Ever uttered those words or thought along those same lines? Chances are you haven’t found your dream career. Note I said career and not job which is distinctly different. A job refers to a task which in itself lends the notion of it being tedious. A career however as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is “A course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)."
See the difference? A progress through life, not just going through the everyday motions because you have to. Would should be able to chart a course, set goals, take action and move forward, singing a happy tune along the way.
I have a theory I like to call the 1/3 Principle (cool name right :P sounds fancy :D). In essence it has been proven by way of the obvious that you spend one third of your adult life at “work”! Think about it... and 8 hour working day 24 hours in a day... just take my word for it, its 1/3.
Yeah it sucks I know. What’s worse is that another 1/3 of your life (8 hours a day) is spent asleep :S and if you’re lucky only 1/8 (3 hours a day) is spent in traffic so that leaves lets see... 8 + 8 + 3 = 19 and there is 24 hours in a day so that’s... ummmm 5 hours left in the day for personal time with friends, family and loved ones and your spiritual life! :S
Not much huh... well that being said why not maximise on the largest amount of time you have awake... Your Career! I have come up with a few simple guidelines on how you never have to work a day in your life!
What is the one thing you can do for hours? What you are good at? What excites you and brings out that passion inside you? Everyone is different and all skills and pastimes can be turned into a profession if you put enough thought into it.
Find out about your personality. Some persons are introverted, some extroverted and some even perverted. Some persons can work well in teams, some prefer to work alone, some are enterprising, some less risk takers. Trust me there is a career out there for you no matter your personality traits.
Believe in your skill
Don’t undermine or discredit your skill and talent. Everyone is different and has at least one thing they are good at. For some it could be doing hair, some persons have good fashion sense, some have a good ear for music, some are good at acting or speaking in public, some have a way with words and some work well with children or people, some persons can impart knowledge well and some can shoot a cup off the heads of a sheep from 10 feet away! Despite what it is, your skill can make you money and above all help you to have a happy life.
Don’t undermine or discredit your skill and talent. Everyone is different and has at least one thing they are good at. For some it could be doing hair, some persons have good fashion sense, some have a good ear for music, some are good at acting or speaking in public, some have a way with words and some work well with children or people, some persons can impart knowledge well and some can shoot a cup off the heads of a sheep from 10 feet away! Despite what it is, your skill can make you money and above all help you to have a happy life.
Practice makes Perfect
Take the time to practice and hone your passion. Although you may still be at school or not in your dream career right now you can still make time to start getting some experience in your ideal career choice! Do stuff relating to your skill for free for friends, family or neighbours. You can also volunteer at a local organisation in the industry of your choice, or open your own business and start practicing! You can build years of worthwhile experience instead of waiting for your career to fall into your lap. On top of that, you will be able to network and make key connections that could jumpstart your career and also even build a clientele or following.
Make you passion your profession
So you’re a World Class Chef, working at a 5 star Fine dining restaurant creating some of the most tasty, fancy smancy dishes, garnish and all.... WHAT NEXT? Continue to learn, develop your craft even further, acquire more skills, you can never know everything. That’s the wonderful thing about life, you can always learn something new, and there is always room for growth and improvement.
You can never get bored if seek out new challenges, challenge yourself and don’t forget to help others who were like you ones searching for their start. Always give back!
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/3 of your life is spent at “work” are you going to spend it dissatisfied, waiting for the weekend? Or are you going to be excited and happy in a career where you go home feeling a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment?
/3 of your life is spent at “work” are you going to spend it dissatisfied, waiting for the weekend? Or are you going to be excited and happy in a career where you go home feeling a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment?
*This theory assumes a 5 day week and doesn’t take into context the 2 days of the weekend, which is extra personal time anyway. If you want to get technical we spend about 24 % of life at work which is still a significant amount.*