Finding Your Career Path: Part 4

Stop Waiting for the Future, Invent It Instead. Twenty-somethings are immortal. At this age, hardly any of us know what we to do with our lives but we act like it’s no big deal. It is a big deal. If you’re thinking you’ll have time to “figure it out later,” be weary, this is a classic booby trap. Ask around. Talk to some people in their 30s and 40s, most don’t get around to figuring things out. That “later” usually turns out to be never and you might wake up twenty years from now and say; “What the heck did I do with my life?”

My mid-career clients wished someone had burst their bubble, they’re just getting down to choosing their “real” career in their 40s and 50s. Life goes much faster once you hit thirty. The chances of your future working itself out are about the same as becoming a rock star. You have to plan and act, it won’t happen by itself.

What they don’t teach you in college: Your future will look just like your past if you don’t intentionally invent one for yourself. If you pay close attention to the passage of time, you’ll notice that the ‘future’ keeps turning into the ‘now’ anyhow. All you have this moment, then the next, then the next, and that’s that.

Think of the future as a concept, it’s not a real place out there in the distance to find. Amuse yourself and pretend that it’s not waiting for you. A great way to have a future that you’ll love is to design one. Yup, just like an architect.

Try this: Imagine yourself out in the future five years from now. You’re living an brilliant life with the thrilling career. Can you see the details of what are you doing? Who are you with specifically? Where are you? Think about the very first step you can take to get moving in this direction. You can design your career, choose it, and then set milestones to actively build it.

Read part 5 . . .