Career Planning (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Career Planning

[Hyperchiller]

Thanks Steve! Very synchronistic. I was thinking about applying for this position but then decided not to because this article addressed that I was taking the bottom-up approach to this whole thing of finding an outlet. It's enforced the fact that you shouldn't just take up job opportunities because they're open and that you can do them. It's very bottom-up based... yes finding what you want to express and finding a proper medium. A good reminder.

[Dwane J.]

I enjoyed Marc Anderson thoughts on career planning.

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 0: Introduction

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 1: Opportunity

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 2: Skills and education

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 3: Where to go and why

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Thanks for doing this series, Steve. I am in a field that I am suitable for as far as qualifications and that pays well. However, I am deadened to the soul by it. I am taking great interest in this series and where it will lead. Thanks again.

[jmac]

Steve, this is an awesome article.

I've done bottom-up career planning most of my life, with the (growing) awareness that top-down planning is a better choice. My family members are big proponents of the bottom-up model and your article made something very apparent to me, i.e., that both models are viable ways of thinking about how one has made/makes career choices but for me, planning from the top-down produces a fuller and more deeply satisfying life.

Thanks!

[Rose of Cairo]

Thanks for the article, Steve. Very synchronistic

Everyone around me is pressuring me into getting a job based on my skills, whereas I'm just sitting here, reading a lot and thinking about what my purpose could be and what I'd like to express. They think I'm being totally lazy, so thanks for the confirmation that my approach isn't that dumb

Unfortunately I haven't found it out yet.

[ABlix]

Hey - interesting article. But, the thing I am having trouble is figuring out the real me and what I want to express. I've read other articles that you've written about asking yourself questions such as "If you could do anything you want to and you knew you couldn't fail - what would it be," but even that I am having a difficult answer finding. I want to do many things, and I am a bit intimidated by the prospect of failing and not discovering certain skills.

I am currently in college, so I suppose this is common for a person my age. What would be a good way to discover what you REALLY want to do. Keep experimenting with something until it clicks?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Rose of Cairo

Thanks for the article, Steve. Very synchronistic

Everyone around me is pressuring me into getting a job based on my skills, whereas I'm just sitting here, reading a lot and thinking about what my purpose could be and what I'd like to express. They think I'm being totally lazy, so thanks for the confirmation that my approach isn't that dumb

Unfortunately I haven't found it out yet.

Your approach is far more intelligent than you probably realize right now.

Other people want you to join them in order to feel secure with their own decisions -- their attempts to pressure you are really about them, not you. What you're doing can make people incredibly uncomfortable, and when people become uncomfortable, they often seek to attack and/or control whatever produces that effect (which means you). They're afraid of your light.

It sounds like you're in a position where you could have a lot of fun with people who want to control you... by twisting the proverbial blade that's making them so uncomfortable.

[phoenixmama]

Do you think this is just too idealistic? Eventually you have to make a living and take care of responsibilities. Also this can be bad advice for a person who can't stay focused for long. This is what happened to me, I never gained experience or expertise at anything because I always quit my job because I thought it wasn't me or some other flaky reasons. Now I am in my thirties and need to get a job soon and I don't know where to start because I feel so inexperienced despite my age and college degree. So you have to do something even if you think its not perfect for you and you need to develop some expertise so that you remain marketable.

[codefreeze]

Very important topic with excellent treatment by Steve as usual.

I have managed to go from about a 3 to a strong 8 (i.e. still not there yet). So far it has been two years (almost to the day) since my conscious decision to make the change. Next year I reckon I will be at a 9 and the year after a 10. There was a lot of suffering in the years leading up to making that conscious decision.

I'm not sure this is the right place to go into all the decision-making, soul-searching, wrong turns and ups and downs of my transition (I can if people want to know), but here are a few thoughts I'd like to pass on.

1) I think the most important thing I've learnt is that it is vital to have a clear picture of the "End Game". You really need to have a clear idea of where you want to be. Only then can you start working towards getting there. I think this is one area where people have difficulty as they sometimes have no idea where they want to get to. I've found visualisation to be an invaluable tool here. It's a case of removing all the mental barriers and preconceptions you've built up and just imagining your ideal career/situation. Then work back from there. You need to listen to your instincts - they are usually right, but it's very easy to second guess them. If all else fails just try something different!

2) Transitioning to a career/lifestyle you love is not going to happen over night. It will depend where you are now in relation to your end game. For some it could be a few months, for others it will take years to get there. I reckon for me going from a 3 to a 10 will take around 4 years. I noticed a very marked improvement in quality of life as soon as I'd made the decision to change and started moving towards my new life.

