Unless you are independently wealthy or have found a way to make a living without doing any actual work, your financial success is going to depend on providing some type of product or service. Something as important as your financial success should be based on your own desires and values, however, not by the type of work that is available.
We’ve all done it. We decide to find a new job, or start a business, and the first things that we think about are the types of work we are qualified for, what employment is available, or what type of business we think that we could succeed at. How is it possible that an entire culture so completely ignores their own desires when it comes to making career decisions?
Am I saying that you should ignore the facts and try to sell surfboards in Siberia? No. However, if you lived in Siberia and you really wanted to sell surfboards, you COULD find a way!
There is an almost global self-limiting belief that our ability to make money is dependent on factors that – in truth – are merely side notes to a wealth creation plan, rather than being the main considerations:
- To do a certain type of work you need a certain type of education. I call B.S.! Actually, what you need is experience, and the only way to get experience is to do the work. Ask any college grad under the age of 25 who is out looking for a job right now how effective their degree has been in landing them a high-paying position.
- The economy has a lot to do with the success of any given business model. I call B.S.! Yes, the economy is a factor, but if the economy is the main consideration, why are people still buying Jaguars, Ferrari’s, 5-figure pieces of jewelry, cinema-like home entertainment systems, and why are they still taking vacations to the Bahamas?
- A proper business plan is needed to ensure success. I call B.S.! When I ran my own personal training business, I shut it down at the height of my success when I would have made $100,000 that year. My entire business plan consisted of a website and one monthly advertisement that I paid less than $10 per month for.
There is only one factor that should be your prime consideration when you are trying to decide what you want to do for a living, and that is what you want to do. No matter what it is that you truly enjoy doing in life, there is some way that you can make money by doing it.
- People get paid right now to go bar-hopping with tourists on paid “pub crawls”.
- People get paid to design, test, and play video games.
- People get paid to eat at the finest restaurants, and then write about it.
- People get paid to write smarmy content on the Internet even though the content is given away for free.
- People get paid to travel all over the world and film themselves enjoying the global culture.
- People get paid to go diving and snorkeling in the most beautiful waters that this planet has to offer.
I could go on and on, but you should get the point by now. You can get paid to do what you love, no matter what it is that you love to do.
Pretty cool, huh?
The fastest way to determine whether or not your present career or a career that you are considering is going to be successful over the long-term is to write up a Personal Vision Statement for your career, and then simply compare your career options to that statement.
In order to write up your Personal Vision Statement, you simply need to ask yourself:
- What do I truly enjoy doing?
- What parameters have to be a part of (or absent from) my career?
That’s it! Don’t turn it into an 8-page dissertation – this is just an outline that you can use as a sanity check when you are considering your career options. Here is my example:
- What do I truly enjoy doing? I enjoy empowering people to create success and happiness in their lives.
- What parameters have to be a part of (or absent from) my career? The majority of my work has to be able to be done from anywhere in the world, and my work has to include residual sources of income.
Do you see how this is an outline that I can use to compare career options, rather than it being a business plan? Whenever I come up with an idea for a business, or when I am offered a job, or when I consider getting involved in a joint venture, all I have to do is compare that opportunity to my Personal Vision Statement. If the business idea, the job, or the joint venture does not fit into my Personal Vision Statement, then I do not get involved in it.
This is not rocket science, people, so please don’t over-think it. Ask yourself those 2 questions, and then give yourself honest answers based on what you want – not on what you think is possible.
What is possible is limited only by what you believe that you can do. Create that belief by being passionate about your desires, and success will be a natural – and glorious – side effect.
Acknowledgment: This post was inspired by Shama Hyder’s free report, Online Marketing Plan. Thanks, Shama!
Hi There,
I could not agree more. Just picking up on one point, it is so important to make sure that our goals are distated by what we enjoy doing rather than what will earn us the most money.
If we enjoy doing something then the money will surely follow.
