You are always free to create meaningful work.
But, sometimes, it’s just not the right time. Maybe you are the main breadwinner and you can’t afford to make a move right now.
Other times you have things going on in your life that require your FULL focus.
- You are caring for an elderly parent
- Your kids are young
- Your spouse is only working half-time
Or whatever.
I’m not suggesting that you can’t create meaningful work during these times. Some people do. It’s just that these things can make it more difficult for you to put your quest of creating meaningful work first. You have other priorities.
So, maybe it’s not the right time to create meaningful work. Maybe you feel you just can’t risk it, focus on it, do it.
But, even during those times, you can still do something to move you forward.
You can create the time and space in your thinking to dream. To ponder. To wonder. To reach. To start thinking seriously about what meaningful work means to you and what it could look like in your world. Clarity is key to success.
The first step to create meaningful work is to get clear in your own thinking about what meaningful work is, what it means to you and what it is for you.
So, give yourself the time and space to dream about what this work could be. Even if you can’t take action now to bring it to fruition.
At night before you go to sleep.
When you are driving in the car.
Instead of watching TV.
When you are working out, walking, swimming…
Do this for you.
I hear from clients all the time who tell me that they just don’t have the bandwidth to create meaningful work. Or that they want to begin but it’s not the right time. Make it the right time by doing the thinking now. You’ll be much closer to figuring it all out when the time is right. Take steps now. It will feel good because you know that you are making progress towards your goal of fulfilling, satisfying work. Those steps begin by clearing space in your mind to think about meaningful work.
Keep this question in the back of your mind:
“What does meaningful work mean to me and what kind of work would I want to do that has meaning?”
You’ll want to write down your thoughts.
Keep a journal, pen and paper, your phone, tablet, whatever. I like to carry around a stack of post-it notes and write down ideas that come to me. Because ideas come to me in the weirdest places (in the swimming pool, in the shower (what is it about water?), in the car, when I’m walking and running. I actually carry these tools with me sometimes when I’m out walking so that I can capture my ideas. Or use your phone recorder. Just keep track of the flow of ideas. Write them down. Capture them.
Here are some more questions to help you get clear:
- What are you really good at? (lots of dangling participles in this list!)
- What do you love doing? What types of things do you do where you get “in the zone” and lose track of time?
- What have you done in the past that you are proud of? What are your accomplishments? Who could you do these things for and why would it matter to them?
- What matters to you?
- What do you believe in?
- Where have you made a difference?
- What kinds of things excite you?
- What would you like to learn?
- What would you like to work on?
- What would you like to create? What ideas do you have?
- Do you have a way of seeing the world that you would like to share with others?
- How would you like to work? On your own? With others? On a team? A combination of these?
- Who would you like to work with?
- Who would you like to become?
- What would you like to be known for?
Just thinking deeply about these and writing down your thoughts will start you on your journey to create meaningful work…start today. (And, I’d love to hear from you…)
You say…
- you want to do work you love.
- you want work that is meaningful, to you.
- you deeply desire to leverage and develop your potential.
- you know you are capable of doing so much more.
- you feel like your song is stuck inside of you – and you long to share your voice because you have a lot to share.
- you believe work can be fun.
- you want to make a contribution based on what you have to give.
- you want to be paid fairly for what you bring to the world.
- you want to make your mark, make a difference, make an impact
What are you waiting for?
Action is required. If you want to make your dream a reality, you need to take footsteps. Deep inside you know this. But, you find yourself saying to yourself, “I can’t make a move right now, it’s not the right time because I need to generate income…people are depending on me and my ability to work.” Some people use these words as excuses. They would rather be unhappily comfortable. Or, wretchedly secure. For most people, however, these words reflect their current reality. They simply cannot change their situation right now. It’s not the right time. Does this describe you?
If so, the danger is that you end up shelving your dreams for your responsibilities and just fanaticize about what could be…and yearn…and spin, caught between what you feel stuck with and what you deeply desire to attain.
Or, you stay put because you don’t know exactly what you want, what it looks like, and you have no idea how to figure it all out. It’s too overwhelming.
So you just stay and spin and say to yourself, “I’ll figure it out someday.”
But, that someday never comes. And, you find yourself stuck for years, wasting time, and not coming close to reaching your potential, your dream.
What if I were to tell you that there is something you can do to move forward RIGHT NOW?
RIGHT NOW…you don’t have to leave your job.
RIGHT NOW…you don’t have to change your career.
RIGHT NOW…you don’t have to give up your financial security.
You can simply DECIDE that you are going to change things. And, you can make that decision RIGHT NOW. You don’t have to wait. You can DECIDE that you are going to find – and even create – work you love, work that allows you to make the impact of which you are capable, even if you don’t know exactly how right at this moment.
