Category | Dream Job Coaching

Top 10 Reasons Why You Must Have Your Dream Job

1. Allows You To Be Your True Self All of The Time

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to step into a false persona for work and not be your true self. Your dream job will enable you to not be “Jekyll and Hyde” but will allow you to be your true self at all times and not waste energy.

2. Fits Into Your Life

Your dream job will integrate perfectly into your lifestyle and will fit you wonderfully. It will feel like a natural part of you and will not hinder your life and other aspects of your life (family, hobbies, interests, etc.). This does not mean that there will not be times when your job will interfere with your life – that is something that will happen. But a dream job will interfere with the rest of your life significantly less than other jobs. For example, your dream job may offer you flex-time so that you can work at home at times to spend time with your family. You will still have to work but it will offer you more flexibility and more of what you want.

3. Incorporates Your Values

A dream job will have the same values as you and will not ask you to embrace values that do not resonate with you or to go against your beliefs. If you have a concern for the environment, for example, your dream job will not ask you to be involved with toxic waste dumping.

4. Allows Your To Tap Into Your Unique Gifts

Everyone has different gifts and qualities – your dream job will allow you to tap into your unique gift and express it fully. You’ll notice that work will feel more effortless due to the use of your gifts and you’ll begin to notice the impact you’re having on all that you touch.

5. Gives You Energy Instead of Draining You

You feel energized by your job instead of drained and exhausted by it. You look forward to it and embrace every part of it. You start to notice that you have energy for other things both in and outside of work. Having more energy has the benefit of helping you to become more creative and enthusiastic. Imagine the possibilities when you harness all the energy that will fill you.

6. Enables You To Align With Your Passion and Do What You Love

There is an ease that comes with cultivating your passion. You’ll feel as if you’re coming to your true home and doing what you’re meant to do in this lifetime. As you do what you love, you realize your purpose is being fulfilled and you feel satisfied and comfortable.

7. Helps You To Make a Difference to Something You Believe In

It enables you to feel good about giving to your job knowing that you are making a difference in some way and your unique talents and gifts are being used to bring about change to something that is important to you.

8. Is Enjoyable & Doesn’t Seem Like Work

You wake up every day excited about going to work instead of dreading it. You can have fun at work and feel happy about doing your job. You might find yourself asking “Do I really get paid to do this work? It feels more like a hobby than a job.”

9. Follows Your Wants Instead of Your Shoulds

You listen to your intuition and your heart instead of your rational mind and/or what society and others think you “should” do. As you listen to what you want, you begin to know yourself more clearly. The rest of your life starts to rearrange itself around who you truly are and not who you were supposed to be.

10. Fulfills You

You feel a sense of completion. The work you do, how you do it, and the responsibilities and roles all come together in a way that makes you feel satisfied. You know the work you are doing is having impact and you are truly serving your purpose.

What Are You Meant To Do

Joel has created a systematic way to discover and find the work that fully resonates with your truest passion. He is passionate, and wholeheartedly committed to and completely enlivened by the opportunity for others to work with their own passions, talents and gifts. Joel was on of the best investments I’ve ever made in myself and my life.

Brett Penfil, Organization Consultant,
Blue Shield of California

You know who you are. You face each week with a growing dread, knowing you must return to a job you do not like, doing work that does not interest you and does not allow you to use the talents you’ve developed. It doesn’t have to be that way and you can begin to recognize alternatives that exist.

If you sense that something is missing in your life, realize that you are not alone. Statistics say that over 90% of Americans are unhappy in their jobs. Each day they go to work not quite sure what they do want but absolutely certain that this isn’t it. Do you feel restless, eager for some change, something more fulfilling and exciting that could stimulate your mind, your soul?

Subconsciously, you search for a way to express those gifts that come from within your heart, something that will have meaning to you. You search for work that lets you feel you’ve made a difference in the world. Gandhi needed to lead his country into freedom, Mother Theresa needed to heal the sick and comfort the dying, Picasso needed to paint and you need to …

Until you realize what you need to do, you will forever travel on your journey of self-discovery. Remember Abraham Maslow said, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.”

