“Average people earn money doing things they don’t love. Rich people follow their passion.”
As a child, we were all asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Now, even midway through a career, this is still the question in the back of many adult professionals minds. In a LinkedIn survey, roughly 28.7% of professionals in the United States have their dream job or work in a related field and another 36.6% still think about obtaining their childhood dream job. Stop daydreaming… the way you could impact the world, the money you could make or the life you could lead… and take action!
Whether you want to move up the corporate ladder or are an aspiring entrepreneur, you have to first identify your dream job, in order to take steps to get there.
As children, we have pure, untarnished desires. A six-year-old doesn’t worry about money or societal pressures when their dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. Some of the details and expectations of our dream job may have become more clear over the years but that doesn’t mean the job you dreamed of as a child was that far off.
“If you’re naturally inclined toward that career, it’s probably what you’re good at, ” said Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s career expert.
Create your dream job in 2013. Start by asking yourself these 3 questions:
What am I passionate about?
Really think about the things that are important to you, this is at the core of realizing your dream job. Ask yourself again with no boundaries or limitations, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” What is your mission? What legacy or impact do you wan to have? Start with your “WHY” to understand what is driving you, and then move to the “how.”
What do I like to do?
Passion aside, what do you truly enjoy doing? Amanda Augustine, job search expert at TheLadders, suggests thinking back to what you loved as a child. “The idea is not to pursue what’s on the list but what attracted you to them,” says Augustine. If you are still having trouble identifying what you want to do take vocation aptitude tests or make lists of what you like and dislike. Many people fail to do this before they start searching and no what matter the job, repetitive day-to-day tasks are always a common denominator. Make sure you are excited about that day-to-day how, in addition to your why (your passion). That way you will wake up each morning excited about the day ahead, even when achieving your dream job seems distant.
What life do I want to lead?
Envision where you want your life to be in 5, 10, 20 years. What person do you want to be? What is your ideal lifestyle? Do you want flexibility… prestige… money? Sometimes when planning a career we forget about the big picture. What life are we setting up for ourselves?
With the answers to these 3 questions in mind, take control and create the job you have always wanted. Don’t wait for someone to hand it to you. Don’t allow yourself to settle into a dull, unsatisfying job. You have acknowledged the need for change. You are no longer allowed to be a passive viewer in your life, but forced into someone who is actively changing it. You are now empowered to become anything your 6 or 26 year-old heart desires.
Take action with these 3 steps:
1. There is no such thing as starting with nothing, stop the self-sabotaging position, and see everything in your life as abundant with value. Focus on what you have, what you can give and what you know well.
2. Research business needs in your area of talent and create a plan with help from experts. Find the pain or challenge in the market that YOU have a solution for…get specific!
3. Take action! Find people to collaborate with! The one-man-band in business is becoming obsolete. Give it everything you got and talk about it…be visible!
“The whole notion of a dream job is a really personal thing,” said Jolynn Cunningham, director of talent at career website Indeed. Dream jobs should match your passions with your talents and skills. It may seem daunting, but there is something very empowering about creating the life you have always dreamed. Don’t wait, new opportunities are everywhere, this could be the best thing you have ever done.
Need some help figuring out out what your “dream job” is or how to may it a reality in your life? That is my specialty! Contact Keri Murphy at [email protected] and let’s find a way to make that dream job…your real job!
Don’t wait another year…create the life you have always dreamed of in 2013!
Be part if the 2013 Dream Team! Early enrollment is starting now, find out more at www.inspiredliving.tv/dreamteam
Dream it. Live it. BE it!
Keri
© 2012 Inspired Living, LLC
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it:
Keri Murphy and the Inspired Living team is on a mission to empower people to use their unique talents in a way that allows them to Dream, Live and BE all that is possible through speaking, coaching, celebrity interviews and original on-line content. Get Inspired at inspiredliving.tv
