Choosing who you are going to spend the rest of your life with is the second most important decision you can ever make in your lifetime. Choosing which career you are going to do is the first.

Whether we like it or not, we will have to add some kind of value to the world. And this value comes in the form of work. The more value we can add to the world, the richer we become. And the less value we add to the world, the poorer we become (in theory.) Money is just a way to measure that value. (But sometimes society doesn’t value certain things correctly. For example, teaching is not paid as well as what an investment banker is paid. However teaching creates more value than what an investment banker could ever create.)

So in theory if you want to be rich, you don’t really have a choice. You have to work.

But what you do have a choice over is what kind of work you are going to do. You can choose between doing something that you love, or something that you hate.

Surprisingly, many of us don’t choose at all. We let fate decide it for us. We think that we will ‘figure it out’ when we are older. But really, that is just an excuse. We want to hold off that decision as late as possible because we don’t know how to make that decision. And so we let our parents or what we hear about the economy make that decision for us.

Or maybe we do make a decision.

We choose a career that our best mate is doing because it pays well, or because he looks like he is enjoying his job. But what another person enjoys doing is not necessarily what you will enjoy doing. And if you don’t enjoy doing something, you won’t be the best at it.

So in this article, I am going to give you the tools you need to choose the career that is right for you.

How do I find my calling?

Note: The following paragraphs are taken from Michael Hyatt’s blog. You can read more at the link on the bottom of the page.

The right career for you is the intersection of 3 P’s.

1. Passion: What do you love?

Ask yourself:

  • What do you daydream about?
  • What do you love learning about?
  • What would you do if money is not an issue?

A warning: Just because you love something does not mean it is your calling.

 

2. Proficiency: What are you good at?

Ask yourself:

  • Where are you proud of your work?
  • What do you friends say you are good at?
  • Where have you been acknowledged or rewarded?

A warning: Just because you are good at something does not mean it is your calling.

 

3. Profitability: Can you make money doing this work?

Ask yourself:

  • Is the market willing to pay for what you offer?
  • Are you comfortable charging for what you do?
  • Do you have a clear monetization strategy?

Warning: Just because you can make money doing something, does not mean it is your calling.

All three of these components are important. Each of them is necessary, but none of them is sufficient in itself.

  • If you have passion and proficiency without profitability, you have a hobby.
  • If you have passion and profitability without proficiency, you have a failure.
  • If you have proficiency and profitability without passion, you have boredom.

It really does take all three circles.

If this topic intrigues you, I highly reccomend that you listen to Michael Hyatt’s podcast. Read more on Michael Hyatt’s blog and listen to the podcast here:

http://michaelhyatt.com/090-how-to-discern-your-calling-podcast.html

 

Jonathan Neo