The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) is a personality assessment. It can help you communicate what is special about you and it can give you insight as to how you communicate and learn best. Also research has shown how certain personality types tend to congregate happily in certain career fields. Many people who take the MBTI® begin a wonderful journey of self-discovery. In fact, some describe it as life changing.
We love the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator (MBTI) for getting at personality types. This is a link to an easy sorter that will show you the basics.
http://www.personalitytype.com/career_quiz?type=1
We can also recommend the book, “Do What You Are” which you will see at the link above.
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.
I was thinking the other day about how child’s play reflects interests and strengths. It is amazing to me how very quickly you can begin to see a child’s natural strengths emerging. Also the preschool years are a time when the child is just doing their thing without worrying about other people’s opinions for the most part.
If you are stuck trying to figure what what you want to do for your career, or if you are trying to build your personal brand based on your strengths, you might try thinking about your preschool years to get back in touch with what really brings you joy. Or you could talk to several people who knew you as a toddler and preschooler. Ask them what you seemed to learn quickly at those ages and phases of interest you went through. What would your relatives and caregivers say about you? Now, you may need to take this info with a grain of salt but by asking 3-5 opinions you should get some interesting data to consider about yourself.
It is about taking responsibility for yourself.
Your career is your own and it belongs to no one else. You have within you the power to create it, to live it as an expression of your unique talents and energy. The other choice is to work at the whim of others, not usually a positive place to be since it is difficult to be inspired and enthusiastic when you believe the choice was someone else’s. Instead, be empowered knowing that you are in control! You may not always choose the activities of your day but you do choose the spirit in which you complete each task. Focus on what you are doing and enjoy the process. Spend some time working to understand yourself in order to better communicate that to your personal network, potential employers, clients, project managers, and partners to secure the best-fit opportunities for you at any moment in time.
It is about creating your future.
It involves self-reflection, learning, researching, planning, and/or talking a little everyday about accomplishments, potential, and opportunity. It is not an obsessive thing though. It is more about going with the flow in a productive manner yet always honoring where you are right now in the process so that your day-to-day work is a source of fulfillment and positive energy.
It is about choices.
Career and personal development is an ever evolving process of making more and better distinctions of who you are and what you want during different phases of your life. Career development is influenced by your whole life…your own changing roles as well as personal and economic circumstances. You will be choosing again and again to create the path of your personal career development throughout your lifetime. You will also make choices each day about how you feel about your work and the attitude and energy you will bring to it and take from it.
It is about rapid change.
Today’s world of work is highly competitive and in a constant state of flux. We can no longer expect to stay with the same company for 20 years then retire. The current environment is much more dynamic with many more opportunities for success when an individual properly manages their own career and personal development.
It is about quality of life.
Think about it, what is a career? It is about the work you do over time and involves such ideas as your productivity, the way you contribute, how you are driven to spend your non-leisure time. Some people are driven to accomplish lots, others are interested in a simpler and more independent existence. Your career becomes the work activities (whether that is paid or unpaid work –such as volunteers, students, parents, and homemakers) that you participate in during your lifetime. Because of the current complexity and speed of life, managing your own career development is an important task for having some control of your quality of life.
It is about hard work completed with ease.
People who know themselves well (by understanding their strengths, what they enjoy, what they want, what they have already accomplished, what they can uniquely contribute, where they are going) are so easy to spot in their enthusiasm and confidence. They are like a breath of fresh air so people and opportunities are drawn to them like vacationers to a sunny beach!
A widely held myth about careers is that there is a perfect one out there for everyone. That is not true because there are actually several careers out there that would be a good match for you! Isn’t that exciting news? I believe it is. For one thing, this point of view relieves the burden of continually seeking the perfect match in order to find career happiness. Instead you are free to focus on where you are currently in your journey allowing life and opportunity to unfold in ways more satisfying than you could have planned. I think this is primarily due to the enthusiasm that will shine through you when you give yourself permission to embrace your unique strengths and interests. That enthusiasm then serves as a strong attractor of people and circumstances to propel you on your way.
“When you follow your bliss…doors will open where you would have thought there would not be doors, and where there would not be a door for anyone else.” —Joseph Campbell
Millionaire Blueprints is one of my favorite reads. There are great stories in here to inspire entrepreneurs and people in traditional careers since the featured bios demonstrate a lot of creative thinking and persistence. You can also feel the passion of people in all kinds of businesses and careers which is very inspirational.
I think reading good stuff like this makes an abundance mindset more likely by helping to keep us more aware of opportunities all around us as well as our own potential based on our unique combination of personal strengths.
Looking over my last post brings me to a good question though. There are some great info products out there with giant price tags from people who are well recognized as leaders in their niche. How do you decide which one purchase if any? In my mind, there are two ways to look at it.
I read some books over my little hiatus that complement the careerillionaire idea nicely, “Now, Discover Your Strengths
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.