When you were a kid, did you ever say to your parents, ‘when I grow I want to be a health and safety engineer’ or ‘an auditor’ or fill in the gap with an ‘equally un-exciting job title’?
I very much doubt it. Most kids say they want to be an astronaut or maybe a doctor, or even a professional sports player…or in my case a vet. So, why did you not arrive at this dream? Where did things go wrong?
Maybe it was the fact your parents didn’t encourage you, or maybe they said, ‘that’s lovely, but what do you REALLY want to do?”
Why, as we grow older, do we lose the wonder and enthusiasm we had as children?
I speak to colleagues and friends and they say they just ‘fell‘ into their current role and stuck with it when they realised they enjoyed it; is that really the right decision making process for where you spend most of your waking hours?
I remember reading the famous quote: ‘Do what you love and never work a day in your life’.
People say ‘Find your passion and find a job that enables you to do it’.
This always seemed to be a great saying, but rarely do you meet people who actually live this…
Excuses El Classico for not being in your dream job:
“Life is just too busy at the moment”
“I’d have to start at the bottom, again?”
“I’m too old for change!”
Are these real reasons not to get out there and follow those dreams and passions?
I was recently in India on a Surf and Yoga retreat with www.soulandsurf.com and I actually met people who are in their dream jobs everyday. People I met have quit their jobs, trained as surf instructors or yoga instructors and professional photographers and now travel the world doing what they are passionate about.
A number of my colleagues are taking sabbaticals to travel, develop their passions and to see the world…mostly to mixed responses. Some people are jealous of having 12 months out, some saying; ‘what about your career’ or ‘you have worked so hard to get to where you, you are just throwing it away’.
I reflect on this and question why can people be so negative about a sabbatical…when people say ‘follow your dreams and passions’ why do we not support the people who do? Is it jealousy? Are we in awe that they have the ability to take the time out? Do we look back and wish took a sabbatical?
I love working at Cisco – we are successful, we look after our workforce, the culture is amazing and I work with some very bright people. This does not mean I have stopped dreaming…
What are you truly passionate about? Is your company fulfilling you? Challenging you? Developing you? If not, how can you encourage your company to change and how do you become the catalyst of change that you want to be.
As a GenY individual, I want to challenge, mould and push my employer to be a place that wants to keep me and value my contributions. Corporate companies need to wake up and realise that if they don’t pay attention to the new generation of workers coming in, they will leave and you wont have the future leaders for your organisation.
Everyday I am looking for the opportunity to learn, develop and shape the organisation I work in; I meet people outside of my current role and team and I get inspired by the people I meet and excited by the opportunities this presents.
What would your dream job look like?
Would you say you are in your dream job?
Well…I did say you probably wont have your dream job… so why don’t you go create it…no one will do it for you.
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