Sometimes people are surprised to realize what an inside game career management is. In fact if you are feeling stuck about what major to choose or what career to choose or what job to look for next, a great first step is to start envisioning what your ideal career or job looks like. This can only come from the inside! Only you know what you prefer and how you would like to live.
People really underestimate the importance of thinking about the the lifestyle they prefer when choosing too. It reminds me of a story I once heard about a fisherman who goes out to fish for a few hours everyday to earn his living. Then comes home, enjoys lunch, plays with his kids, then goes to town to play guitar each evening with his wife. Some vacationers come to town and one guy can not resist telling the fisherman how he can get more wealth by building up his fishing operation. Long story short, the fisherman is already living how he wants to live! The point is that that often lifestyle choice is a good way to weed out distractors. You might like to hear the short story for yourself though.
Another thing to consider early on in your decision making process is your natural strengths. This is very important because a fulfilling career is built upon natural strengths which enable one to work with ease and to gain expertise faster. Sometimes defining your strengths can be tough because we often tend devalue what we do well — everyone can do that, it’s not special…that kind of inaccurate thinking.
So one action to take is to record what you believe your strengths are. Then take some time to go to 3-6 people who know you well and ask them what they have observed that you do easily and well. Take notes and compare responses, including your own, to come up with a list of your natural strengths. Another good tool to try which I have mentioned before to get more data about your natural strengths is Marcus Buckingham’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”
Next, you can take what you have learned about yourself and start comparing that data to what is required in careers you are considering. You do that not only with internet research but with invaluable field research a.k.a. informational interviewing. Can I just tell you, it is amazing how much the view of a potential choice can change after talking to a few folks already in the career field. I cannot overemphasize how learning about careers in this way brings career choice to life (in addition to the other perks of actually talking to people and building networking relationships)!
Mostly though, I encourage you to follow what appeals to you now as that is a big indication of your intuition at work. Follow your nose with an understanding that you may not end up where you thought but career choice a process not a destination. I encourage you to dive into the process one optimistic step at a time.
It all begins by knowing yourself. That is not to say that you will choose one career for life, no, it is an ever evolving process of making more and better distinctions of who you are and what you want to accomplish in your lifetime. It is about, learning, researching, and talking a little everyday about potential and opportunity. It is not in obsessive thing though. It is more about going with the flow in a productive manner yet always honoring when you are right now in the process.
I have been thinking about the money flow difference between coaching and mentoring and it has been good food for thought. Surely mentors get some other sort of compensation for their contributions (rather than the green stuff), maybe not from the person who sought out their expertise but from somewhere else. Or, maybe they do get something besides money from their mentees. They might receive stimulation for their own development and/or creativity; or they might simply get another set of ears to hear them speak about their passion which may feed their energy and motivation. That could be worth more than money because of the richness of the experience.
It is better to focus on your strengths and be aware of your weaknesses from the standpoint of having a high quality of life. It is stressful to work exhaustively on improving weaknesses and furthermore it doesn’t honor your strengths or the strengths of those around you. It is okay that someone else is better at something than you. Respect them for their gifts while honoring yourself for yours too.
Most likely, you will learn about or create lots of other opportunities while going through the exercise of recognizing your strengths. Possibilities for career changes or enhancement will emerge that you never imagined.
I can recommend the following resources for learning more about strengths.
Essentially a personal mission statement is about your big picture purpose in life. In 50 words or less, mission statements are concise guiding principles that you can refer to again and again to remind you of why you are doing what you are doing.
The mission statement touches on the idea of life’s purpose and why we are here. Most of us at one time or another have wondered along this train of thought, right? We feel we must be here for a reason, a higher purpose if you will.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring money to our family and be working on our purpose in life at the same time? You have probably seen people or known people who have found their mission in life. They are passionate about and proud of the work they do and seem to exude a special type of energy or joy.
Mission statements will evolve as you go through the stages of your life. In fact, it is interesting to save old mission statements as a record of how you have changed over the years. Maybe your mission statement will be essentially the same and only become better defined and distinguished. Or, maybe your mission statement will change dramatically. Either way is perfectly fine.
I’m not much for poems but here is one that I love called Desiderata.
Notice the lines relevant to self and career development…good stuff.
“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.”
I’m back to furthering the careerillionaire definition. One thing that I am certain of is that being a careerillionaire is not necessarily about the money. For some people it may be but for many people it is not. I find there are people out there who for them a job is a job and as long as they collect a paycheck on time as promised without too much hassle, they are happy. If only it was so easy for all of us! For other people, they may learn after working at a high paying but unsatisfying job that every day at work is torture and eventually the money is just not worth it. They wonder why they are not happy when the money is so good. Those are the people for whom money may be important but not most important and other considerations must be made.
Really the money you want to make through your career is one of those factors that must be ranked within your own personal value system. Understanding your values means knowing the ideals that are most important to you. A few examples of values are: expertise, excitement, creativity, helping, and recognition. There are many, many other possibilities. Values are a very personal matter. There isn’t a particular set of values that is “the best” or any better than the rest. But, knowing your unique value set will help you stay on target to fulfill the needs that are most important in your life. In that way you honor and take care of yourself first, which will bring a level of peace and certainly keep you on track towards the careerillionaire lifestyle.
When I started my blog I felt the need to combine two ideas that, at first glance, are not connected at all – being an infopreneur and being a careerillionaire (especially since I played a part in making this one up). Actually the two ideas are connected inside me though since an infopreneurial component is part of how I am attaining my careerillionaire status. And I that is really what I want this blog to be about…inspiring others to the careerillionaire lifestyle of customizing their career in a way that encourages their own thriving (aka optimal growth & development).
Sure choosing a career and the world of work on a day-to-day basis is often much more practical than that. And of course, survival needs must be met first. But once a person has gained confidence in their own money making ability they will often begin to assess their comfort and happiness level in the opportunity they have landed. When they decide they want to strive for more, the quest begins.
The central idea presented is to focus on what you are naturally good at for the best chance of outstanding improvement and to “enjoy consistent, near perfect performance.” Also explained is that many people work to improve their weakness spending time, effort, and focus with little to show for it; meanwhile their strengths are virtually ignored. The suggestion made is to identify and focus on using your strengths while working around your weaknesses by enlisting the strengths of others or otherwise ignoring your weaknesses as much as possible.
I have a feeling that careerillionaires tend to develop their strengths either naturally or as a strategy they learn along the way. They must eventually realize that not everyone can be good at everything and then consciously decide what they enjoy and excel at the most. From there careerillionaires probably work to make those natural talents even stronger. They must realize too that doing tasks that take extra effort from them and that lead to lackluster results are just not worth their time. They must become adept at partnering with others and finding solutions so they don’t have to spend a lot of effort doing things that don’t energize them. I’m convinced that in following their bliss careerillionaires are led to streams of work and income that serve to enhance their own personal development and quality of life.
Careerillionaire – I made it up…actually, my husband did. I was trying to think of something clever for my thinkcareerdevelopment.com site homepage so I ask him & he just threw careerillionaire right out there without skipping a beat. It was perfect for what I was writing at the time and since then I have been working on a definition. So here is the first draft. A careerillionaire is someone who is in a groove where work easily brings a sense of fulfillment along with an equally satisfying paycheck. They feel like they have hit the lottery because they get to do what they love for a living.
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