The task is to recognize that you are uniquely special, have something to give, some talent no one else shares in quite the same way. This gift needs to blossom so we can appreciate and enjoy the benefits of it and acknowledge you for it. You owe this to yourself and to all of us to honor your gifts, for only when you share your unique joy with the world does the entire world benefit. Every advance mankind has known has come because of someone’s effort. Don’t let shyness rob you and the world of the power and the passion that lies within you. No one can be all that you will be except you yourself. Follow your passion.

We each have a limited amount of time to make our mark on the world. The only way to find satisfaction is to live your life in a way that uniquely responds to your dreams. As a new century dawns, you must be willing, committed, absolutely determined to discover what you love to do. Wherever that journey takes you, the gifts revealed and your expression of them will change the world. Morris Adler said, “Our prayers are answered not when we are given what we ask, but when we are challenged to be what we can become.”

Top Barriers Limiting You From Your Dream Job

You probably have a few barriers that are standing in your way and preventing you from daring yourself to new levels of greatness. Barriers, though they are imaginary obstacles, seem very real at the moment you experience them. What you must realize is that whenever you find yourself resisting anything during the dream job process, know that it is fear talking. When you begin to understand why you’re having difficulty moving forward in the process, you can identify the fear and be ready to move on with confidence and embrace your greatness. This article about career planning will help you identify your barriers so you can come up with an action plan to carry you towards the life you want and deserve.

1. Time

We must take time for ourselves, but it’s difficult to commit time, especially when you are working a full-time job. We’re taught to put others needs and wants before our own and often wind up tired, overscheduled and with no energy for ourselves. Schedule daily appointments with yourself in order to take time away from your busy life and become clear on where to direct your energy and time.

2. Fear of change and success

Many people enjoy the status quo and don’t want to make a change to become more successful. Though they state that they do indeed want success, they choose to stay in their comfort zone. Success is the unknown and the unknown is often feared. Increased success means change and an increased level of responsibility. It takes courage and risk for most of us to take the leap and find a fulfilling job. After we’ve achieved success, we must maintain that success and that takes effort. We must live with a new reality, a new view of ourselves and a new way of relating to the world. It is so much easier to daydream about “someday” than it is to actually take the steps to make “someday” a reality and live it on a day to day basis. That requires work and commitment and many of us find it easier to live in the daydream of “what if” than to make it “what is”.

3. Fear of failure

The most common fear of them all. We fear so many things about failure. We fear making a fool out of ourselves, we fear losing our security, we fear stepping backwards instead of forward, we fear making the wrong decision, we fear not being able to live up to standards (whether they are ours or society’s), we fear being labeled a failure or a loser. There can be so much fear that it is often paralyzing. We have no idea where to begin to deal with all the fears that we just simply stay where we are.

4. Isolation and lack of support

Isolation is a dream job killer. We all need support to land the job of our dreams. Daring ourselves and moving forward are often facilitated when we have a great support system. When we find ourselves trying to go it alone, it’s more likely that we’ll have setbacks and just stay where we are. In many cases, understanding who you are and what you enjoy doing is enhanced with the help of others. If we don’t have support, it’s often too overwhelming and easier to just play it safe and stay at our current level of mediocrity.

5. Shoulds from family and society

Throughout our lives, we hear many messages about how we should act. We become conditioned and socialized to act in acceptable ways that may not always be in our best interests. We often live a life doing what others tell us we should. We’re told/taught “Don’t rock the boat,” “Fit in, be like everyone else”, “This is how it’s done” and more. Being like everyone else may not be where our greatness lies and we wind up not even knowing what we want in a dream job. We fear rejection so much that we often play small just to fit in. We take our place as one of the mindless worker ants, trudging through the same routines, complaining about the same problems and realizing the same small results. We must move from our shoulds to our genuine wants or desires.

6. Financial obligations and fear of poverty

Financial obligations such as mortgages, credit card bills, college savings for children and more can restrain us. If your survival depends on your income alone, this is a fear you may experience when facing dramatic changes in your life. Recognize that you have control over the changes you wish to bring about and can do so gradually while maintaining a secure income from a familiar source. Thus, you can ease into the life you want one step at a time and reduce the threat of poverty.