3) Once you have your end goal in sight you can work out a set of goals to get you there. This will also lead to a list of values. I recommend reading everything by Steve on values - it's a big help. Your value list will change as your goals do. For example, I am coming towards the end of a 6 month contract I took as I needed a certain level of savings to move me towards my next goal. As a result my health/fitness had to drop down a couple of notches as the contract involved 4 hours commuting into London on top of a 9 hour day. However, when the contract finishes (end of December) health/fitness will be back at the top of my list of values along with freedom - and money matters will drop down on the list. Along with having a vision of an end goal I find the list of values to be critical to making decisions that help me towards my aim. If your end goal is your compass, your value list is your map - I use the compass to orientate and the map to negotiate the terrain.

4) Be prepared to get it wrong. I have taken a couple of wrong turns. It's important to learn from your mistakes and move on. For example - I initially totally underestimated the time it would take to make the transition out of my current career (3 months was my estimate!) - wow, did I get that wrong! Stay flexible and having a clear end goal in sight will keep you coming back to the right path again.

5) Don't succumb. Once you've made the decision to change or move towards your ideal career/lifestyle don't give up. It's easy to get disheartened and just go back to your "bad old ways". Stay strong and a good support network will help.

6) Be careful about whose opinions you listen to when deciding to make a big career/lifestyle change. People can really be negative towards change - especially family (who ironically should be the most supportive). You have to do what is right for you - and whatever that is will be right for your family. Equally don't use your loved ones as an excuse for your own fear.

7) Enjoy the process. There is really something so positive and enriching about moving towards a career/lifestyle you love. Even in the early days just starting to get moving in the right direction is a fantastic experience. I remember one day soon after I'd made the switch - I went into my home office with a herbal tea. When I raised the cup to my lips it was stone cold - I then realised that over two hours had passed since I'd sat down and I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I hadn't thought to drink my tea. When that happens it's a sign you are on the right track!

So that's my direct advice. I know others than have found Po Bronson's "What should I do with my life?" of great value. I read the book several years ago and found it useful from the point of view that it was good to know that other people were struggling with the same issues I was - I drew a lot of strength from that. I also interviewed a guy (Steven G. Williams) for one of my websites (Dream of Siam | Live the dream in South-East Asia) who quoted Po Bronson's book as THE book that changed his life. He was working in finance in L.A. and became a science fiction writer living in Asia after reading the book!

So, good luck to you all - changing career or lifestyle is not easy, but it is a very rewarding adventure!

Tony

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

It sounds like you're in a position where you could have a lot of fun with people who want to control you... by twisting the proverbial blade that's making them so uncomfortable.

Rose, and anyone else who is in a comparable position, as a fellow traveller on the journey and someone who is in a very similar situation to what you describe, I wanted to share some advice and personal experiences in hopes that you can benefit. If I could go back in time using a time machine and tell myself a few things, these would be some of the things I mention.

_________________________________________________

Things to watch for when “twisting the proverbial blade”
_________________________________________________


If the proverbial “make the unconscious people squirm with the light of your awareness” blade came with a disclaimer, it would be:

You must be highly conscious and aware while using this implement. Can cause loss of consciousness. Batteries not included.

While I can certainly appreciate the fun that Steve mentions (I have a fair bit of it myself ), be careful your “fun” doesn’t become a vortex that sucks you into unconsciousness. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the works of Eckhart Tolle and other in-depth coverage of “the ego”, awareness, the present moment, “flow”, etc, but Steve’s statement very much assumes that you are relatively clear, conscious and aware at the time said “fun” is taking place.

It may be true that your thinking and actions are more conscious, deliberate, and present-focused then others, but I know from my personal experience that it’s all too easy to unconsciously identify with your supposedly “high awareness” position such that it becomes a gateway into the very thing you’re trying to avoid.

How to spot when you drop the figurative "awareness" ball

People will tend to react to you the same regardless of what state you are in (ie. if they resist you, they’ll resist you; if they laugh and agree, they’ll laugh and agree)), but I find that when I slip into a lower level of consciousness and begin to identify with your thinking, it’s easy to spot it based on my actions (or reactions), or, failing that, the wake of subtle “destruction” (or should that be “disruption”?) I leave in my wake.

For example, when I am reasonably present and aware, I’m very calm, content, and non-reactive. I find I don’t start drama, nor do I continue it, and should I choose to poke fun at someone (which, when extremely present, I usually don’t do because I find silence -- or simply “being” -- to be more effective and reasonable), there is never any maliciousness, and any reaction people have is completely there own.

