Exploring Work and Career: Part Three
This is Part Three of my three part series about my experiences of exploring work and career. I also want to share with you what I have been doing ‘on the side’ for the last two years and share a new beginning with you.
Let’s first review the steps I took to find the job/career that finally ‘fit…
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Explore. Explore. Explore. Try as many different jobs, hobbies, and activities as you can.
I worked multiple jobs at a time and even had thirteen different jobs in one year.
Follow your heart. Even if you have no experience jump right in and try anything that captures your interest.
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When I applied for a a position as a draftsman/person for a land surveying company I had no experience other than four years of high school drafting, a desire to learn and a interest in exploring a new field.
Note what you like and dislike about each job and when you do move on seek a new position that has more of what you like than what you dislike.
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A big realization early on was that I preferred to work indoors versus outdoors. After mowing lawns as a teen and a summer working on a Zoysa grass farm I made sure I never sought an outdoors job again.
Note what you are good at and the things you’re not good at. Don’t keep trying to be good at the things you have no talent or gifts for. Focus on what you are good at and build from there.
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As I advanced from one job to the next I kept trying to find positions that had more of what I was good at. I recognized early on that I was good with numbers, seeing the ‘big picture’ and organizing people, tasks, and projects.
Work hard. Be honest. Do more than you are paid to. Ask questions and learn as much as you can about your position and the company you work for.
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This single factor allowed me to be promoted and get paid more than my peers in just about every position I ever held.
Take risks and jump at opportunity.
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When I worked at the food manufacturing plant I had only been there for a few months when a new position was posted. It paid almost five dollars more than I was making and was considered one of the top positions in the union. It looked interesting, paid better and even though it was hard work, it was better than standing in one position all day doing the same thing. Everyone told me I wouldn’t qualify since I was at the bottom of the seniority list. But, I applied anyway. And, surprise, surprise I got the job. Why? Because I seized the opportunity, took a risk and went for it…plus, no one else wanted it. It was the hardest physical work I’d ever done. No woman had ever had the job as a mix tank supervisor. I spent the next six months learning and work my butt off. Then I got bored again. I had saved almost all of my overtime and quit and return to college full time without the need to work.
Incorporating everything I had learned about myself throughout my twenties helped me find my current job and a career that I thrived in for over a decade. I began as an entry level administrative clerk at a distribution and transportation company and advanced to a senior manager, decision maker and respected expert in my field.
2007 not only marked almost ten years in my current career but, also the tenth anniversary of my Dad’s passing. I had accomplished a lot over the previous decade but, at the same time I recognized that there was something missing. I had stayed busy learning and exploring over the years but, I had lost my way to my real dreams.
To find my way back, I began to explore old dreams and new dreams ‘on the side’.
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I continued to read and explore subjects and topics that interested me and things that I loved.
I reviewed all of my old journals looking for ‘clues’ to who I was and the dreams I had forgotten.
I continued to journal, explore and write about my self-discoveries.
I reached out to an acquaintance to form a “mastermind’ group of two, also known as an ‘accountability partnership’. We met weekly for almost a year to discuss our dreams and goals and to provide feedback and encouragement to each other in forming goals and taking action, both personally and professionally.
I began to ‘act’ daily, not just talk about doing things. I began taking action today, instead of always planning and dreaming about taking action tomorrow.
I also began asking for the things I needed and wanted. One of those things was privacy to read, write and reflect. During the summer of 2008 my husband and I remodeled our home, providing me with my own, private, home office. We also put up a fence that ran the length of our property providing privacy outside as well.
I committed to learning and exploring beyond just books and local community college courses. I studied what I found interesting: writing, marketing, and entrepreneurship and traveled around the country to learn from the experts. I also attended a local, six-week meditation workshop and enrolled in my first online writing workshop that gave me an opportunity to share my writing for the first time in almost twenty years.
I began to explore beyond my ‘home town’ and to travel with a purpose. I traveled to attend workshops, seminars and conferences around the country including a week long stay at a luxury beach resort in Delray Beach, Florida.
All of these exploratory steps ‘on the side’ led to the biggest step of all when I started The Dreaming Café earlier this year.
For the last nine months I have gone from dreaming to doing. I write everyday, I connect with people online and offline every day in meaningful ways, and I am exploring and living the life I’ve always dreamed about.
This two-year exploration ‘on the side’, along with several other changes in my personal life, has culminated in the decision to leave my corporate job and my current career.
In many ways one journey is ending while another is just beginning.
It’s time to move from exploring my dreams ‘on the side’ to living my dreams full time.
My creative journey to self-discovery is moving in a whole new direction. And, it’s going to be an adventure of a lifetime.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to all my readers and supporters. Without you my dreams would still be living in the shadows. You’ve provided the daily encourgament I needed to keep moving forward. I hope that in some small way sharing my journey helps you to begin or continue your own journey.
Peace and blessings always,
Sandy
