Finding a career mission

My mission is to use my skills in communication and my passion for change to help people discover and design a working life that works for them.

That’s mine. What’s yours? Do you know?

Most of us don’t. In the flurry of enthusiasm for high grades and university entry, our schools have somehow missed exploring mission an purpose with us. And though Universities have some very high quality career advice, they don't necessarily give you the chance to discover what it is that makes your heart sing.

And I believe you deserve to do work that makes your heart sing. What was all that investment of time, money and energy for if not that?

Personally, as a young person, I had no idea it was possible to combine my creativity and curiousity with my academic credentials. I thought I had to choose. This split made me very miserable until I found that roles existed where my eloquence and expression could be of use and service to others. And slowly, my niche in training, learning, speaking and writing about the 21st century career, emerged.

A mission is made up of the skills we possess, our areas of passion and interest and the valuable results that we generate as a result.

So if you are at a career crossroads, here’s how you can approach it.

• List your skills – what are you really very good at? What is it that you love to do even if you don't get paid for it? For example, I like to speak and share ideas  - and will do so for free for schools and charities.
• Explore your passions – remember a passion can be something that makes you mad – anything that causes arousal, interest, heightened curiousity – some people are obsessed with healthy food, with martial arts, with art and film…
• What would be the benefit for the world if you combined these – in a way that has commercial value?

Take time to consider this statement. Once you have a clear version of it that you feel good about, you can use it to define the criteria for your ideal job. And make a plan to go and find it.