Just decide. Once you decide, there is no going back. You are going to COMMIT to that decision to create meaningful work, work you love, even if it doesn’t happen right away.
This simple act of making a commitment to yourself will change everything. It’s powerful. And, whether it takes you 3 months or 3 years to make a change, you have taken the first critical step. You have made a decision and committed to it.
Sounds simple. It is. But, it is also profound because making this decision will give you the confidence that you are on your way, the journey has begun.
As you’ve heard, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step…
Start your journey today.
It’s easy to talk ABOUT meaningful work.
But how do you actually create/find/do it?
STEP 1. Define it
The first step is to be able to define what meaningful work is, what it means to you and the role you would like it to play in your life.
It’s hard to search for something if you can’t identify or articulate what you are looking for.
How do you define “meaningful?”
What gives work meaning…to you?
What does it look like?
How do you measure it?
How will this work make you feel?
What do you hope to receive in return for this work? (Financially, emotionally, spiritually?)
What are you willing to do to find/create/get it?
STEP 2. Discover your talents (gifts and abilities)
This next step is to figure out your talents, gifts and abilities so that you can use them in the performance of this meaningful work. You want to find the things that come so easily to you that when you do them, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s these things – your gifts, talents and abilities – that make work fun and fulfilling.
Using your talents, gifts and abilities also makes work easier. It is easier to work when you are simply exercising your gifts and doing something you love. Under these conditions, work feels effortless, like play.
Finding your talents requires you to take a “deep dive” into your past to search for things you’ve done where you’ve made an impact, however small. Talents are linked to things you are proud of in your experience. This process involves excavating your past to unearth treasures you have inside of you. (The You Are Free System™ walks you through a detailed process to help you find those unique gifts, talents and abilities.)
Where have you made a difference in the past?
What enabled you to do it?
STEP 3. Figure out what you have to give
The third and final step is where the rubber meets the road.
This is where you determine exactly what you have to offer the marketplace based on your talents, gifts, abilities, skills, experience, and desire. You need to weave all these together to create a value proposition for the marketplace.
Then you need to go out and sell your value proposition in the marketplace. And, for those of you who are terrified by the idea of selling yourself, think of it this way. Enroll others in your vision of how you want to contribute. Advocate for your value. Educate others about what you do and how it might help them. Offer proof from your past.
If you find someone with a need for what you have to offer, it’s a win. For both of you. And, that’s your job. To find who needs what you have. It’s as simple as that!
It’s the July 4th weekend…
That means it’s time to celebrate the birth of this nation, and the principles of freedom, liberty and independence.
While we celebrate together as a country, let’s also celebrate the following principles in the world of work.
Remember…
You are free to create work you love.
You are free to define what meaningful work means to you and create it.
You are free to determine how to use your talents in the world to make a difference.
You are free to be paid fairly for your contribution, the value you provide.
You are free to discover your “why” and figure out what matters to you.
You are free to decide where and with whom to invest your talents…and for what return.
You are free to make your mark in the world (that is uniquely yours to make).
You are free to perform work that is personally fulfilling. On your terms.
You are free to express yourself through your work – and get paid for it.
You are free to do work that is aligned with your sense of purpose.
You are free to work in a way that allows you to develop and fulfill your true potential.
You are free to create work that is fun.
You are free to find joy in your work.
You are free to control your intellectual property and how to invest your creative capital and for what kind of return.
You are free to walk away from a job that is abusive, dysfunctional or super stressful for a more balanced worklife.
You are free to leave your dead-end, soul-sucking job for something more rewarding.
You are free to do the work of your dreams.
You are free to do the work you were born to do.
So, on this July 4th, let’s celebrate by thinking about how to bring these principles more in line with our experience at work.
You are free. Period. Happy celebrating!!!
Create work.
What does that mean? Doesn’t sound very appealing. “I have enough work,” you say. “Besides, you don’t create work. You DO work.”
Here’s what I mean when I say “create work.”
You do not have to fit yourself into somebody else’s box.
You don’t have to “find” a job. (Stick with me. I’ll explain more later.)
You don’t have to look for work that someone else has pre-defined for you in terms of tasks and responsibilities.
That’s all reactive. The key in today’s world of work is to be proactive.
You CAN create work.
It starts with you – knowing who you are, what you do well, what comes naturally to you, what you love to do, what matters to you, and where you want to make a contribution.
It starts with knowing yourself and what you have to offer, not with what’s available in the marketplace and how to fit or stuff yourself into it. (Boxes rarely fit, particularly job boxes. They are usually proscriptive, not descriptive. And, job boxes are almost always focused on skill performance, not talent expression. You want a place that will allow you, encourage you, and reward you for using your talents.)
