Do You Have a Dream Career?

By Allison Maslan -

Which of the three following words describe your work life?

Job: A regular activity performed in exchange for payment.

Career: • A chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation. • The general course or progression of one’s working life or one’s professional achievements over time.

Dream Career: A career that has deep meaning to you and is completely fulfilling and rewarding.

Many people are satisfied with working a job if their only motivation is an income. A career will give more opportunity for personal and financial growth. A dream career has all the perks of a career, but the depth of personal satisfaction it offers is far, far greater.

Some of us know from the time we are very young what we want to do when we grow up. Others are still trying to figure that out. Often careers are chosen for the following three reasons. Can you relate to any of these?

1. My parents said I should follow this line of study in college.
2. This career had good financial potential.
3. I fell into my career by default because I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Unfortunately, “Finding Your Passion” is not a required class to be taken in college. If taught well, this would save many people years of grief from working in a career that is not that satisfying.

A dream career encompasses two special ingredients that a job or career may not.

1. Passion
2. Meaning

When your line of work represents something that you are passionate about, it will stimulate and inspire you, and often not feel like work at all. This passion will infuse you with devotion for your work and energize you with excitement for the activities you are involved in on a daily basis. Basically, you will be in this dream career out of true choice because you really want to do it. Most people do not go after a dream career because of three reasons.

1. I don’t know how to do anything else.
2. I don’t have a clear direction.
3. Nothing better has come along.

When your work has meaning, it is an extension of the ideals and values that are important to you. For instance, in my work as a life and career coach, helping people to reach their potential is extremely rewarding. Helping people transform from struggling or stuck to feeling fulfilled in their work gives my life value and meaning.

Embracing a career that has both passion and meaning generally results in higher income because you have much less objection to putting the time in to make it successful, and you are willing to hang in there until the profits start rolling in.

A dream career will also endure much longer than a job or career because your motivation will not fizzle just because you have an off day or month. A dream career is often an extension of your deepest joys and interests, so your motivation will generally grow and evolve as you do.

Blast Off Practice #1 Internal Satisfaction Evaluation

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do you look forward to your day when you wake up in the morning?
2. Do you ever feel so excited about a work project that you can hardly sleep at night? (no, I am not kidding)
3. Does your work fit your nature as a person? (for instance an outdoor adventure type will often struggle working inside at a 9-5 desk job.)
4. Do you feel that you are growing personally and professionally in your career?
5. Are you having fun, as well as feeling accomplished?

If you answered yes to these questions, it sounds like you are on a career path that is fulfilling, rewarding and meaningful. Congratulations! These qualities are evident in a dream career.

If you answered no, and have the sense that you would like to improve the work life that you already have, or find a completely new career that suits you on a deeper and broader level, lets move on to the next practice.
Blast Off Practice #2 Dream Career Brainstorm

If you could choose any career possible without worrying about issues of money, personal or vocational skills, capability, or time, what career would you choose?

In this practice, we are going to do some idea gathering and brainstorming. Take your time with the following steps.

1. Log onto your Blastation. Click the Career button and take the Dream Career Questionnaire exercise.
2. Then do the Brainstorming Career Ideas exercise just below the Dream Questionnaire.
3. Take a look at the people around you, both friends and casual encounters. What jobs are they doing? Look at aspects of their job, not the whole thing. What parts of their work appeal to you and what do you think you would dislike? What does that tell you about the work that would be right for you?
4. Now that you have some new ideas swimming in your head, is the ‘yes, but’ voice peeping in? Just for a while, switch off the ‘yes, but’ voice . Allow yourself to explore these ideas uncritically. Open your mind to the enormous pool of possibilities out there and look for something that really captures your enthusiasm. Just what would you do if anything was possible? Once you feel inspired, the ‘yes, but’ responses are much easier to challenge.

Blast Off Practice #3 Dream Career Exploration

Okay. Now that you have some career ideas that seem of interest to you, it is time to research and explore the potential opportunities for your Dream Career. Remember, even if you find that your Dream Career is challenging to break into, anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Strong intention combined with inspired action toward your goal is a tough act to contend with.

Before we move on, some of you may be thinking, “I cannot leave my career. I have a family to support”, or, “It may take awhile to develop my Dream Career.”

I completely understand. I do not suggest running out and quitting your job. Instead, you can begin working toward your Dream Career on the side. Slowly develop a bridge to that will lead you to your satisfying Dream Career. Once you have established this firm foundation in the way of receiving revenue from a side business, or have a job offer in the career of your dreams, then quit your job. You will be more likely to succeed if you are not in a desperate situation. Although, when I was on my quest for a dream career, paying my rent was a big motivator to get my business to take flight.