7. Comparing and Despairing

There will always be someone who is “better”. Someone who has more, lives better, is more fulfilled, etc. Comparison is a losing game. It lets us run round in endless circles and provides many excuses for not doing anything more – “I’ll never be as good an actor as Meryl Streep so why should I even go on any auditions?”, “I’ll never be able to get a recording contract like Garth Brooks so why should I work on my singing career?”. The fact that acting is your passion or singing speaks to your soul gets lost somehow.

8. Self Doubt

This article about career planning will help with self-doubt. We see ourselves as less than who we really are and feel we are unworthy to receive all that we deserve. Our own fears, limitations and mental criticisms alienate us from our goal. Self-doubt is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving our dreams. We often ignore ourselves in favor of others. We value their opinions too highly and our own too little. The only real approval that matters is that which comes from inside ourselves. We’re the only people who know what we truly need and want. This makes us our own best judge of whether or not what we’re doing is right and good for us. We must shift from self doubt to belief. If we tap into our true gifts and unleash our essence, we come from a place of strength. It is possible to be all we can during the dream job process.

9. Not knowing what you would love to do

Most people don’t know what they want or what they enjoy doing. They don’t know what they value or believe in. They aren’t sure where they are going and how to get there. This frustration of not knowing freezes people from taking the risk and having the courage to find out what they would love to do.

10. Fear of making the wrong decision

Each decision you make will lead you down a unique path with challenges and opportunities of its own. You may have several options you would like to try and worry that only one will be the right one and spend endless time trying to decide which is best. Thinking a situation through in a thorough manner is a good thing. We weigh pros and cons and find the best way to achieve our goals. However, analyzing can be used to avoid action. We can make endless lists, but if items never get checked off the list, what good is it? It’s easy to get lost in the details and never get around to doing anything because you’re too busy planning for every possible contingency. Life is not so easily split into right or wrong, black or white. It is made up of many shades of gray. Don’t allow analysis to become an excuse for inaction.

Helen Keller said, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”

How to Find Best Career Advice? Play Ball, Not Small

The coach of high school baseball team became so frustrated with the fielding performance of his error-prone first basemen that he decided to devote the next day of practice to demonstrate firsthand the fundamentals of how the position should be played.

At the outset of this “hands-on” training session, the first ball hit towards the coach took a bad hop and clobbered him in the chest. The coach’s next opportunity to “shine” came in form of a high pop fly hit just outside of the first base line. Lost in the bright sun, the ball glanced off the heel of his glove and hit him squarely in the forehead. Later an errant throw from the shortstop forced the coach to stretch so far to catch the ball that he tore the seat of his pants. Exasperated, the coach turned to his pupil handed him the glove and shouted, “You’ve got this position so messed up, even I can’t do anything with it.”

What does baseball have to do with finding your dream job or loving the job you already have, you ask? When clients turn to me to find best career advice, many are much like the short-sighted coach and his negatively-influenced first basemen, they possess erroneous assumptions and beliefs about that particular field that limits them from understanding why they are so drawn to a certain type of job and, ultimately, their capacity to enjoy it.

In my own coaching experience, I had client who came to me to find best career advice. She wanted to become a Field Biologist, but the moment we started talking about how to pursue his dream, a very negative image manifested itself causing him to balk about actually following through with it. He said, “They spend over 90% of their time in the lab working long hours alone and almost every biologist I know will tell you that they simply do not enjoy their work.”

“Playing small is an easy way out,” I replied. “It is convenient, safe, and comfortable. Most of us live our lives in an average manner in order to preserve the status quo. Average has become the norm because over 90% of the people around us live this way. They just don’t think that there is anything more. They don’t even think to dream big, let alone act on it. The blinders they’ve had on for so many years so distort their vision of the future that they believe their position in life is all there is and the only thing to do is just accept it. They’re not stifling their dreams; they don’t even realize they can dream.”

The key error in my client’s limited analysis is that there are plenty of field biologists who actually love the work that they do. Here are five simple tips to help you avoid playing “small ball” and how to get to “first base” in finding the career you are truly passionate about:

1. Reflect on times when you have wholeheartedly embraced the possibility of greatness.

Think back over life to times when you’ve felt yourself unquestionably embrace greatness and follow your passions. What did that feel like? What did you think? What did you do? What happened because of your actions? How can you recreate that experience in your life now?

