Love What You Do [And Make a Living Doing It]| How to Conduct Your Dream Job Search

We all have a story about how we got to where we are in our lives. Our stories consist of the circumstances that brought us to live where we live and live with those who we are living with, along with how we got all of the things we have and how we started doing what we do to make a living (what we do for work.)

I love the quote above because there is so much truth to it. If you enjoy what you do every day to make a living, it will never feel like work. I have had “jobs” before that I loved so much I was the person who said “If I won the lottery today, I would still go to work and keep my job.” It’s great when the end of your weekend rolls around and it doesn’t come with a feeling of dread about getting up for work the next morning.

Of course, I have also had jobs that kept me up all night stressing about going to work the next day and the nightmares I would have to deal with and the fires I would have to put out all day.

If you have stressed out feelings about your work and you dread going in every day, it can impact all aspects of your life.

You are not alone in feeling this way. Wikipedia describes Occupational Stress as stress relating to work responsibilities and pressures that do not line up with your knowledge, skills or expectations. Click here to read more about Occupational Stress.

The good news for you is that it is never too late to figure out what you are passionate about and conduct your dream job search. You deserve to love what you do to make a living.

Follow these steps to find out how you can make a career change and love what you do to earn a living so you never have to work another day in your life.

Step 1: Be honest with yourself about why you are unhappy.

If you have a look similar to the guy above when you think about going to work then clearly you are unhappy and you are aware of just how unhappy you are. You may hate your job, which means you are dissatisfied with your employer, or your immediate supervisor, or maybe your coworkers. Or you may feel like you don’t have opportunity for growth in your current role. A new job could be the change you need.

Or you may find you don’t like your career, which is a bigger than your job because it doesn’t mean, for example, leaving one teaching job to teach a different grade or taking on more responsibility like principal or superintendent. If you are unhappy with your career it might mean leaving teaching all together and making a complete career change.

So, figuring out if you dislike the work you are doing or if you dislike where your are doing your work is a critical first step to take before making any life altering decisions.

Step 2: Clarify What it is That You Think Will Make You Happy.

This is the fun part where you get to brainstorm. Honestly, there isn’t anything you should exclude from this list. If you have knowledge, skills or a passion for something, put it on the list. Take a minute – grab a piece of paper and a pen and write your list. This is not a tough exercise. My list includes things like reading, taking long walks, drinking coffee, taking care of the flower gardens, helping people, going on vacation, nice dinners, and so much more. I can easily fill up an entire page with things I enjoy having or doing.

The path you take will be faster and easier if you leverage your existing job skills or expertise learned from hobbies. This doesn’t mean you can’t do anything you want, it just means some things might have a longer learning curve and therefore involve greater effort and expense on your part to get the skill you need.

A little later I’ll share with you a simple strategy to turn any knowledge, skill or passion into a lucrative full time income. It’s pretty cool and it’s what I chose to do when I changed careers and followed my passion.

Step 3: Find Out What it Takes

Do you already possess the skills or knowledge to jump into this new role? Or will you need to take a class or several, or can you take a certificate class? Will you need a license and how do you qualify to get a license?

Sometimes it is as simple as taking a short online course to become proficient in an area so you can check off “yes, you can prepare a Power Point presentation.” Sometimes you may need a degree. This would take a little more thought as to whether you feel the investment would really get you long term career stability and happiness. And, are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary, such as missing family time to take a class or using your lunch break to learn a new skill.

Taking all of this into consideration, if you have found your path, you will need to develop a plan.

Step 4: Developing a Plan For Action

You previously thought out what skills you may need to acquire. What are the other major things you need to do to accomplish your goal.

Make a timeline of the major tasks you have to take care of to get from the here and now to the new chapter of your career. Start with what you can do today, then include weekly tasks and goals and monthly and yearly if needed. Even if you can’t adhere to your timeline (I know life has a way of interrupting our plans sometimes) as long as you keep moving you will get there.

If you start to worry about how long it may take you to get the job or career that you truly want think about this. If it is going to take you 5 years to get there and you are worried that is too long because you will be that much older – trust me whether you go for your dream job or you don’t go for your dream job, in 5 years you will still be 5 years older. You will either be right where you are or you will have changed your life for the better. Make the most of your time.

Start by taking one small step so you can check that first thing off your timeline. Once you get going you will find it motivating and inspiring to check things off and you will begin to see the possibility of a new opportunity.

Step 5: Take Action on Your Plan

Start by taking one small step so you can check that first thing off your timeline. Once you get going you will find it motivating and inspiring to check things off and you will begin to see the possibility of a new opportunity.

Align yourself with people who believe in your goals and who will help you stay motivated and encourage you all along the way. These are the people who will pick you up when you are down and doubtful and they are the people who will celebrate every task you complete and every accomplishment no matter how big or small it may be.

As you progress toward your goal, start to see yourself already there and present yourself as being the person you are becoming. State openly what you are doing and how your previous career will help you be even better than others when you launch into your new career. You have unique skills, make sure to capitalize on all of them.

Step 6: Find Your People

Your current circle most likely consists of people similar to you. If you are making a career move you should surround yourself with people who are already in the career you are working toward. This is important for so many reasons including:

• learning the lingo
• finding resources related to a new field
• networking
• job searches
• validation

Join clubs or organizations to meet new colleuges.

Both on the way to and well into your new career you will have a richer and more rewarding journey when you can spend time with people who are passionate about, and understand what you do and where you are coming from.

The people you align with will compose your very own dream job society.

Step 7: Go For It!

There is a scary time when you are reaching the point of checking of all of the items on your timeline or to do list. You have new skills, maybe a new degree or certification, and you know some people in the field who you have been networking with. At this time you will start being presented with some opportunities. Your new dream job society will be telling you about positions they think you might be well suited for, they might even out right offer you a position.

You might feel anxious or like you aren’t ready but they wouldn’t say it if they didn’t believe in you. Take a deep breath and go for it. You have prepared and when the right opportunity presents itself, grab it.

In Conclusion

Change is a scary thing. It’s what keeps people stuck where they are for years. People stay in so many unhappy or unhealthy situations because they are afraid of change. They are afraid others won’t approve of their choice or they might fail.

So, how do some people successfully make a change? They start with one small task. They take the first step and check off the first thing on their timeline. Then they take small and consistent steps toward the first small goal.

After that they continue to take small and consistent steps toward the next goal and the next, climbing mountains and overcoming obstacles and setbacks, until they have achieved success.

Here’s the secret – Successful people don’t quit.

BONUS

Earlier I promised that I would share with you the system I use to make a full time income doing what I am passionate about. I want to share this with you because you can utilize this same system to make money with anything (absolutely anything) you have skills in or knowledge of, or anything you are interested in or passionate about. It is called affiliate marketing.

When I first started looking for a career change because I wanted to leave the stressful executive rat race, I didn’t know what affiliate marketing was. I stumbled onto Welathy Affiliate and haven’t looked back. You can join the community for free, no credit card required, and take a look around to see if it is a good fit for you.

It is my #1 recommendation to people looking for a rewarding, limitless, satisfying and life long career change. I hope you take a look and if you do, I will greet you on the inside and offer any assistance you may need. Best of luck to you on your journey wherever it takes you and I hope to see you inside Wealthy Affiliate!