If you are anything like me, you like to be good at everything and specialize in nothing. One of my favorite authors, Ken Roberts, once wrote, “I know a little bit about everything, and what I don’t know, I make up.” I first read that line over 30 years ago and it still somewhat rings true to me. In that time, I have held several jobs. I have worked in, retail, factory work, law enforcement, car sales, temporary staffing, furniture mover, light construction, satellite installer, cable technician, stock broker, security guard, manager, and now, I run my own marketing business. Whew! Was that a mouthful!
I have enjoyed learning a new skill and tackling new adventures. Often, it was in pursuit of a higher wage. I stopped at nothing to make more money and applied for every job under the sun. Employers who were willing to take a chance on me gave me the opportunities I needed to grow and improve on some of the skills I already possessed. Today, I find myself running my own marketing firm and quite honestly, it should not have taken me over 30 years to find my life’s work.
In your own journey, you can do one of two things; try working at as many jobs as you can, until you find the one that makes the most money and you can tolerate or consider your talents and find the work you can dedicate your life to once and for all. This blog may put you in the right direction and save you a wealth of time.
The following are the Top 3 Things You Can Ask Yourself to Find Out What You Do Best:
- Heed the Hobby – Remember the adage, “Love what you do, and you can’t call it work”? What if you could turn your hobby into your life’s work? Whatever it is you do that brings you joy, can become a potentially life changing thing. How so? Let’s break it down; your hobby is something you may possibly be doing for free. You spend countless hours per week cultivating and perfecting your hobby. You use all your spare time to work on your hobby. You have sometimes thought to yourself, “If only I could get paid for this…” Most entrepreneurs have taken their hobbies and turned them into full-time successful venture. Perhaps it is time to step back and figure out a game plan to turn what you love doing into something you can continue to love doing and reap financial rewards from? Look into it and you may find others have already taken that plunge.
- You Constantly Talk about the Glory Days at a Former Job – In our quest for higher paying jobs, we tend to jump from industry to industry. Unfortunately, sometimes we leave a line of work we thoroughly enjoyed for one that may have paid more but was just not as satisfying. Going back to a previous line of work is not a signal of failure, rather, it represents a realization that you may have taken your previous employment for granted even though you may had been experiencing growth and were becoming even more proficient at your craft. It is never too late to go back to what you once were good at. With a new perspective, you will most likely love the work even more.
- Friends and Family Encourage You to do a Thing – It is rare when people, especially those close to you, pay you a sincere compliment. I am not sure why that is, but when it happens, it most likely comes directly from the heart of the person. We have all had something like this happen; you’re hosting a barbeque and you break out your secret BBQ rub recipe. Your friends and family in attendance cannot stop talking about the deliciousness that is your one-of-a-kind concoction is a show stopper. Some in attendance say stuff like, “You should bottle that stuff and make a fortune!” or “With the right marketing and resources, that rub could become a household name!” You may not be ready to “give it all up” to pursue a dream or business venture of mass producing your creation and spending your life’s savings to offer it to the public, but you may be missing out on identifying a passion which could lead to the work you love. Perhaps you have a niche’ for creating awesome recipes? Perhaps, you are destined for the culinary arts? Perhaps, you may want to consider an education into such a field? Why not? How many more years are you willing to waste on finding the perfect opportunity for the perfect job? Perhaps, you have already found it?
We are afraid of the unknown, and if you really think about it, everything we ever try for the first time is unknown, but we persevere and move forward until we get it right. We may never perfect what we do, but the journey to perfecting it becomes our job. If we love what we do, then it is more than a job; it becomes our life’s work. Choose wisely.
-Omar Tarango is a Freelance Blogger and Social Media Manager-