2. Live Each Day Without Limitations

Each and every day make sure you do something to put yourself in a mindset that is not limiting. Make yourself your “self-care” and your deepest passions a priority. Do one new thing each day. Have new experiences, open your mind to new possibilities and begin to do things “out of the box.”

3. Reinforce Greatness By Slaying The “Energy Vampires”

Having negative energies in our lives can easily bring us down and encourage further negativity in us. We have all encountered “energy vampires” in workplace, social and, worst of all, family environments that are filled with emotionally draining energy that we literally have to force ourselves to go back again. Take notice of these people and places and replace them with positive energy resources as much as possible. Talk to uplifting people, read inspiring literature and post inspiring quotes throughout your home or office. Paint a room, get new furniture, buy a new wardrobe. Do whatever it takes to surround yourself with as many positives attributes as you can and watch your life open up.

4. Maintain A Strong Sense Of Who You Are

What are your likes and dislikes? What do you really feel at this moment? What is your opinion on world politics, religion, art or philosophy? Do you simply pick up the opinion of the moment or only the popular things? Or do you truly know your innermost self and who you are? Make time to reflect and get to know yourself. Sort out your feelings from those of everyone around you. Explore your needs and wants. Having a good sense of who you are will encourage you to expand your life and yourself.

5. Take Notice Each Day Of What You Truly Enjoy

Take some time each day to tune into your inner voice. Listen to what resonates with you and what you truly enjoy. What excites you most about your potential dream job or the job you already have? Make it a morning or evening ritual to take 15 minutes to have some personal quiet time and really take stock of what turns your inner light on.

By learning and applying these techniques on a regular basis your awareness of when you’re playing “small ball” will greatly increase, empowering you to refocus on the total greatness that’s within your grasp. Remember, you will become as small as your controlling desire and only as great as your most dominant aspiration.

What did premiere athletes like Mickey Mantle, Michael Jordan and Joe Montana all have in common? Answer: they all benefited from the knowledge of a great coach.

Dare to Be Great

When you look at your life, where do you see your greatness shining? Are you creating a new invention, solving an age-old problem, helping others in new ways? Greatness comes in many forms. For each person, it is something different and technology offers many variations for new techniques. It can shine when you are with your family or friends, while working, during telephone conversations or even while washing dishes. Look deep within yourself and let out the magnificence. When does everything seem to click perfectly?

Maybe you can’t decide where your true potential is centered yet. If this is a difficult question, think about what gives you pure satisfaction. Do you enjoy working with people, with tools or with ideas? If you could only choose one, which would it be? Ask yourself, Where is my greatness? Sit back, relax and close your eyes. If competition gives you a thrill, imagine that you’re heading toward the finish line in the Olympic 100 meter Dash. Though your closest competitor is a stride behind, you give it your all and exceed your previous time by several tenths of a second. Greatness isn’t only about winning a race but about striving to reach your best and then exceeding it.

Imagine all the possibilities when you dare to be great. Maybe you are skilled in getting opposing groups to come to an agreement. This is a skill used not just between family members or between management and unions; it is how nations step back from the ravages of war. The ability to help others resolve differences without losing face is a talent just as important as that of a scientist who discovers a new cure to an old disease or an inventor who develops a new device.

Whatever part of you that rises to a particular challenge, that leans forward with a sense of excitement at this unexpected opportunity is the part you must listen to for it is this inner excitement you feel that offers the potential for greatness. Whether you achieve fame or wealth may be beyond your control, but you will achieve something far more valuable in life — personal satisfaction. When you dare to be great, you will have the calm warmth of knowing that what you’ve done today you’ve done well and you’ve enjoyed the doing of it.

We deserve all the treasures life has to offer and the first step toward this destination is allowing yourself to experience your full potential, your personal greatness. If you enjoy the process of a particular activity as well as the end result you are shooting for, you may have found something worth focusing upon. James Dillet Freeman said, “Dare to be what you are meant to be and to do what you are meant to do, and life will provide you the means to do it and be it.”

What Do These Legends have In Common? They Knew How to Find a Career Coach.

Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali and Florence Griffith Joyner all had it in common. Shaquille O’Neal, Mark McGwire and Venus Williams have it in common today. They all had a drive for results. And they all used coaches.