On the other hand, when I’m slipping awareness-wise (read: which is most of the time ), a sort of haze comes over me. I have a very direct and honest nature and can begin to misuse that, often reacting to people and/or circumstances, unintentionally doing or saying things that indirectly resist the present moment and function as avoidance behaviours, and/or attempting to strengthen my sense of self, usually through subtle (and very unintentional, unconscious) diminishment of others.

Often it takes a bit of damage and a growing sense of resistance to knock me out of this state and “wake me up”, and while such a wake up call is always welcome, I much prefer to catch such things before they have the chance to directly impact others. Knowledge of what happens when intelligence is coupled with a lack of awareness (ie. "intelligence in the service of madness", to quote Eckhart Tolle) can help with this, as can constant, non-judgemental observation of your internal state.

_________________________________________________

Staying true to your internal compass
_________________________________________________


Nothing feels better then listening to that inner guidance and doing exactly what feels right for you, regardless of what those around you are saying. Heck, if I listened to those around me, instead of discovering what is truly meaningful to me and aligning my life with that, I’d probably have a 9-5 job right now, complaining about how others make my life unpleasant, and spending all of my “spare time” trying to escape from the demoralising experience I call my “life” (did I paint a grim enough picture? If not, throw in some post-apocalyptic type landscapes and dreary colour hues for effect. )

That said, be weary of getting too comfortable with someone else confirming that you're on the right track. What I'm saying here is not that you should question yourself or other people, but rather that you should make use of the valuable feedback you receive in the form of emotional guidance relative to desires (whether they are conscious desires or not) while being able to see what others tell you in the right context – regardless if what they say is supporting or not.

Realise that while certain people are telling you to do one thing, Steve is essentially another one of those people, and regardless of his vast experience and knowledge, only you can know if you're truly on the right path, or whether you only think you are, but are actually starting to diverge a little bit.

This may or may not be useful to you or not, but I had to get off course (even when I thought I was doing great!) before I learnt that it's easy to lose sight of your goal. This is especially true when your goal is not yet known, and the only thing you have to guide you are concepts of purpose, self-expression, and emotional resonance.

How to apply this abstract concept to real life

As for specific ways to ensure you stay on course, the best thing I find you can do is to bring a light... the light of your awareness, that is. (I rate that last sentence a 7 on the cliché scale ) I find the only way to stay on course effectively is to pay attention to the subtle emotional feedback you get when you do something, as well as the larger, more pervasive feeling of “this does/does not feel right” that seems to never leave me, but can be temporarily obscured. This requires that I maintain a high degree of awareness, and when it comes to that, Eckhart Tolle is a better teacher then I am, and I cannot recommend his books A New Earth and The Power of Now highly enough. They serve as an excellent supplement to Steve’s writing, and gave me a whole new understanding as to how Steve is able to experience a constant state of joy and why his life seems so cooperative.

On a final note, I'll add one more thing:

Don't be too afraid to go off course. This may seem like it contradicts what I said above, but it actually reinforces it. Often I'll feel an urge to do something that, logically, doesn't make much sense at all. It's only after I've done it that I realise that it wasn't bad at all, and it's almost as if things were meant to happen that way. I wouldn't advise blatant recklessness, but realise that the same delusional thinking that can make you think that you're on the right course can also make you think that you're diverging off course when you're really only taking a short cut.

[Ron Stoppable]

Ditto what Rose said. And thank you Steve and Bruce for your responses - I find both quite uplifting.

It sure is challenging taking flight from the bear cave, but resources like this blog and reviewed books by Brad Swift and Marc Allen make it a wonderfully fulfilling process.

[NotesMaeve]

Steve, Steve, Steve. If I see you in Vegas, I'll kiss you for this.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by phoenixmama

So you have to do something even if you think its not perfect for you and you need to develop some expertise so that you remain marketable.

"Don't Panic" - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Yes, there is pressure to figure it out, but the road is long. There is plenty of time to figure it out IF you make finding your purpose a priority.

People who fail at this suffer when they put other things ahead of their purpose, like keeping up with their favorite TV shows.

[smartile]

phoenixmama,

I agree with Steve's comment above. Be patient and make purpose your priority.

I've been working full time as a Mechanical Engineer for 6 years now. In the past 6 months I've been going through an awesome shift. After reading a lot of pd books and doing a lot of exercises I finally found a purpose that resonates with me.

To keep my attention focused on my purpose I carry a laminated card with my purpose written on it. I've been carrying the card for about 4 months.

The card says:

"PURPOSE: My purpose is to educate and inspire others to achieve their own dreams and desires by learning from example."