Cheers,
John Edwards
http://www.loa-makeover.com
John,
Indeed – doing something that we enjoy is how we get the money to flow. The problem starts when people think that they can’t get paid to do things that they find fun. There is always a way! 🙂
“There is only one factor that should be your prime consideration when you are trying to decide what you want to do for a living, and that is what you want to do.”
I think that should be turned into a mantra for some people!
Far too many are doing work they don’t enjoy because it either pays well or its “all they know”. That’s no way to live a life. I follow your advice, Aaron, and choose to live a life that I will enjoy, doing things I love doing! With the Internet and todays technology, its never been easier to follow your bliss. I hope more people follow your advice, Aaron.
Warmly,
Gary
Gary,
I agree that those types of affirmations should become mantras! That is one of the reasons why I create the graphics that I sometimes put in these posts – to further drive home a point that is worth remembering.
And you’re right about people just doing the things that they know. We tend to stay where we are comfortable, but in all actuality there have never been so many easy and inexpensive ways to learn new skills, or to research new opportunities!
Amen.
Patricia,
I can’t argue with that!! 🙂
Hi Aaron,
What an inspiring post! I feel as if I would like to take action rightaway…er..except that I already have…LOL!! But seriously speaking, you’ve laid out the cards for those who are considering a career change. If they want to reach for their dreams badly enough, there will always be a way!
Evelyn
Thanks for the great feedback, Evelyn!
Deciding on a career can be such a huge deal for some people, and I find that simplifying the situation by sticking to our desires is the easiest way to cut through all the fog! 😉
Aaron,
Thanks for the insights, and keep it up! I just finished reading James Arthur Ray’s newest book, Harmonic Wealth, and I had to share this concept he has that I think makes so much sense: LIVING FROM THE OUTCOME (Page 322). James says that most people live toward the outcome, meaning you are living like you don’t have it yet. He says you should shift your thinking so that you are LIVING FROM THE OUTCOME and thus sending out the energy to the world that you already have it. Think, feel, and act like you’ve already made it and the universe will say “Your wish is my command.”
For me, that meant acting like I was more valuable as an individual – acting like a $500 a day earner instead of a $150 a day earner (no more reality TV marathons!) and acting like a thin and fit woman instead of a slightly overweight and sometimes lazy woman (goodbye Ranch Doritos!). Honestly, in the two weeks since I put down the book, things have started changing. And I think it really comes down to that one concept.
Check out the Harmonic Wealth site and link to the book: harmonicwealth.com/read
– a James Ray fan
JR Fan,
I’m a big fan of James’ teachings as well, and his concept of “Living from the Outcome” is basically the same thing that Law of Attraction teachers call having a sense of expectation that we’ll get what we want.
From an energetic standpoint, we get what we resonate for, so if we want something, we should resonate the fact that we already have it. It makes sense when you keep it simple! 🙂
Amen, Aaron! Every once in a while I come across a post that motivates me to use that phrase. Thanks for an awesome article!
Al,
If I have written something that makes someone want to bust out a rare “Amen!” then I am about as happy as any writer could be!
So very glad that you enjoyed it, Al! 🙂
I couldn’t agree more with your suggested approach. About 3 years ago I decided that enough was enough – I just had to have a career change.
My own similar analysis showed me what I really loved doing and what the ‘must haves and must avoids’ were. Two key points were that I love working with people to help them develop and I like to spend time with my own family.
The result is that I now have a job where the sole focus is developing people. I work from home about 3 days a week (and also earn more…..even though that was about half way down the list)! I didn’t think it would have been possible at the time….but now I am living proof that it is!
Chris
https://learn2develop.blogspot.com
Chris,
That is awesome – thank you so much for sharing your success story!
It’s such a simple process, and one that every single person can do. “My career must include this, and it can’t include that.”
Very simple, but very effective. Enjoy your success, Chris!
Aaron, you are such a guiding light! Thank you for being a wonderful revealer of truth and explaining it in such a way as to help so many people.
You really are awesome! HUGS! Hope your day is as good as you deserve!!
Thank you so much, Savannah!
I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to inspire so many people to be all that they want to be, so thanks for reading and giving me that chance with you! 🙂