But why would anybody want a career coach? Aren’t careers something we’re supposed to understand how to navigate from point A to point B? Isn’t this inherent knowledge we are just born with? Why would anyone need a coach to show you how to do something you already know how to do?

The answer is because you don’t know how to do this already without a lot of unnecessary mistakes and backtracking. Sure you can go through the motions, and actually have some successes. To get there you need an inordinate about of drive, self-discipline and a very thick skin. You’ll also need a lot of extra time, probably years.

I’ll be the first one to say that it’s a lot easier to just sit back and watch time tick. Plenty of people do it. Don’t ask them if they’re satisfied though. Sadly, they prefer to not think about it. Or they may launch into a sermon about the toil of life. Believe me, I’ve heard them all.

When I left my project management job in Hong Kong, I spent a good six months trying to find a job that I actually loved. To save money, a friend literally let me rent out a closet in his apartment. It was 2 feet by 2 feet, 4 * feet high and pitch black. I had to buy a bed a five year old would sleep on that I had to fold in half in order to shut the door. My family and close friends stopped believing in me, which made me stop believing in myself. They thought it was ridiculous that I was searching for a job that I loved. They told me things like:

Take any job, just get a job.
Why are you being so picky?
Why don’t you just lower your expectations?
Why don’t you give up finding a job you’re going to love?
That’s not going to happen.

I wish I had known the “me” I am today back then. If I find a career coach back then, it would have saved me years of needless pain and sadness that I don’t wish on anyone. I would have found fulfillment in my career so much faster with the help of a great coach. The good news is, that the techniques I use today are founded on all the things I found that did and did not work over those years. I believe that coaching is my gift. That part of me is what makes me successful at helping my clients find their unique gifts.

So, what makes a great coach? A great coach is able ascertain the difference between coaching for instruction versus coaching for performance. Both are necessary components, but, like a strategic game, must be used at the right time for most effectiveness.

You’ll find a career coach also has these qualities:

Able to give clarification about what you’re really looking for in a career
Act as a sounding board to your loftiest goals and dreams
Unearth what it takes in your life to find fulfillment
Help you identify what is holding you back from where you want to be
Able to ascertain and handle each client’s unique needs
Accelerate progress
Possess exceptional people and motivational skills
Inspire
Identify and appeal to the core values of the client
Realistically streamline a plan for success

Career Change After Forty? Give Your Friends a Encouraging Push

“There are high spots in all our lives,” wrote George Matthew Adams, “and most of them come about through encouragement from someone else. Encouragement is like oxygen for the soul.”

With recent unemployment figures registering at the highest jobless rate in nearly five years, there are sure to be more and more souls gasping for air in self defeat. Many people now are faced with making a career change after forty. How can we help our friends and family members avoid gloomily succumbing to the depression of temporary joblessness and uncertainty?

A reader of this very newsletter relays the following true story. “A friend mine who is a high-level corporate tech writer was laid off over a month ago and still can’t find a job. The staff jobs he would usually apply for have dried up at the big corporations, Internet start-ups with similar positions have shut down and, as a result, the few contracting positions that remain have more applicants than they ever did before. Here is someone who had to beat the job offers off with a stick as little as 9 months ago and now, maybe for the first time in his life, he has to face…Competition!”

As a coach, who sees many clients making a career change after forty, I see the leaders, parents, teachers and friends knowing how to create an environment that brings out the best in others. For example, take into the consideration the success of Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers.

When asked how she had been able to help so many members around the world, Nidetch shared how she began her passion for encouraging people as a teenager. Often while walking through the park she would encounter mothers chatting while their toddlers sat on swings with no one to push them. “I’d give them a push,” she said. “And you know what happens when you push a kid on a swing? Pretty soon he’s pumping doing it himself. That’s what my role in life is-I’m there to give others a push.”

Here’s a few suggestions to help you initiate a similar “OPERATION PUSH” for any present or past colleague who needs a strong dose of encouragement right now. Begin each day by asking yourself these three questions:

What can I do today to express faith in people?
How can I foster courage in people to do their best?
What specific actions can I take to recognize people for who they are and what they can achieve?

When we eliminate unrealistic expectations, allow for failure without punishment and show appreciation for people’s efforts, a strong foundation is laid for them to excel even in the most difficult of circumstances. Many individuals have gone further in their life than they ever dreamed just because someone else told them they believed they could.

