{Today’s the day! We’re doing our live hangout, “3 things you must know BEFORE you can connect your career & your passion,” today at 12pm Eastern … AND the Passion Profile Short Course is finally available today. Scroll through to the end if you want more details about either.}
You’re getting something rare today … a blog that was co-written by both of us. We like to think that means you’re getting double the mental power … but you’ll have to discern that for yourself. 🙂
So, we’ve been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Committed, which is a follow-up to her wildly popular book Eat, Pray, Love.
It’s kind of hilarious that we’ve been reading Committed because it’s about marriage … and neither of us is married. Not even close to being married. (Unless you count running a business together, which is basically the equivalent of a platonic marriage. In that case, we’re very married.)
Anyway, in the book Liz talks about the fact that so many people in the Western world hang all of their hopes, dreams, and expectations on their romantic partner.
They try to get all of their emotional needs met within their relationship, which puts an incredible amount of strain and pressure on it. Basically, she made a fantastically good point about not striving to get 100% of your needs met within a relationship.
What stopped us in our tracks is the fact that this is completely true about careers, as well.
YOUR CAREER IS NOT “THE FOUNTAIN OF ALL FULFILLMENT”
Here’s the thing. Most everyone we’ve met and coached with has really high hopes for their career.
We’ve come to believe, or rather expect, that once we pinpoint what career path we desire, we’re to be granted heady things like passion, meaning, fulfillment, energy, inspiration, freedom, flexibility, and constant happiness.
(There’s a good chance you’re sitting here thinking, “Um, are you guys turning hypocrite on us? Isn’t this what you preach about 24/7?” Stick with us … this will all get sorted out in a few more paragraphs.)
And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting those things out of your career, we often forget that we don’t need 100% of our desires to be fulfilled in career-form.
Case in point: One of Rachel’s clients (we’ll call her Tracy) just moved across the country for a new job at a modern social media organization (one that you’ve likely heard of). But when they got on the phone last week, Tracy said, “I really dig this new job … but … I don’t know how I feel about the cause of this organization.”
Tracy is the kind of person who is very motivated by humane, world-saving type causes. So, you can understand how working at a social media organization might not feel quite as compelling when it comes to “cause” as, say, building wells in poverty-stricken, third-world countries.
But what Rachel and Tracy zeroed in on is the fact that maybe this need for a strong cause doesn’t totally need to get met at work. What if Tracy volunteered her time for a good cause? She could test out whether volunteering scratched her particular itch, or if the need for cause is so great that she’s got to be pursuing it all day, every day.
Tracy was under the impression that her career had to be “the fountain of all fulfillment” … the source where she fills up on all of her passion and meaning.
That doesn’t have to be true. But …
THERE’S A CATCH
(We’re sure you were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and here it is.)
You’ve got to be able to tell the difference between what needs you must get met through your career vs. which ones could potentially get met elsewhere.
In other words, you’ve got to know what’s non-negotiable and what’s more flexible:
Do you absolutely need creative autonomy? Or could that slide a little?
Is collaboration essential or could you do without it for the most part?
Is being meaningfully occupied 24/7 necessary or could you move at a slower pace?
Do you crave stability without question or could you withstand a little risk?
Most of us never got good at separating the things that are essential to our happiness and self-expression from the things that are unessential.
While it would take a whole course to teach you how to discern the difference (which now actually exists in the form of the Passion Profile Short Course), here’s one way to get started:
ZERO IN ON WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU LACK MOST RIGHT NOW
If you’re dissatisfied about something in your career right now, pinpoint what exactly is lacking.
Are you feeling creatively stifled? Completely un-autonomous? Trapped in rigidity? Pushing paper for a meaningless organization?
What irks you most is a huge, flashing sign that points to what you value most.
If you can’t stand being creatively stifled … you probably desire the chance to be the source of your own creativity.
If having no autonomy inflames you … you probably crave the ability to self-direct.
If your career feels suffocatingly rigid and inflexible … you probably need more movement and mental breathing room.
Your non-negotiables start to become very clear when you can vocalize what you’re lacking.
WE ARE SO FIRED UP ABOUT THIS
Just the act of vocalizing the things you refuse to settle on is enough of a “lightbulb moment” for some people to completely revolutionize and redirect their career paths, all on their own. All they needed was a miniscule recalibration, and they’re good to set sail.
But obviously not everyone has it that easy. We certainly never had it that easy, ourselves. Which is why we love, more than just about anything else, helping people figure out how to redirect their career based on what’s essential for them.
This, of course, was one of the main inspirations behind the Passion Profile Short Course. We’ve been working on it for months now, and today it is finally ready to share with you.
It’s a simple, clear, and refreshingly direct way to find your career direction … packaged in a totally online course that you can complete in as little as 1 day.
If you want to know all of the details, you can spend about 3 minutes reviewing the brief info page:
And of course, if you didn’t know, you can get a $50 discount code by joining our VIP list here.
JOIN US FOR LUNCH IN A COUPLE HOURS
Whether or not the Passion Profile Short Course is right for you at this moment in your life, you’re invited to our live lunch-time hangout that’s happening today at 12pm Eastern!
We’re talking about the “3 things you must know BEFORE you can connect your career & your passion.”
If you can’t join us live, you can register anyway and get the recording emailed to you afterwards:
We can’t wait to “see” many of you there! 🙂
Back to you: How has this whole idea of “the fountain of all fulfillment” and “non-negotiables” hit you today?
Much Love,
Kristen + Rachel
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