Explore Your Passions

Moving beyond the specific attributes that you are looking for in a work environment (i.e. style of boss, flexibility, earning potential, etc) I encourage you to take one step further and figure out what makes YOU tick. I know several people are in a field that simply pays the bills, however my wish is that we will all someday have the courage/commitment to figure out what we love to do, and get paid doing it.

If you are anything like me, and have ignored what makes you thrilled, I encourage you to consider the following questions outlined in a brilliant article titled "How to Discover Your Passion"....

1). What do you do in your free time? Does this activity make you want to jump out of bed in the morning?

2). What stimuli around you makes you happy?

*Books, TV Shows, Newspaper Articles, Conversations, Animals, etc. We all react to stimulus different, and its important to understand what makes YOU tick.

3). What are you really good at?

4). What specific qualities do you posses that others may not?

5). Who do you admire & why?

6). Do you know anyone that is doing what you would LOVE to be doing?

*If so, see if you can set up an informational interview!

7). What is it that keeps you from doing what you love?

*Do you have a fear of failure, an unsuccessful past, comments from those around you? Whatever it is, try and move beyond those fears and live the authentic life you deserve!

8). How could YOU make this world a better place?

9). What items do you have in your home that make you happy?

*Do you love your garden, photographs or specific nick-knacks?

Once you have identified your passions, contemplate if there is a way for you to explore what you love in a career or internship? Consider looking at job postings or summaries to get an idea for what you will be doing prior to applying. The more research you can do prior to considering ANY career, whether temporary or long-term the better off you will be.

Example: In school I absolutely loved marketing, however if I had the chance to explore the job responsibilities the way I did first hand, I probably would have run for the hills :) We have a tendency to glamorize "careers" however when we physically get in the trenches, we quickly change our minds and become unhappy.