk to people doing the kind of work you want to try . . . research the possibilities.

Universal Truths in Job Search and Career

LinkedIn News’ Senior Editor Andrew Seaman believes there are two universal truths in job search and career:

1. Every person should be able to dictate their relationship with work.
2. Every person can have a job that fulfills their needs.

He says that finding career fulfillment begins with aligning your life’s mission with your job:

“The basis of mission alignment is pretty simple. You take time to find out what you want to accomplish with your life at this moment. Then, you find how your job helps achieve that mission.

You may want to help prevent or slow climate change by introducing more people to green technology, for example. You may think that a mission like that would require you to stand on a busy street corner with a bullhorn shouting about the evils of carbon emissions. You can do that if you want, but it’s obviously not going to put food on your family’s table.

Be realistic about your missions. You can work in sales to get more solar panels installed on residential houses. Heck, you can work at factories that manufacture solar panels. You can work for an electric car company. You can work to reduce the carbon footprint of your current company. There are so many possibilities. Just remember that you don’t have to be on the front lines to make a difference. You could be playing a supporting role with an equally big impact.”

3 Steps To Work Your Passion

Communication coach and business thinker Dorie Clark has advice on safeguarding ourselves and our careers against uncertainty:

“Long-term thinking protects us during downturns (of all kinds), because it keeps us moving toward our most important goals … It’s the surest path to meaningful and lasting success in a world that so often prioritizes what’s easy, quick, and ultimately shallow.”

When people struggle to find their purpose or passion, she suggests these three steps:

1. Evaluate how you’re spending your time

“It’s valuable to notice what is holding your attention — but don’t rush to make a fascination your new mission until you’ve tested it out.

Find ways to learn more, such as setting up interviews with people who work in the field, reading books about it or asking a friend if you can shadow him at work for a day. By seeing if your curiosity sustains itself over time, you can weed out fleeting interests.”

2. Remember what got you started

“When you’re unsure of where your interests lie, go back to your first principles.”

3. Ask: What kind of person do you want to be?

“There are a million reasons not to try something new. But playing the long game means ​​acknowledging we aren’t already experts at everything, and that it’s OK to sometimes look foolish in service of becoming the person we want to be.

Too often, in our lives, we tend to look at where we are right now and say, “Where can I go from here?” But that’s asking the wrong question. If you start with your present situation, you’re limiting yourself out of the gate to what seems attainable.

When we make the choice to optimize for interesting, we’re investing in our future selves. We don’t know where it will lead, and that’s the whole point.”

Do the Work To Work Your Passion

Once you determine what work will enable you to work your passion, dig into these job search first steps (my job search worksheets will help you):

Targeting

Identify companies or organizations where you’ll be able to do the work that will bring you career fulfullment. It may seem counter-intuitive to narrow your search to specific employers, but the more you do, the more precisely you’ll be able to pinpoint the unique value you offer.

Targeting is also important for due diligence. You need to assess target employers to be sure they’re the right kind of company for you.

Research

Find out what challenges and problems your target companies are facing right now. Then determine what things about you (accomplishments, skills, personal attributes, etc.) will help you help those employers meet those challenges and fix those problems.

Personal Branding

Personal branding is the personality part of your job search materials and communications. The stuff that generates chemistry and interest, and influences people to reach out to you, to learn more about you.

What are the character traits, passions and strengths you possess that define who you are, what you’re like to work with, and how you accomplish great things? All of this, and more, goes into defining your personal brand.

When you’ve done the work noted above, you’ll have the meaty information about yourself to create personal marketing content (resume, LinkedIn profile, biography, cover letters, etc.) that will hit home with your target employers.

More Help To Work Your Passion

How To Make a Career Change

How to Find Remote Work and Do It Well

10 Reasons To Love Your Personal Brand