What do you want to do with your life? That’s a question that I have struggled with for years and have written about several times. I’m constantly trying to figure out what would make me happy professionally, as well as, personally. For the topic of this post I’ll focus on the career part. I’m a big believer that we spend most of our lives at work so it’s very important to love what you do. Now, I’m not saying that you need to love every aspect of your job (god knows there are plenty of mundane tasks to every job), but the things like the organization you work for, the people you work with and the problem you are trying to solve are all very important. Out of these three, people are the most the important. You’ll find this is always the case. There are other aspects to your work such as money, travel and flexibility that are all factors to consider. Some people will be completely happy if they make a ton of money period. Don’t be one of these people. Life is to short. My advice is to figure out what will make you happy in a job if you were to look back at your career. Start from the end. How do you want to be remembered? Then go find it or create it. That’s it. It’s pretty simple. I’m not claiming to have all the answers I’m still looking myself, but how do you know it’s not out there if you don’t try?
As an aside, how do you know if you love what you do? You just do. It’s hard to explain. You find yourself consumed by it. Laying in bed at night trying to fall asleep as quickly as humanly possible so you can wake up and jet back to work first thing in the morning. Thoughts racing in your head constantly on how-to improve your idea or work. You have a “bounce” in your step as you go to work. Granted people go through ups and downs in life and that applies to work as well. Maybe your stuck in a project you aren’t enjoying or maybe you have a new boss that you aren’t getting along with. Recognize that life is not perfect and neither is any job. Do your best to fix the situation or move on. Be proactive with your career.
I’ll leave you with this. One of the most inspiring speeches that I have read about “doing what you love” was the one that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford’s commencement last year. I’ve read it several times and it’s gets better every time. Definitely check it out. I’m not going to give it away, but Steve Jobs tells three inspiring stories from his life.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
