After you’ve defined your goals, the next step is to define your niche, if you haven’t already. For those of you that have, feel free to skip over this segment (although you may just want to take a quick peek) .
What do you LOVE to do? Are you an organic nutritionist, fighting for a cause, an accountant who has a secret to saving money, a sales specialist who has mastered the art of selling, a real estate representative who has sold tons of houses in a bad economy, a pet rescuer who has rescued thousands of animals - whatever your talent is, hone in on what you truely love to do, and own it. You actually need to take “owning it” to a new level of being unique compared to your competitors (I’ll expand on this point later in the series).
But let me get back to expanding upon that statement “truely love to do.” If you’re in something for the money, get out. If you’re in something for the status, get out. If you’re in something because you somehow ended up there, set a plan to make your way out. Yes, I know money plays a big part in where we all are right now so it is impossible to get out of a current situation until you have a steady way to bring in money. However, think about this. You only live once. Keep thinking about that statement. You only live once. YOU only live ONCE. No one is going to worry about how you weren’t happy in the place you’re in right now, so why look back in 5-10 years and not be satisfied? My Dad used to say ’*beep* or get off the pot’ – this statement applies perfectly to this scenario.
Figuring out what you love to do? The only way you’re going to become truely successful (see below) is if you are in something that you truely love to do. Get out a piece of paper and a pen. Now would be a good time! And start writing down what you love to do. Seriously, this really helps – you have to see the ideas on a sheet of paper in order to make a decision. And then ask yourself these questions:
- What are my strengths, and how would they compliment this?
- What are my weaknesses, and how would they not mesh well with this?
- Would I really do well at this? (dive deep for this one, don’t sugar coat)
- Why would I do this?
- Can I realistically see myself doing this in 3 years?
- How will this impact my personal life, and can I cope with that?
- If time and/or money are issues, how much time am I able to devote to this so that I can obtain my goals?
You don’t have to make a decision immediately, in a day or in a week. If it takes you some time to figure it out, that’s fine. Just make sure that before moving forward, you figure it out. It also may help to wait a few days, and then revisit your list.
What is your meaning of success? Everyone has their own meaning of success, and only you know what yours is. My meaning of success? To be extremely happy by helping people and pets, and be able to make some money to live comfortable while doing it. Simple, and easy (I usually stick to the K.I.S.S principle)! While figuring out what you love to do, it is equally as important to figure out what success means to you. You have to have the passion to back your every move in order to acheive that success!
Questions, comments, need more advice? Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @erikamcquade (formerly @estanczak) or e-mail me at erikastanczak [at] yahoo [dot] com.
PS – Being recently married, I’m in the midst of changing my name, so you will see Stanczak and McQuade both being used.
Tags: career change, DIY PR, DIY Social Media, job search
Categories
Archive
Blogroll
Meta
