There are those people that read sites like mine, Employee Evolution, and Cubicle Nation, and they say to themselves, “this is a bunch of garbage”. In fact, many people might think that career development sites that seek to help people find work that they love are living in a fantasy world. After all, work is not supposed to be fun, right? You are supposed to dread Mondays and relish the weekends. Those people with an old school attitude might think that real jobs are tough, and they aren’t a fairy tale.

I hope that I never paint the picture that finding the career of your dreams is a fairy tale, but just the phrase itself, “finding the career of your dreams” does sound like a fairy tale. It sounds like something you would hear on television at 2:30 in the morning. The reason for that is we have been programmed to believe that work is not supposed to be fun. We are not supposed to enjoy work. Where did that thought come from? I believe it came from the blue-collar mentality that our great grandparents, grandparents, and some of our parents were taught as young people. They were taught to punch a time card, serve their time, and party on the weekends to wash away their thoughts of their jobs. Please don’t misinterpret this as saying that blue collar work is bad or inferior to white collar work. In fact, I happen to think that working with my hands would be MUCH more stimulating and interesting than staring in front of a computer all day in an 8 x 8 cubicle. I’m saying that the times have changed, and now that more opportunities for high school and college graduates are in the office, and the work is mind-numbing. There is nothing to stimulate our minds. We want more out of life, and that is why you are seeing young people demand meaning in their work. They want to feel like they are achieving something with meaning and purpose. Of course, we want to get paid well for it, but we might even sacrifice that if our work begins to define our role in society.

Let me say that in bold text: We will sacrifice great pay if our work defines our role in society.

Once we are in a career where we can see the direct or indirect impact that we are making on society, there lies our dream career. Our dreams are becoming a reality. To strengthen my point, all you need to do is think back to your answer when you were a child about what you wanted to do when you grow up.

“I want to be a fireman”.

“I want to be a veterinarian”

“I want to be a teacher”

“I want to be a journalist”

That was me. My answer was always that I wanted to be a big-time sports journalist for a big magazine or newspaper. I love to write. I’m not the best at it, but I love doing it. I think it’s the most powerful way of communicating a thought. The reason I think that is because the printed word never goes away. It seems almost infinite. Look at the power of the Bible. One-third of this world stake their faith on the written word. You will never hear a child say they want to be something that does not have meaning in that career. Children dream of careers with meaning, the kind of careers where heroes are made and people make a difference.

So, will you stay a pessimist when it comes to finding the career of your dreams? Will you scoff at people like me and others and write us off as self-help gurus. Or will you take a serious look at what you love doing on this earth? What kind of work gives you purpose, meaning, and the will to carry on through this tough life? You can go on hating work and looking forward to the weekends, or you can allow work to become the single most powerful asset and motivator in your life. It’s entirely up to you and your attitude.