How Will I Know (if this career’ll really love me)?*
fortune cookie 2 by laura george
Yesterday I talked about The “Career” Scare, and how the word “career” has seemingly become a, um, scary one for us creative Renaissance Soul types (my post titles tend to be obvious like that). And as I was writing, I heard the questions coming my way (because I know you guys pretty well by now/I hear voices sometimes) already:
“But how do I choose what to pursue, Michelle?”
“How will I know it’s the right choice, and not just another one of my fly-by-night ideas/projects?” (Oh no, you’re not alone – all of us Renaissance Souls have fly-by-night ideas, and how!)
“Will I really be able to make money from my passion(s)?”
The third question lends itself to an easy answer: Yes. The others, well – they’re a bit more complicated. Honestly, I can simplify the answer and point ya to Operation: Creative Career Cheer!, my 53 page rhyming (!!!) career change workbook – but that would be slimy-jerky, and that’s so not me (imagine I just said, “The answer is in my workbook. Go buy it. Peace out!” Ohmygosh, we’d both never talk to me again). So, in addition/in lieu of that, I’ll try to make it as simple as possible:
What’s stuck the longest?
What did you love doing as a child, that you still do/feel the urge to do? What have you had an interest in for years, even if you didn’t “do” anything about it? What has always been in your bones, in your heart, in your gut? What do you know to be true about yourself? Even as Renaissance Souls, I’ve found over and over again that my clients come back to the common thread that has been there for years, even when it’s quiet. For one of my clients, it was dogs. For another, it was food. For me, it was relationship-building. And yes, it took a while for both myself and my clients to see where that thread would lead, but once we recognized it, we started digging as to how it can take shape, how we can monetize it, how it can be a career. The dog-lover decided to be a trainer. The food-lover decided to dive headfirst into the local food scene, attending conferences and reading the latest findings and meeting people involved in the movement. She’s still exploring where it’ll lead her, but she’s Living in the Questions, building up her confidence, expertise, and options in the meanwhile.
The key: don’t discount anything as “undoable”, “stupid”, or “too weird.” Suspend that perspective, just for a month – just for me. Allow yourself to live in that world, to experiment with what working in that field could look like, be like, feel like. Ask yourself what you would do if you believed you could not fail. And yes, it’s a cheesy cliché, but humor me for just a single afternoon and believe in yourself. Believe in that long(ish)-held passion. Believe that you can do it, and it’s just a matter of figuring out how.
It happened again – I heard your questions in my head. I gotta stop drinking during the day 
Next week I’ll be weighing in on how to choose if you know what Your Thing is, but there are too many Things to choose from! ‘Til then, let me know what you see as a long(ish) term common thread in your life, and what you’re gonna do to investigate it.
* This is usually where I’d apologize for getting the catchy Whitney Houston tune in your head, but I’m so not, ‘cause that song is the jam like woah (is that all the terminology the kids are using these days? I wanted to make sure to get it all in there). Now get up and shake your booty while playing it at 11. You know you wanna.
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Tags: Hearty How Tos
July 14th, 2011 at 4:06 am
This is definitely right-on. When I dropped (temporarily) out of college, I thought I wanted to go to pastry chef school. So I got a job at a bakery. 1.5 years later, I knew that was NOT the career for me.
I lived and learned!
July 14th, 2011 at 6:56 am
the common thread for me is that i love to learn to make all kinds of things – so the variety sets the stage for my work. i usually know if i'm going in the right direction at any time because i'll get those synchronous events, those odd surprises, that seem to be little messages from the world – keep going! so i'll be on my way to a meeting about my business idea, and no buses will appear…i begin to wonder. when finally a bus appears, empty, it isn't in service, the driver takes pity on me and drives me straight to my meeting! when i decide to move to the countryside, a series of surprising events lead me to a village where i discover that the folks there are old friends of my friends in the city. i do ignore things – i didn't get into art school the first time i applied, but i KNEW – and used that year well. when i tell my nearest, dearest friends about my business idea, they light up like a little lightbulb. that confirms so much for me. when i'm faltering i can turn to them.
i do like the 'act as if you can't fail'…very useful to do that to one's brain sometimes.
x elisa
July 14th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
THIS POST.
Your blog has really connected with me lately because I'm flowing all over with ideas and possible careers, but I'm so frustrated with myself because that's all I do; start, start over and start again. But I never FINISH. Can you hear the air blow out of me? Pfffffff…
I'm at the point where I don't even dare to start something new like a business because I'm afraid my reputation would be ruined if I start something new (again) and then just never stick to it.
I'm reading that Renaissance Soul book next.
And I haven't forgotten about my urge to do coaching with you, I just won some free coaching sessions with another coach, so I wanted to finish that before I book with you.
Marthe
July 14th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Really enjoyed the post because in a short and sweet way, it reaffirmed the decisions I've made. Getting others to accept that is another matter altogether but what's important is that I believe in it. Thanks, Michelle!
July 15th, 2011 at 9:44 am
I love the idea of finding the thread. I think of it as finding a through-line. Or boiling things down to a reduction. It's finding that core, sustained thing that won't let go of you. Loving this little series!
July 19th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for the additional analogies – love them! The core, the thread, the reduction…if ya find that, you can take it anywhere (happily)!
July 19th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Hooray! Much love, Cookie!
July 19th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Your mind is gonna be blown reading The Renaissance Soul, Marthe – you have been warned! And for what it's worth, it's a total "symptom" of being a Renaissance Soul – starting, but not finishing. Often times we're attracted to something because we wanna prove we can do it, and when we realize we can, it stops being interesting. So when there's something you *know* you need to finish, you have to tweak it along the way so it captures your attention throughout. Not easy, I know, but so worthwhile if ya figure out what makes ya tick (deadlines, presents, a new product in the shop, etc)!
July 19th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Oh Elisa, thanks for sharing that story! SUCH a good point that I didn't mean to leave out – having doors open for ya "effortlessly". Not to say you're not doing the work or being proactive, but when you realize that opportunities/buses/lit-up faces are everywhere, you know you're on the right tracj. Oh yes oh yes oh yes.
July 19th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Hooray for that! And for you not spending all that time/money in pastry school *before* you realized being a pastry chef wasn't right for you!
July 21st, 2011 at 2:08 pm
[...] This post is great: How to know if your new career will love you [...]
August 2nd, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I have a couple common threads. One is creating. Two is helping people. I'm still working on how to smush those two things together but they're both very distinctly there.
August 9th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Does your current biz count in that regard? I see ya doing that on both counts already!