True Work Indicators:

You feel like a duck in a pond. Your work is a natural expression of your talents and personality.

It fits you so well that often, work is play.

You are proud of what you do and enjoy telling other people about it.

You are highly respected at work because you are so good at what you do.

You do not have to pretend to be someone else at work.

Your own best and most natural forms of creative expression are what you are paid to do.

The environment you work in brings out your best efforts, and you're proud of how spending extended time in that environment shapes you (as a person).

You enthusiastically look forward to going to work most of the time.

Your job rewards your most important values and allows you to fulfill your goals, in terms of personal growth and achievement, income, stability, relationship/family, etc.

The result of your efforts makes a contribution that matters to you personally. You don't spend your days working for something that you don't really care about.

Your job directly fulfills your work-related goals. It does not create barriers to realizing your other goals.

You like the people you work with.

You are on a winning team that is having a great time getting the job done.

A day on the job leaves you feeling energized, not burned out.

Top 10 Ways to Find Your Passion:

Seek what...

Nurtures you and feeds your soul on a daily basis ( you feel better afterwards than you did before )
Brings you true, heartfelt joy/fun ( a smile in your heart, a giggle in your voice, a skip in your step, a still, peaceful silence in your mind )
Is totally and uniquely appropriate for YOU/authentically YOURS ( observers might say, "Wow, s/he was born to do this!" )
Energizes/excites you ( you feel this in your body; you're "in the flow" )
Inspires/calls you ( it’s a “pull” not a “push” for you; you can't wait to get back to it )
Contributes to a purpose larger than you ( humans are generally more motivated/empassioned/energized when they know that what they're doing makes an important contribution to a cause, society, the community, the planet, etc, or when they can at least see a genuine, positive impact on another individual )
Makes time disappear ( you are completely immersed in the experience; perhaps you find yourself humming, whistling or singing )
Engages your intuitive part and your deeper wisdom/knowing ( so "in the flow" that it may even feel like some other force is "working through you" )
You could spend your life doing ( ie, have a big enough vision/playpen such that there are enough challenges, ways to play, and ways to keep you intrigued long-term...so that you can keep "freshening the pot" throughout your life -- EXAMPLE: New Dimensions Media's mission is to interview world masters on the latest thinking and discoveries on expanding and elevating human consciousness. This vision allows them to disseminate what they find via CDs, books, internet radio, classes/workshops, videos/DVDs, podcasts, etc. )
Serves people and serves the planet ( is sustainable )
BONUS: This process is not an intellectual exercise: Your body is the primary tool for finding passions. You can't "figure out" who or what you love in your head. Often, only after stumbling upon a passion does the mind wake up and say, "Hey, what's happening here? I really like this! I feel more happy than I have in a really long time!"

Plus, there are probably 100+ passions/talents/gifts inside you (right now!) that you have yet to discover: Endeavor to make it a priority (ie, schedule time) to go out, over and over again, and continually sample new treats from the buffet table of life...while paying close attention to how they "taste" to you ( ie, how your body responds and what you FEEL when you're immersed in that particular experience ). The process of discovering your passions can be a fun and exciting life-long adventure. This can be as simple as making the decision to look at your life this way...as an endlessly fascinating and deliciously surprising quest into the magical mystery of "Who the heck am I really, anyway?" If you aren't connected to several things that really light you up and make your heart sing, make it your goal to try 5 things you've never done before, or that are a bit outside your comfort zone, by the end of This Week. Don't die without truly knowing YOU! Don't die with your music still in you!!

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." ~ Confucius

"Environment is stronger than willpower." How is yours shaping you?

"If you fail in a task, it is obvious. If you fail yourself, there is no concrete evidence. You just slowly become someone you don't like." ~ Andrew Gentile

To hear one's own voice, it's necessary to break away from the chorus. If you're lying on your death bed tomorrow, with only yourself and, possibly, the divine to answer to, will you be comforted by the knowing that you've both known and sung your own song fully and proudly? That day is coming, and none of us know how long we have. So, please, explore what you love and ENJOY YOURSELF--TODAY! It may be later than you think....

Follow your bliss and don't be afraid...and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. ~ Joseph Campbell

"Keep walking, there's no place to get to. Don't try to see through the distances, that's not for human beings. Move within, but don't move the way fear makes you move." ~ Rumi

Mind still... Heart open... Body dancing...

< Possible Next Step: 9 Secrets to Getting the Job You Really Want >

< What To Do With Your Life? >

< Back to where you once belonged >

Rich Raffals ~ Awaken the Magic Coaching
Committed to Your Success
650-493-2993 / raffals@earthlink.net

{ Home | Rich's TrueWork Journey | WisdomCircle | Résumé | Inspiration | Up }

Are You in Your "True Work"?