Hopefully by now you have an idea of your dream job or business. Now I want to make sure that you indeed love what you want to do. So, the next thing is to test your dream against reality. A lot of people find themselves in their dream career, only to realise that it is not what they thought. I know several people who became yoga teachers and belatedly realised that practising it full-time took all the fun out of it. Opening a scuba-diving school in Thailand might seem like an endless holiday, but it is very hard work and will leave you only little time to enjoy the sun and beach yourself. Beware of escape fantasies you have when you hate your job.
So, how can you test your dream? There are two ways:
- Trying it
- Talking to people
You can do a dress rehearsal for your dream career by actually trying it to see how it feels and what is involved. Here are a few examples:
- Volunteering
- Internship
- Assisting/shadowing
- Part-time job
- Workshops or courses
The second way is to talk to anybody who is doing what you want to do or works in the industry you want to get into. You can ask your friends and family if they know anybody who might talk to you. Other ways of finding people in your chosen career are:
- Joining professional networks and associations
- Going to events (check out www.meetup.com)
- Joining Facebook and LinkedIn groups
If you can think of more ways, please feel free to share them in the comments.
I hope that you love your dream job or business when you find it. But if not, don’t give up and keep on looking. As you know it took me a long time and several attempts to get where I am today. And if you are a scanner like me, reality testing is especially important. Make sure your next move will provide you with the challenge, the opportunity to learn and the variety you crave.