Dream Job Search

Would you like to find your dream job?  Get paid great money for doing something you love that energizes you every day?  There are a lot of people who are right there with you.

Somehow, we always know how much our dream job would pay us, but can’t seem to put our finger on the job itself.  We search and worry that we’ll never find it.  We’re jealous of people who love, love, love their jobs and blame our parents for not encouraging some prodigy talents out of us when we were kids.  After all, Mozart didn’t ponder what his dream job would be.  He was driven by an incredible talent from a young age, and there was no question what he would do.  He couldn’t help himself. 

Does that make you feel ‘ordinary’ in comparison?  Although for Mozart, the money thing wasn’t there for him.  Couldn’t help himself…money not a deciding factor.  Hmmmm, is there a hint here?

I work with many people who come to our first coaching session saying their number one goal is to find their dream job and want me to help them figure out what that is.  They’re hoping I can give them an assessment that will magically produce the answer – tell them what the job is and how they can get it. 

In my experience, if you go about searching for your dream job by searching for a job, you’re going about it in the wrong order.  I love the exchange in Alice In Wonderland:

Alice came to a fork in the road.  “Which road do I take?” she asked.

“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.

“I don’t know,” Alice answered.

“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

And you know what, it doesn’t matter – not yet anyway.  First, ask yourself:  who am I at my core?  Not who do my parents want me to be, or who do I need to be to earn the money I want, or even who do I wish I were.  Be honest with yourself, pay attention, and become acquainted with your authentic self.  

I’m a fan of Rick Steves, travel writer and tour guide, and I read an interview where he said at his core he was a teacher.  Rick started out teaching piano.  After going to Europe with his father, a piano importer, to tour piano factories, Rick’s passion for travel was ignited.  He used his earnings from teaching piano to fund his early travels and taught a class, European Travel Cheap, at an experimental college.  His business grew from there starting with travel lectures and travel consulting, both teaching activities.

Rick says, “My passion for travel showed itself in a powerful interest in teaching others from my mistakes.  …I finally had to decide:  teach piano or teach travel.  I chose travel and the rest is a very well used passport.”  From those beginnings Rick built a large, successful business which includes books, DVDs, tv shows, lectures, tours, merchandise, etc.  But at the core, he’s still a teacher – he couldn’t help himself.

So, again, who are you at your core?  Don’t say ‘teacher’ only because I used that example (and wrote about teachers last week).  Are you an explorer, someone who likes to go to the unknown? Perhaps you’re a problem solver, or a natural salesperson who loves the hunt and to build relationships.  I met someone yesterday at a networking event who said she loved to build communities and help people connect.  It’s her passion - who she is – and her enthusiasm radiated.  If we were to look at her biography we’d probably find someone who started as a kid introducing people, hooking people up, making sure people were connecting.

Begin to answer that question:  who are you.  And remember, I’m here to help (pnorton93@comcast.net).  Then start bringing your authentic self into your consciousness and activities every day.  The good news is that you don’t have to find a new job in order to begin.  You can start right where you are today, and your dream job will find you.