When you create work, it can take numerous forms.
You can work in a job. (In fact, 50% of clients go on to work in a job. On their own terms. Sculpted and formed around what they have to contribute.)
You can create a role for yourself in a company.
You can work with a team.
You can work on a project, or a collection or projects.
You can start something yourself.
You can build a practice.
You can start a business or new venture.
You can create and market a product, digital or physical, here or abroad, by yourself or with others.
You can freelance, work part-time, full-time, in a partnership…whatever you choose.
The form the work takes is up to you. It’s a decision.
What matters is that the work allows you to use and develop your talents – your unique special abilities – so that you can make a contribution, on your terms, in your own way to benefit a company, team, project or entity, and be well-paid.
You decide what to do, how you will contribute, why it matters, what it’s worth, and educate others about the impact you’ll make.
That’s your job.
Your work is not the work of your father, your mother, your grandparents or your great-grandparents.
Your work is your work. Your choice.
You get to decide what work means to you and the role you want it to play in your life.
Is it simply the means by which you can generate a paycheck to pay the bills until you die? Or can it be something else? Something more?
We are told that work is necessary. Work is what you do if you want to be a successful, responsible adult. We are advised to work hard in school, in college, in our jobs, in our careers. Hard work is a virtue, but does work have to be hard?
If you look up work in the dictionary, you’ll see that the first couple of definitions are “labor,” “drudgery,” and “toil.” Gee…not very inspiring.
Why can’t work be fun? Why can’t it be inspiring? Why can’t you expect it to be fulfilling? You can.
You get to decide what you want your work to mean to you. Will it simply be the means by which you make a living? Or do you want more?
Here are some thoughts:
Work is the means by which you get to contribute your talents to the world.
Work is a creative act.
Work is a way to learn, grow and develop as an individual.
Work allows you to hone your skills.
Work offers you a significant way to engage with the world, to be a part of it.
Work enables you to receive value in exchange for the value you provide.
Work is fun!
Work is inspirational.
Work is how you find meaning, or contribute something meaningful.
Work is the way you fulfill your purpose and your potential.
Work is a form of self-fulfillment.
Work is how you serve God (Spirit, the universe, or whatever you worship).
Work is a spiritual act.
“Work is an excuse adults made to play with one another.” – Silver Rose
What does work mean to you and what role does it play in your life? Your answer will define your career choices and your work journey. You are not defined by your past. You get to decide.
It sucks when you don’t know what you want to do.
You’re talented.
You’re gifted.
You know you have a lot to give. And, you want to make a difference. You just can’t figure out how. And, now you find yourself spinning your wheels, wasting time.
You’ve made your mark in the past. Maybe you’ve been a successful marketing executive, leading product marketing campaigns that have made your company a lot of money, but you’ve been there, done that and want to use your abilities to make a bigger impact.
Or maybe you have been an award-winning copywriter who has created advertising campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands, but the work doesn’t feel meaningful and you long to use your writing abilities to make a difference.
Or maybe you are known for your ability to lead teams to achieve results, except that you’ve been doing it within a company and now you long to do this work for yourself, on your terms, instead of reporting to corporate.
Or maybe you had a pretty high-powered career, but you took some time off to raise your children and now you want to get back into the job market...but on your terms and in line with who you’ve become.
Or, whatever. Whatever your individual situation might be.
The point is that you are ready to do work on your terms, to make a bigger impact and to do something that feels meaningful, except you haven’t a clue how to go about it.
This is where I can help.
DO WHAT YOU LOVE: What do you enjoy doing? What kinds of things come so easily to you that when you do them, it doesn’t feel like work? What are you really good at? (Sorry English majors for the dangling participle!) What is fun for you? What are your talents? What are you known for? What sets you apart from other people who do what you do? How can you weave your skills and experiences together with these talents to make a bold proposition for the marketplace?
FIND WHAT MATTERS TO YOU: Work won’t be meaningful unless you can link what you love with what you believe in. You must define for yourself what matters to you. In what do you believe deeply? Here’s an example: one of my clients believes very deeply that everyone has the right to eat healthy food, regardless of socio-economic background. And, so he made a decision to contribute his talents to a company that specializes in distributing healthy foods. I believe that everyone has been given a unique set of gifts, talents and abilities and that our “job” is to discover that set of gifts so that we can make our unique contribution to the world and be well-paid. Everything I do is aligned with that philosophy. So, what is yours?
When you are able contribute your gifts and talents to support what matters to you, work becomes fulfilling and you will be unstoppable.