I also have this excerpt written on the back of the card:

"I am more than I appear to be, all the strength and power of the Universe rests inside me."

This card has literally transformed my thinking and my way of being. Decision making has been really easy for me - all I do is check to see if the project/idea is in alignment with my purpose, if not I move on.

I hope this provides some insight.

Stephen Martile — Personal Development Made Simple

[tinasu]

I am currently in the situation of working on a top-down career. The mental switch to this point was very challenging. I am a highly trained computer science engineer, it's a highly paid industry with tremendous job security. But it's not the best expression of my being, of my core. I find my joy and bliss from writing, connecting with people, helping people, and taking thought-provoking photographs. This is where my heart is, and I used to look at my artist friends in awe and wished that someday I too could do the same.
Well, "why don't you stop wishing and start doing?", I heard an inner voice say to me, and so I did. It's been a real learning experience so far.

I am learning that, we don't need to worry about the "How". Focus on finding the passion within, and know that you won't need to worry about money. Once you start doing this and focus on doing the most outstanding job in your chosen field and obsess over "how to bring value to others", that everything else like financial security will fall into place. Once I learned this, miracles started popping up everywhere. I would love to see miracles popping up in your life as well. Do share your stories.

My personal mission is "To Motivate, Inspire and Empower people to living happier and more fulfilled lives."

Six weeks ago I started a personal development and spiritual growth blog focused on highly practical and insightful articles to improve people's lives. This was born out of my mission. So far, the traffic, readership and reader participation has been more than I could imagine for the time. I am so much more fulfilled working on this blog and connecting with people than any other technical job I could think of. The blog has since become an extra member of the family and a real source of joy for me.


I love this post. Thank you so much Steve!
What I loved most is how clearly the concept was articulated. Breaking it down and labeling them as top-down and bottom-up is brilliant and makes the article extremely easy to follow. The examples are helpful too.


Thank you guys for listening.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by phoenixmama

So you have to do something even if you think its not perfect for you and you need to develop some expertise so that you remain marketable.

"marketable"? Am I a product?? I'm a human being, I'm priceless and not for sale!
I don't think you need to develop expertise in some field either. My challenge is to be successful as a jack-of-all-trades, because that's what I am. And yes, you have to pay the bills, but for me personally it's extremely important to do so while doing something meaningful. To find something meaningful, I first have to find a purpose that will determine whether what I do is meaningful or not. For instance, earning $6000 a month selling telephones is not meaningful in my eyes. That's why I made finding my purpose a priority.

Bruce: don't worry, bear bombing is not my style at all I don't consider myself highly conscious, so I don't feel like teasing others about that. I'm just glad when I progress a bit myself.

Tinasu, smartile, that's so awesome that you found a purpose that motivates you! And that you were able to define it, too. I think I found mine now, but I still can't define it properly in one sentence. Thanks for sharing, you're very inspiring.

[Ron Stoppable]

Originally Posted by smartile

My purpose is to educate and inspire others to achieve their own dreams and desires by learning from example.

Originally Posted by tinasu

To Motivate, Inspire and Empower people to living happier and more fulfilled lives.

Originally Posted by lodewijkvdb.com

I, Lodewijk van den Broek, love life and have a lot of love to give. I enjoy authentic growth and I help others to grow. I’m here to have lots of fun and enjoy my freedom in comfort and vitality.

Originally Posted by Steve's 'About' page

to live consciously and courageously;
to enjoy, increase, and share peace, energy, passion, and abundance;
to resonate with love and compassion;
to awaken the great spirits within others;
and to fully embrace this present moment.

I'm currently a little fuzzy with my purpose and notice that empowering others seems to be a common thread in others' purposes, as is living your own life as best you can/will.

How does one get specific in describing their own purpose - without making it too simple/vague/general to personally resonate with or using someone else's words or core values?

[smartile]

Hey Ron Stoppable (Aside: maybe 'Ron Unstoppable' would be a more appropriate name...?)

Defining purpose is covered in A LOT of pd books. I found or more accurately created my purpose from an exercise in Jack Canfield's book: 'The Success Principles'

As long as your purpose resonates with you, then you've got it. If it feels good then you know you can run with it.

Stephen Martile — Personal Development Made Simple

[Steve Pavlina]

Your initial purpose statement will usually be fairly open-ended because it's a direction, not a goal.

The next steps are outlined in this article:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...ose-to-action/

[seeker5]

When Steve wrote about Erin's being all about compassion and thus needing a career that revolves around that part, I wonder if anyone asked themselves who they were deep inside themselves too and came up with something?

