Career Compass: Follow Your Passion

As a retired "jarhead, I offer my experiences and advice to help you improve your career. It's my firm belief that you should follow your passions instead of staying in a job that brings you no satisfaction.

For instance, I once met a waiter who dreamt of becoming an electrician but continued to work as a waiter out of convenience and fear of change. This is a perfect example of why setting goals and making actionable plans for achieving your dream career is important.

My mission is to guide individuals in finding a career that fits their skills and life aspirations. My book, "Find a Job That Fits Your Life," is a comprehensive guide designed for those unsure about their career path and looking for direction. Together, we can turn your dreams into reality by taking decisive steps towards a fulfilling career.

As someone who has navigated the often complex world of career transitions, I can assure you that the journey to your dream job is both possible and rewarding. Here are some key points to keep in mind on your quest:

• Identify Your Passion: Reflect on what genuinely excites you. What activities or topics do you find yourself drawn to, even in your leisure time?
• Assess Your Skills: Take an inventory of your strengths and experiences. Consider how these can be transferred or adapted to a new field.
• Set Clear Goals: Define what success looks like for you. Establish both short-term and long-term goals to help guide your efforts.
• Create a Plan: Outline the steps necessary to achieve your goals. This could include further education, networking, or gaining relevant experience.
• Take Action: Start implementing your plan with confidence. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes; it's part of the learning process.
• Seek Support: Surround yourself with a supportive network of friends, family, and mentors who can provide guidance and encouragement.
• Be Persistent: Stay committed to your goals, even when faced with obstacles. Remember that change takes time and perseverance.

By following these principles, you can steer your career in a direction that aligns with your aspirations. My book, "Find a Job That Fits Your Life," offers additional insights and tools to support you on this journey.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi folks. Well, the old jarhead is back with career advice that is guaranteed to help you and, no matter what you're doing, if you follow what I tell you, you're going to have a better career. Okay, so today we're going to ramble on about something that I've observed over the last couple years of doing career coaching, and I'll start with a little story that is representative of it. So, talking with a waiter the other day and he said he was looking at moving on from the restaurant that he he was working on and he was thinking of applying to some other restaurants, and I said, oh, that's, that's great. And, uh, you really like being a waiter? And he says, no, no, not at all. What I really want to get into is, um, become an electrician, get into the trades. And I said, okay, so so why are you applying for another waiter job and not looking at doing something in the field you want to go into, like get an apprenticeship or do something along those lines? And I think his response was you know, I don't know, it's just kind of easier. I know, I know how to be a waiter and I've got a pretty good resume and I can get a job that pays okay.

Speaker 1: 1:32

So the point of the matter is, if you keep doing that, right, you just keep going on and saying, look, I'm just going to apply for another waiter position and keep going. Eventually you're going to get to this point where you go. What am I doing? You know, I'm now kind of in the middle age and I'm still waiting on tables and got a roommate here that I'm living with. That I don't really like and you know, and I really wanted to get into that being an electrician, but now it's a little hard to do that. Now it's a little more difficult because I'm older and whatnot.

Speaker 1: 2:06

So the point of the matter here is that if there's something that you really want to do, but you're doing something else and you continue to do it, you continue to go down that path, you continue to work in a field that you really don't want to work in. You got to ask yourself why. And so, if you find yourself in that position, what's the first thing to do? Well, the first thing to do and this gets back to last week's podcast is set a goal, right. What are you aiming for? What's your vision? Do you want to be an electrician or a ballet dancer or anything along those lines. Make sure you know and lay out a plan. Sure, maybe you'll continue waiting tables while you execute that plan. Contact people, reach out to trade organizations or unions and things like that.

Speaker 1: 2:57

But my point here is do something right. Don't keep going down the path of where you are if you truly don't want to be on that path. A lot of people do that and sometimes they find themselves older and they've got a mortgage or they have something else and it's a little more difficult for them to move back in their professional sense and to have a lower paycheck, if you will. So Think about that, if this fits you, think about this position where you are what you're doing and you don't want to get to that point where it's too hard. Your bills, your things like that that I just mentioned, are too high for you to start over again. Start over again when you can Now.

Speaker 1: 3:46

There'll be times in your life and I talk about military retirement People retire from the military when they're relatively young, okay, and they can do other things, and it may be time for a sea change. This is a great thing. Don't just go into being a defense consultant. If you really wanted to do something else right, now's the time. You have a retirement check, you can do that.

Speaker 1: 4:07

So, anyhow, just rambling around here a little bit and let me know what you think. But if you find, if this is you right, if this is you, you're doing something you don't want to do and you keep doing it, stop, you know, write down what it is you want to do, make a plan and start executing that plan. Well, and if you're not sure what you want to do, what sort of job fits your life? Well, I got a great book, okay, it's called find a job that fits your life. It's on Amazon, a number of the bookstores. You can order it online and it'll really help you. And so that's about all the rambling I got time for today. So thanks for listening. Bye, thank you, thank you.