The Best Career Advice - Love What You Do

I think that we all want to do what we love, but the idea of following our dreams always seems to be a little too far off for us to visualize. The problem is that we are all stuck with this idea that doing something we love means making a huge change or packing up and running off with the circus or something.



It doesn't.



The best career advice is to love what you do. It doesn't mean that you are always going to be doing what you love, but when you love what you do, you can't help but be passionate about it. Accomplishing this is whole lot easier than you'd think, too.



Here's how it works. Make a list of the things that are the most important to you in your life. Not who or where, but the things that are especially important to you. Take some time to really sit with this list. If you have children, it isn't enough to just say "My kids are important". Examine that and find out if providing for your family is something that is a burning desire inside of you. Of course, we all want to be able to earn enough money to support our family, that's a given, but some people are considerably more family oriented. It's sort of like, we all want our kids to have a good education, but not all of us find it important enough to want to enter the education field.



Once you have an idea of the things that mean the most to you, think about the things you are good at and the things that hold you back. Don't pass judgement on them, just write them down. Take a hard look at the items on your list and find a way to combine all of those skills into a job you want. For example, I spend too much time daydreaming, I love to read and prefer to work alone. I'm an introvert, but when I have the chance to talk with people and share ideas, I do enjoy it. Although I've often been put in a leadership role throughout my career, I'm not a good manager. I spend a lot of time asking questions like "Why", "How come?" and "What if?". The answers to those question often cause me to make up stories and come up with complex plot lines. My friends often say that I take things too far, but I think I don't take them quite far enough.



I began to realize that these things aren't just personality quirks or faults, they are the things that make me perfectly suited for being a writer. In fiction, I can create people, ask all the questions I want and even torture my characters just to see what happens next. This is what I love, and so I set a goal to become become a "chick-lit" writer. Although I haven't completely reached my goal, just by having it in mind, I can look for ways to incorporate what I love into almost any job.



Each job I take, even if it doesn't directly relate to my end goal, has something to offer me that will help me on the path to achieving the success I want. If I were to take a job at a library, at a bookstore or even working the register at a gas station, I could find a way to use the experience to build on my skills, become better at what I do, and look at each job as a step toward my goal. Suddenly, the dreary job I have to do to in order to pay the bills doesn't suck nearly as bad. I can love what I do, because I know that it's making me better, faster and stronger.



When you can find a way to love what you do, no matter how humble, showing an employer that you are passionate about your job is easy. Then, you don't have to worry so much about how to say the right thing during an interview or how to stand out from the pack. Your passion and enthusiasm will shine through, making an employer instantly see why you are the right person for the job.



If you're waiting tables while trying to get an acting career going, love your job because it gives you the chance to talk to people on a daily basis and it gives you the flexibility to go to auditions. While you're at work, you have an opportunity to watch your customer's body language, knowing without being told when they need something or when they are looking for you. These observations can carry over to help you become a better actor as well. Your boss will love you, because you are enthusiastic and passionate about what you do, even though it isn't your dream job.



Enthusiasm is one of the most underrated job skills. Find a way to be excited about what you do and it will make all the difference.



What do you think? How do you stay excited about your job? Please share your thoughts in the comments.