I did and the answer came up "Being Creative". I feel that I'm very creative, but not artistic at all (I don't care for the arts). By Being Creative, I mean being creative in finding new ways of doing things, or creating new ideas, new structures, new organizations, new items, or taking existing solutions and finding more elegant, faster, better, simpler way of accomplishing the same thing. That's what fires me up, and keeps me very engaged in my job when it happens. However, once I've figured a solution, and implement it, if I later have to solve a similar solution and implement a similar solution that takes time to implement (such as writing a computer program), it's boring to me. So for me to feel deeply fulfilled at my career, I'll have to be constantly creative, solving new interesting problems that I have never worked on before.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an inventor. I see now the connection between being an inventor and having an interest in creating new organizations.

I'm curious what other people's response was to that passage of the post?

[KeithHandy]

Originally Posted by phoenixmama

Do you think this is just too idealistic? Eventually you have to make a living and take care of responsibilities. Also this can be bad advice for a person who can't stay focused for long. This is what happened to me, I never gained experience or expertise at anything because I always quit my job because I thought it wasn't me or some other flaky reasons. Now I am in my thirties and need to get a job soon and I don't know where to start because I feel so inexperienced despite my age and college degree. So you have to do something even if you think its not perfect for you and you need to develop some expertise so that you remain marketable.

This is right where I am. In fact, I turned to this thread because I've been in somewhat of a panic about it. I have nothing coming in right now, and very little in the bank. I have a few cans of tuna, a loaf and a half of bread, a couple of tubs of tofu and some broccoli, and less than half a tank of gas. I've sold off some old stuff that I don't use any more, and got quite a bit less for it than I'd hoped.

If I were my own parents right now, I'd be saying "do the best you can, and if worse comes to worse it's okay for you to crash here for a while", but instead all I'm hearing from them is a guilt trip, and encouragement to disregard my inner voice and go back to a customer service job. I keep trying to explain how wrong customer service is for me, because although I'm great at it, it forces me to put a lot of strain on one tiny part of my brain while shutting out the rest of my thoughts. Same for data entry. I keep saying I'd sooner have a job that doesn't use any brain power at all, because then at least I'd be able to think freely while I'm working.

(I know we can't all have perfect parents, but sometimes it would be nice.)

Steve said jokingly in this thread that we can have fun "twisting the blade", but I don't want to do that to them.

The disconnect for me isn't that I haven't developed any skill; I've developed an enormous amount of it. I have great passion for my creative work and have been developing it for over 20 years. Yet somehow I haven't quite honed it into something that people want to shell out money for.

I am at a megacrossroads (or maybe when I look back I'll see this as an exaggeration), and I need guidance. Or at least some free money.

[phoenixmama]

Originally Posted by KeithHandy

This is right where I am. In fact, I turned to this thread because I've been in somewhat of a panic about it. I have nothing coming in right now, and very little in the bank. I have a few cans of tuna, a loaf and a half of bread, a couple of tubs of tofu and some broccoli, and less than half a tank of gas. I've sold off some old stuff that I don't use any more, and got quite a bit less for it than I'd hoped.

If I were my own parents right now, I'd be saying "do the best you can, and if worse comes to worse it's okay for you to crash here for a while", but instead all I'm hearing from them is a guilt trip, and encouragement to disregard my inner voice and go back to a customer service job. I keep trying to explain how wrong customer service is for me, because although I'm great at it, it forces me to put a lot of strain on one tiny part of my brain while shutting out the rest of my thoughts. Same for data entry. I keep saying I'd sooner have a job that doesn't use any brain power at all, because then at least I'd be able to think freely while I'm working.

(I know we can't all have perfect parents, but sometimes it would be nice.)

Steve said jokingly in this thread that we can have fun "twisting the blade", but I don't want to do that to them.

The disconnect for me isn't that I haven't developed any skill; I've developed an enormous amount of it. I have great passion for my creative work and have been developing it for over 20 years. Yet somehow I haven't quite honed it into something that people want to shell out money for.

I am at a megacrossroads (or maybe when I look back I'll see this as an exaggeration), and I need guidance. Or at least some free money.

Well this is my point, I have a family to provide for and we have put everything into a business that is not meeting the financial needs of our children. Sometimes all of this seems just so self-centered. In your case, I don't know if you are married or have kids. If its just you than yes go for it, although you do need to eat, I guess you could temp to get quick cash. I don't think it has to be an all or nothing issue which is what I read from people trying to find their passions, they won't do anything they don't like. That just seems immature, no offense.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by KeithHandy

Steve said jokingly in this thread that we can have fun "twisting the blade", but I don't want to do that to them.

Sounds like they've already beat you to it.