Do You Have a Career to Die For or Die From?

Odds are, you are in a job that’s not right for you, you don’t enjoy, and quite possibly could be slowly (or not so slowly) killing you. That’s based on research New York Times best-selling author, Max Lucado uses in his book, Cure for the Common Life, in which he points out:

One-third of Americans say they hate their job.
Two-thirds of workers today are in the wrong career.
Most suicides occur on Sunday nights.
Most heart attacks occur on Monday mornings.

Wow, are you currently in a job that could both figuratively and literally be “the death of you”?

You Can Be Anything You Want to Be, But Should You?

Lucado presents a very interesting perspective on you and your “right” career. He says that the world promotes a message that simply isn’t true in promising people that they can be anything they want to be. Sure, he agrees, you may make it in a field in which you have no natural abilities or talents, but how successful will you be, and more importantly, how happy will you be?

Lucado teaches that your talents are both God-given and solely unique. Regardless of where you stand in your spiritual beliefs, the idea that you are a one-of-a-kind is both intriguing and exciting. When you look at the uniqueness of the individual from purely a biological perspective, there really is a great deal of merit to the idea that through the combination of biology, genetic inheritance, nurture, environment, and upbringing, you are, in fact, a solely unique individual with a skill set, aptitudes, and understandings that are yours and yours alone.

… And if that doesn’t translate into the groundwork for becoming recognized as an obvious expert, then what does? Believe it or not, there may never be a better time than right now for starting that consulting or coaching practice, building your dream of entrepreneurship, or growing a new business.

If you are one of the millions of people Lucado writes about, who is not happy with your present career because you are not doing what you love, what you are uniquely the best at doing, then you have to decide if you will stick with that “wrong direction” and risk becoming one of those Sunday night or Monday morning statistics.

How to Position Yourself as The Obvious Expert

We leave you with this thought from The Obvious Expert:

“At the beginning of your career, perhaps you are concerned only with bringing in enough business and enough money to survive. Days, sometimes months and unfortunately, even years of one’s life can grind by with survival and security as the alpha and omega focus.

For a large number of people, fulfilling the basics for surviving today and security to survive tomorrow, defines every day of their lives. For absolutely everyone, addressing these needs accounts for at least some of their days.

Yet after awhile (and after the application of effective business techniques) perhaps you begin to earn enough money to feel somewhat secure. When this happens, you may realize t here is something missing; you will then set about examining your goals to make sure the work you are doing is significant in the larger scheme of life.

When you realize that you are truly working for the pleasure of what you do, and that you would do it for free if you weren’t getting paid (but you don’t tell anyone that) then you have reached the success-stage of satisfaction.”