How to find your career passion is simpler than you think. We no longer live in a world where you go to college, get a degree, find a job, and work for the same company for the rest of your life. Your grandparents’ world has changed significantly. Markets move quickly. Jobs are volatile.
If your job isn’t guaranteed forever, how do you safeguard for the future without withering away with worry?
The Desperation Trap
The tendency when someone loses their job is to frantically scour every available listing. This usually leads to a job that isn’t a perfect match, which leads to the same scenario playing out again down the line.
Looking for a job out of desperation is like begging. You’re never going to find your dream work by begging. There’s a better way.
Writing It Out
Whether you currently love your work or recently lost it, there’s nothing more empowering than writing about or expressing the things you’re passionate about.
I’ve found it helpful before any major decision to write it all out on paper. This detaches you from the emotion of the scenario and allows you to view the situation with more clarity.
Putting yourself out there is really just giving other people clarity about what you really want to be doing.
Doing Great Work Is Not Enough
In this world, doing great work is usually not enough. It’s far more important to be able to present your work in a clear, authentic way. It’s even more important to be vocal about the type of work you’re inspired to be doing.
If you don’t vocalize where your passion lies, you will inevitably end up working on something that might be close, but never exactly what you desire.
By highlighting the things that really define your passion, people start to associate you with those things. When similar projects come along, they turn to you.
My Story
When I started out in marketing, I was at a huge disadvantage. I didn’t go to college. Everyone told me I would never work at a major firm.
I was also young with little experience. Companies would only hire me if I had experience, but I could only get experience if someone hired me. This circular trap frustrated me.
So I started a blog and began writing about my experience with marketing. More importantly, I wrote my opinions about all the marketing books I was reading.
After a week of writing a quality post each day, I put together a list of top bloggers in the field and sent them emails. I was new to blogging but passionate about the work. Did they have any advice?
To my surprise, everyone wrote back. They applauded my efforts and encouraged me to continue.
I wrote in a very unorthodox way, and an interesting thing happened. I started getting freelance work from unorthodox companies that were a perfect fit for me.
Instead of going out and finding a job I would have to conform to, I created the very position that allowed my best qualities to shine through.
The Universe Matching
By putting yourself out there, you’re setting everything up for the universe to bring you the exact opportunities you desire. On your own terms.
It’s easy to start expressing yourself and think you have to do it the way others do. This is wrong. People are already doing it like other people. No one is doing it like you.
By embracing your idiosyncrasies, you attract only the people that want to work with the real you. Not the version you’re pretending to be.
True Security
When you have a strong sense of who you are and express it openly, you don’t have to worry about whether you’re going to lose your job. You know there are a million other opportunities that are a perfect fit.
Just knowing this allows you to be more brazen and bold in your current position. If you’re not afraid of losing your job, you can be a little riskier in your decisions. Push for the things you really want.
That’s a powerful situation to be in.
That’s true security.
What Do You Want To Be?
Take a moment and ask yourself: What do I really want to be doing with my life?
Don’t think about it. Just ask and identify the first thing that pops into your head.
As silly as it may sound, the first thing that comes to mind is probably pretty close to what you want to be doing. We’ve been conditioned to think some ideas are silly, but there’s no such thing as a silly idea.
Very often, the silly ideas are the most rewarding.
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