Making Your Dream Job Happen – Part 1
November 11, 2008 
9 Comments
How many people do you know who hate what they do for a living,
but who will volunteer — give their time/resources away for free — to do something for which they have a passion? Are you one of those people?
Is your current career path fulfilling?
Are you happy and satisfied with your professional and personal lives? If not, then perhaps it’s time to create a plan that will start you on the path to your “dream job”.
If you’re currently looking for a job, that’s another good reason
to take a look now at what’s important to you. A little introspection can go a long way toward helping you make good choices among the options available to you.
Identify Priorities and Develop Corresponding Goals
Be honest. Thoroughly assess your life and decide what you want out of life (goals), and what you are willing to sacrifice to attain those goals.
- Don’t be vague.
Invest time to really consider what your priorities are. Be specific, and write them down. - It’s important to identify, up front, sacrifices you’re willing to make.
They will be much easier to deal with when the time comes to make them. - Distinguish between “Wants” and “Must Haves”:
Maybe you want to be a successful author of children’s books. Maybe you want to run your own home-based business selling something you currently love to do as a hobby. Maybe you want to be the top aid to a Senator. Write down each “want.”
Next is the more challenging step: figuring out your “must haves”
The goals and dreams you consider essential to achieving happiness and success. Think long, hard, and honestly about which of your goals is most important to you, and what you’d be willing to sacrifice to attain each. If it’s very important to you to do volunteer work in your community several times a week, rank that goal high on your priority list. If having dinner with your family every night is critical to your happiness, that should also be on the priority list. Place those things you “wouldn’t mind” doing (like working as a roadie for a rock band) to a lower spot on your list.
Developing this list will definitely give you a better sense of what’s really important to you
What goals and dreams are essential to achieving happiness and success. Now you can go about attaining your goals, knowing which are most important to you, and which you are willing to sacrifice to get what you truly want.
Be Open to Change and Adjustment
Expect your priorities to change throughout your life, so be prepared to periodically go through this process of identifying priorities. It is especially important to do this whenever faced with a big decision or a potential turning point in your life or career, such as whether to take a new job or move to a new city. But, it’s also a good idea to work through the process at the beginning of each new year to make sure you stay on track.
Thoughtful assessments can make all the difference
between a satisfying life with a fulfilling career and a future peppered with regrets. You’ll find it time well spent.
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Thanks for helping me define the difference between “wants” and “must-haves”. My dream job is within my grasp.
Sometimes in life we have to make a dramatic move to shake things up and try something new. For example, perhaps you never thought you could be successful in sales; so you never took a chance on a commissioned sales position. You would be surprised who can make a great salesperson… former teachers, receptionists, military personnel are just a few examples. You will never know if you never try.
Eye-opening information, I need all the help I can get.
Ahhh the secret of life, waking up every morning and LOVING what you do. As always these articles are so helpful.
Sandra has the spirit that we all need. I’d love to LOVE my job. Maybe I’ll take another look at it and find something I can be happy about and love going to work every day.
Some good advice, sometimes you may have to pay your dues and wait your turn; You may have to take some risks
and even “burn some hamburgers” before you get it right.
I am a little older now and change has been something I try to avoid. I know in order to survive in the current world I have to break that trait. I had a job I loved until I was told it was no longer available. I have to change and I hope I can.
I know what I would love to do but in this economy it’s quite hard to leave a job and pursue my dream. The problem I face is I’ve had the same dream for over 20 years and if I don’t act on my passion now, I might be dead before I see it come to fruition. I design Christian art and tee shirts by the way. Thanks for the blog.
Oops! Accidentally hit the submit button. If I were to start a job search I would need to upgrade my resume and I would want to work in a graphic artist studio or silk screen company making t-shirts. I once owned all the material needed to do it myself but I no space for it. It was a waste of almost 7000.00. I’m not sure even a mentor would help in this time of my life.