Whoever you are, wherever you might be, there are talents to be uncovered in those around you. I encourage you to give encouragement to the talents you see in others. Compliment them, assure them and stimulate them to make the best possible use of their unemployment to achieve the best potential use of their abilities.

In his book Perceiving, Behaving and Becoming, Carl Rogers offers the following truth, “The degree to which I can create relationships which facilitate the growth of others as separate persons is a measure of the growth I have achieved in myself.”

Relationships provide a marvelous opportunity to give others a push, help them grow, provide encouragement and enhance the quality of their lives. And, in return, when the chips are down for us we will experience the same.

Wondering, “Should I Change My Career to Something I Really Love?”

Are you wondering, “Is now a good time to change my career, to a job I can be more passionate about?”

Maybe it’s soaring to the stars as an astronaut or saving the lives of animals as a veterinarian? How about tracking down clues as a private investigator or directing a Hollywood mystery about one? Or maybe not so dramatic, but no less ambitious, exploring a new job opportunity within the company you’re already employed with?

No matter what you want to accomplish or where you wish to fulfill your life’s work you may have no idea of how to begin or what to do in order to make your dream job a reality.

My client asked me, “How do I change my career and find my dream job?” Perhaps the best way to help you explore the possibilities and pitfalls or to ignite and generate the enthusiastic fuel necessary to bring your dream job into fruition and practicality is to seek out a mentor.

Naturally, this process begins by finding someone who does the work you want to do. However, don’t just settle for a person who is doing what you want to do, most importantly, make sure they are truly passionate about the work they are doing.

In my coaching experience, I have come across clients who have succeeded in identifying individuals who do the type of work they are looking for, but absolutely hate it. Thus, by following their negative example they wind up thinking they would despise their potential dream job just as much.

It stands to reason that the only way to properly complete this assignment, is to find someone who is truly in love with his or her job because only they are capable of conveying the true essence of their passions–and in the process giving you the information and inspiration essential to keep your dreams alive.

Just like reviewing applicants for a vacant position, the most logical way to select the most qualified potential mentor candidate is to conduct an interview. So, of course, in order to make the most of your time with them, you’ll have to come up with some valid questions to ask such as:

What personally led you into this field?

What kind of qualifications do companies look for when filling this position?

What are your major responsibilities?

Is there a solid future and potential for advancement in this particular occupation?
What do you most enjoy about what you do and the company you work for?
What are the major problem areas that constantly need attention in this type of work?
What resources are available to help you get the job done?
How many hours to do you generally work in one week?
If you could do anything differently to advance to this level faster what would you do?

As you interview them, chances are you’ll find a part of yourself in the advice they give which in turn could be the spark that burns the dream even clearer in your mind’s eye, than you could ever have imagined by yourself. Also, it’s possible they found their job in an unconventional manner and counseling with them can help you understand how this process worked so you can replicate this procedure in order to accelerate your own career transition within your company or to a totally different job outside of it.

Finally, having a personally fulfilled mentor gives you, not just the advantage of moral support to sustain your dream, but the hope to realize it is truly possible to do what this person is doing. At the very least, this exercise may help to give you even more ideas to reshape your job to incorporate more of the qualities you crave.

But its up to you to make it happen. Start right now:

List three people who have jobs you might like along with their individual job titles.
List any qualities or activities about their jobs you like?
Finally, come up with creative ways to incorporate these qualities/activities into the job you already have.

Not only will this increase your positive view of yourself and your capabilities, but it could also increase your profile within in the company and pave the way for a promotion when the opportunity presents itself.

Why put it off any longer? Take an action step in the positive direction by sending this article to some potential mentor candidates right now and then begin to interview all interested candidates ASAP! If you are waiting for a mentor to find you, chances are you’ll be waiting for a very long time and postponing a future with unlimited potential.

Successful IT Career Changers: Unleash The Power of Free Agency

How can you become a free agent in today’s Information Technologies workplace? A free agent has power, great freedom, and is in charge of his/her career. Many people think of free agency as existing only in the sports world, but it’s becoming one of the strongest ways to protect yourself against the corporate concept of the 90’s, that people are expendable. With more mergers and acquisitions in the 90’s than the 80’s, companies can’t promise you’ll be a lifelong employee anymore.

