All too often, we fall into a career path that leave us comfortable, but ultimately unfulfilled. In turn, we lose sight of the fact that there’s a whole world of possibilities beyond our cubicles. The important thing to remember is it’s never too late to make a change—regardless of what others may tell you. 

Question 1: What do you love to do? 

When the pressure of getting paid is removed, your talents naturally excel. Why? Because we’ve been so programmed to keep our head down and work that we’ve lost our sense of passion. Here are two simple ways to help you rediscover what you truly enjoy doing: 

One: Take a trip down memory lane and ask your loved ones what you loved to do when you were little. Riding your bike for miles, banging pots and pans, making a total mess with glitter glue—it doesn’t matter. Just figure out what made you happy before you were an “adult”.

Two: Make a list of hobbies you think you may currently enjoy. If photography is one of them, walk around town and take snapshots on your phone or camera. Rather whip something up in the kitchen? Start a cooking club or take some classes. 

As time progresses, you’ll begin to realize whether these interests could develop into something long-term and profitable. The girl that loved to ride her bike everyday, she eventually turned into a spin and pilates instructor. See what I mean? 

Question 2: When do you feel most empowered?

To start, jot down a list of things that make you feel happy and confident. On the flip side, make a list of what makes you feel unhappy and stressed. If you’re unsure, get in the habit of documenting your emotional reactions that happen throughout the course of the week.

What were you doing at the time? Where were you? This can help identify activities and potential careers that you should stay away from, or know that it will be something you will have to practice and overcome to achieve.

If you feel yourself yearning for something, it’s a clue to a natural talent within and the desire to express your own unique point of view to enhance it. If you have a desire to learn something and accelate in practice, take note. 

Just be sure to cut your weaknesses a break. We can’t be good at everything or else there wouldn’t be so many jobs and intricacies within each field. Focus on your strengths and uncover the unique talents you have within them.  

Question 3: What’s your personality type?

If you haven’t already, you need to take the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, Color Personality, and Enneagram tests now. Not only will they reveal your personality type, they’ll also help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, communication style, and learning style. 

One of the biggest positives of these tests is learning where you lie on the extroversion/introversion and leading/following continuums. Why you prefer certain things and dislike others. There’s a reason why some people are great at sales, over others. As well as people who fall into leadership, where others make extremely great team players.

Delving deeper into who you are as a person and what makes you tick will make discovering which type of career path is most suitable to you that much easier. Having a career path that’s well-aligned with your personal preferences will only make you happier and more satisfied with your work in the long run.

Taking a personality test just unfolds more layers of self discovery and a huge sighing relief of why you are the way that you are. Let’s not feel guilty about who we are, but thrive in it, quirks included.

Question 4: Who is your business role model?

Don’t worry—you can have more than one. The point here is to focus on the following questions: What types of businesses are they in? What do you admire about them? What valuable traits do they possess? 

One of my favorite business mentors is Amy Porterfield. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tuned into her podcast and watched many live training sessions. Listen to her podcast episode How to Find The Right Business Mentor. She’s one of the smartest, most encouraging people I’ve ever come across. 

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of you.”

Bob proctor

So find someone you love and dig deep. Read their blogs, watch their YouTube videos, follow their Instagram accounts. They may be the exact inspiration you need to put one foot in front of the other. 

Just be sure to not build up more than 4 mentors. You want to stick to just having a couple, so when you’re at a crossroad you can ask yourself, what would ______ do? Too many mentors will only leave you dazed and confused.

Question 5: What lifestyle do you identify with most? 

As silly as it may sound, who you follow on Instagram could help answer this question. Before I became a full-time digital nomad, I used to scroll through endless photos of women working in amazing places all over the world. After expressing to my friend (for the 4,384,993 time) how jealous I was of them, she simply asked, “Well, why don’t you do it?” And honestly, that single sentence was exactly what I needed to get my act in gear. 

Understanding what type of lifestyle you want will help unveil what you get the most satisfaction and pleasure from. You want to make sure you pick a career path where your core values lie and what that lifestyle looks like. Close your eyes and picture it.

Assuming you see yourself working remotely, take a look at The 9 Types of Digital Nomads. Which one do you gravitate toward the most? Once you find the answer, you’ll be one step closer to the trust expression of you.

Question 6: When do others see you at your best?

How you view yourself isn’t necessary how others do, because we all tend to carry blind spots when it comes to understanding our talents. Everyone sees life through a different lens and carries a different perspective than you. This is why it can be hard to determine this by ourselves. 

Try asking your friends and work colleagues to give you an example of when they’ve seen you excel and seen you the happiest. How would your friends describe you in just a few words? What qualities do you bring into a room? These are the unique traits that you bring to the table, or feelings that disappear when you leave the room.

Their answers may give you a perspective you’ve never considered before and lead you down an untraveled path of career exploration. This will help you identify your core nature as well as the energy you possess that can lend itself to many different career and industries. 

Question 7: What do you want to be known for?

Or, what’s the legacy you want to leave behind? It’s a loaded and complex question, and an extremely important one. In the very first stages of my business, I had a lot of different ideas. Because of this it was hard to get clear as to which one idea I should focus on and bring to life. 

I got a second opinion from a woman who was well established in her business that I coincidentally sat down for lunch at a networking event. She looked over my notes, elevator pitches, and business strategies and said: These are all great, but Helen, what do you want to be known for?”

That single question shocked me to my core, gave me goosebumps, and was exactly what I needed. Was it a coincidence? Of course not. So let me ask again, the single most important question that led me to today.

Reflect:

What types of patterns and common themes did you discover by answering these questions? How did your answers measure up against what you’re currently doing for work, or what you think you should be doing for work? Is your career path on-track with where you want to be? Self-introspection isn’t always comfortable, but you have my word that answering these questions will help you in more ways than one. 

Don’t be a stranger! Message me and let me know how your career search is going.