Here are some Dream Career research tips:

1. Search the Internet for as much information in these desired industries as you can absorb. Find out what resources are available for support. Get advice from those already in the industry, such as: what is required to break in, potential income, how their experience has been, what they enjoy, what they don’t enjoy, and so on.
2. If there are people in your area in this field, contact them and see if they would be willing to meet with you briefly to offer insight or support regarding breaking in succeeding in this field.
3. Network as much as you can. Connections can make the entry into a new career so much easier.
4. If you have always wanted to run your own business or perhaps create valuable inventions, there are many books and resources available that will give you all the information you need to get started. (see the resource section in the back of my book, Blast Off, The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality)

Blast Off Practice #4 Create Your Big Picture Vision

If you feel clear about the career you would like to create for your life, now it is time to develop the vision of how you want it to develop, feel and work on every level. If you are still not clear on what you would like your Dream Career to be, go back and spend more time in Blast Off Practice #3. There is no reason to rush! Your Dream Career can endure for a lifetime.

1. Click on the grey Big Picture Vision button on your Blastation Dashboard. Read through the instructions and examples. Then click on the Big Picture Vision icon and write about your dream career in great detail in the space provided. Write it in first person as if your Dream Career is happening right now. Write about what it feels like to be doing what you love to do, how it is evolving, what fabulous results your Dream Career is providing. Be as detailed as possible.
2. Upload any photos that you have that will remind you of your Dream Career. You can use your own photos or download some off the Internet.

By writing about your dream career intention and choosing pictures that depict your career passion, you are already putting in motion that which you desire most. You are stating to the world and the Universe that this is what you are creating for yourself. Watch for serendipitous support in the way of ideas and money, connections and possibilities as they begin to fall into your pathway.
Blast Off Practice #5 Create Your Dream Career Mile Steps

Now that you have created your intention with your Big Picture Vision, it is time to think more deeply about how to bring it into your reality.

1. Think about the big things that have to happen to make your dream career a reality? Do you need further education, organize financing, find partners, select a location, take an internship for more experience or find an intern to help you get set up?
2. Click on the Mile Steps button on your Blastation Dashboard. List all the large steps that need to happen to reach your Big Picture Dream Career Vision. (You can also list your Mile Steps right under the Big Picture Vision you have created. See Mile Steps instructions on the Mile Steps page)

You are now getting more clear on the things that need to take place to achieve your fantastic Dream Career goals. Now lets break these large goals down into small daily steps to make your Dream Career less overwhelming and easier to incorporate into your present life.
Blast Off Practice #6 Fifteen Minutes a Day Can Change Your Life!

Many of you do not have the luxury to spend several hours a day working on manifesting your Dream Career. I have developed a process that breaks your large goals into palatable, easy to achieve steps called, Mini Feats. Mini Feats are small steps of accomplishment that consist of doing valued activities. (These are different than tasks like making the bed or feeding the dog) Mini Feat steps are working you toward your goals and dreams. Over time, these small steps will add up to huge strides toward your large and small life goals. Just think what you can accomplish by making three positive steps per day toward your Dream Career!

1. Read the Mini Feats explanation on the Mini Feats page of your Blastation for more information and examples.
2. Review your list of Mile Steps again.
3. Make a list of all the little things that have to happen to make your Mile Steps come true.
4. Now input these Mini Feats into your Mini Feats page that is accessed from your Blastation Dashboard. You can also input them right onto your Blastation Calendar or under your Mile Steps that you have listed on your Big Picture Vision for your Dream Career.) Your Mini Feats will appear on your Calendar and right on your dashboard to remind you of what needs to be done.
5. Every single day, spend at least 5 minutes on each of your 3 Mini Feats. In other words, at least 15 minutes a day taking small steps of accomplishment. (you can spend more time if you like, but no less than 5 minutes on each.) For instance, researching financial support, registering for a class, making calls to possible networking contact. They don’t take long but these are actions that will give you a forward momentum and a sense of accomplishment.

Each Mile Step may require 10 to 100 Mini Feats to accomplish. Just a few steps a day and you will reach your goal faster than you can hardly believe. By the end of the week, you will have spent at least an hour and fifteen minutes toward your Dream Career. That will be 5 hours closer to your goals by the end of the month. If you wait to have a week or even weekend to complete these activities, you are just prolonging progress and your opportunity may never come. By breaking your large goals into Mini Feats, you can continue with the necessities of your present life while beginning to carve out a whole new and exciting Dream Career!
Some final thoughts…

1. Any time you begin to make changes in your life, you may confront criticism or doubt from those around you. If this is truly your Dream Career and you are passionate about your new quest, my advice to you is to put your head down move forward toward your goal. In most cases, negative comments from others are their own fears being projected onto you. If you allow them to, these doubts will seep in and throw you off your path. It is important to have support during this time. Either hire a coach, or be careful to only open up to people that you know will support your new endeavor. If I had listened to all the negative feedback when I made my major career and life changes, you would not be reading this today and I would be in some career that I did not enjoy.
2. Whatever your journey, go toward it with an attitude that ‘failure is not an option.’ If you go forward with the thought, “I’ll just see how it goes”, you will not immerse yourself fully with an “I Can Do It Attitude.” That means you are not completely believing in yourself. Either you are in, or you are out. With a dream career there is no halfway.
3. Believe you can succeed, don’t be afraid to reach out for support, and your dreams will prevail. I am behind you 100%. Go for it!