If the company has to cut, they will cut people, no matter how great you are. Companies are saying, we do not have a commitment to keep people employed. We only have a commitment to keep them employable.

So yes, you are expendable in the company where you work! However, where you want to work and what you want to do are fully in your control. You can take the power back from the company controlling you and your life so you are in control over what you most want. Those who’ve are successful IT career changers have unleashed the power of free agency.

You can become a free agent inside your current organization, or outside of it, by creating the job you ultimately want. How do you stay employable and become a free agent within the company you work? The best way is to know the skills, values, abilities, talents, gifts, passions, interests and tool sets that make you unique and powerful and leverage them in your current work situation. You’ll be recognized for these skill sets and rewarded financially. Thus, you’ll stay employed by the company.

A similar process occurs when understanding how to create the job you want? Begin by getting to know who you truly are. The best way is the same as above when you wanted to become a free agent within the company you worked (interests, skills, passions, etc.). You begin to touch the freedom of free agency, once you know what you want. You have the power. You have the control. When you know what you want, you’ll attract people who do the work that you most want to do. Your dream job will become a reality.

To be a successful IT career changers, take time this week and write on a piece of paper what your skills, values, abilities, talents, gifts, passions, interests and tool sets are. As you write down your list, become clear on how you are utilizing these assets in your current work situation. If they aren’t being utilized at your work, make changes so that the real you will become a part of your job. Don’t waste your talents just because your environment hasn’t become aware of them. Make your potential or current employer aware and be proactive.

Patanjali in 1st-3rd Century B.C. said, “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

Motivation For Career Change When Times are Bad? Keep Looking, But Don’t Quit Your PAYING Job!

The other day a client was talking to me about pursuing his dream job. He asked for motivation for career change when the economy is so horrible.

My advice was fairly simple: Don’t Quit Your Paying Job!

Let’s get one thing straight, there’s nothing wrong with pursuing your dream job on one hand and having a supplemental job that employs the skills you already have to pay the bills on the other. The trick is not hating the job that brings home the bacon, but finding fulfillment in it by realizing that the income it provides is the means to the end for securing your dream job. Which brings us to the following integral reasons for establishing a long-term plan for success that can help you have the motivation for career change later when you are ready

Don’t try to build your dream career without a plan. If you told a contractor that you wanted to build a house, the first thing they would ask for would be for the blueprint. Lumber and concrete are no good unless you have a plan to put them together. The same goes for your ambition and innate abilities without any sense of direction.
A plan provides a clear picture of where you are and where you are going.
In a little league baseball game, a boy got a hit, ran to first base, on to second, then hesitated and yelled to his coach, “Where is third base?” During this brief moment of confusion the shortstop tagged him out.
When searching for your dream job, you must have a carefully thought out plan covering all your bases and, in most cases, a supplementary income to take you all the way to “home plate” or you will you get lost along the way.
A plan keeps you moving in the right direction. Suppose you were on a nonstop flight to the Orient and heard this announcement: “Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking. We’re traveling west across the Pacific Ocean. In a few hours, you will be able to look down and see land. When that happens, we’re going to start looking for a big city with an airport. If we find one before our fuel runs out we’ll land. Then we’ll figure out where we are and decide where we want to go next. In the meantime folks, just sit back, relax and enjoy your trip.
If you find this scenario tremendously unnerving how can you even imagine “taking off” in search of your dream career without first conducting a “flight check” by planning ahead?
We can lose it all by prematurely deviating from the plans that have got us where we are so far. In the first century B.C., the gladiator Spartacus led a rebellion in the city of Capua to gain freedom for himself and other slaves under the dominion of the Roman Empire. At first his rag-tag army was invincible whenever Spartacus guided them into battle. His plan was to fight their way northward into the Alps and then escape back into their individual homelands. The plan would have worked, but the slaves overconfident from past successes, refused to continue their retreat homeward and insisted that Spartacus stand and fight against the entire Roman Empire. As result most of the rebel army, including Spartacus was destroyed and the few remaining survivors were returned to captivity.

As you can see when the stakes are high (i.e. your income, health insurance, standard of living, food supply, rent or mortgage payment, etc.) there is absolutely no substitute for advanced planning. As minister Robert Schuller once said, “Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”