Are you looking for career advice? Through high school and university I had a variety of jobs: commercial fisherman, fish factory worker, infantryman, laborer and bricklayer. Then something amazing happened – success! But how? How do you find work you love that leads to success?
Research shows that up to 70% of people hate their jobs. Many of my friends do not love their work. Now their children are in school wrestling with the tension of what to study and what careers to pursue. Many people I know are still wondering how to find work you love.
As a child, I dreamed of being an entrepreneur, of starting a business. At age 25, I began Land Ark Homes. It was a modest home building business that grew in 20 years to build over 350 luxury estate homes. I became a legitimate entrepreneur.
This is a shared dream, many of us want to be an entrepreneur and run our own businesses.
Throughout those 20 years I began focusing more on my strengths and passions and delegating responsibility to others with skills that complemented mine. Later, I was free to focus on what I did best and eventually find the work I love. With that came the responsibility of partners and employees. Ultimately, my job became serving people: the staff and our customers. This is one of the secrets to winning in business – being eager to serve.
Have you figured out how to find work you love? Recently, Forbes magazine reported up to 70% of Americans hate their jobs.
Like most people, I have experienced jobs that were less than engaging for me. I’ve been an infantryman, commercial fisherman, laborer, bricklayer and carpenter. Then I was blessed to find work I love. First as an entrepreneur home builder with our company Land Ark Homes. Now as a blogger.
We often imagine finding work we love but do you know what to look for?
Picture yourself getting paid to do something that thrills you. That you are good at. That society values. When you find work you love, it shows.
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”
Proverbs 22:29
We talk a lot about growth in our culture. Personal growth, economic growth, population growth and more! In the church these days we use language that is sometime confusing – after all, what does it mean to have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. I just returned from a Build-Up Conference and it seems to me, we need to shed some light on this phrase.
God provides illumination in the words of Jesus in the story of the Roman centurion who demonstrated such great faith it was preserved as a model in the Bible.
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Matthew 8:10
Few of us always knew what we wanted to do. Those rare people are the lucky ones in a sense, because they find that direction early in their journey. What about the rest of us?
Today the average person will find a job 11 different times, with the average lasting just 4 years. How do I find the job I love? What field of work do I pursue? These were the questions I faced as a young person. As my life progressed I starting building homes then later building people through blogging. Part of this path was planned, part of it was organic, and it just evolved. There is nothing wrong with doing whatever you fall into. But, when you find the meeting point between natural talents and personal passion it changes everything.
If you feel that there are never enough hours in a day, you are right! The clock keeps ticking whether we like it or not. But what are we spending our precious few hours on?
Here are some astounding facts:
- The average person watches TV over 4 hours a day. That’s 28.5 hours each week.[1]
- The average internet usage is 43.5 hours per month.[2] That equates to an hour and a half each and every day.
- The average Canadian spends an unbelievable 32 days each year commuting to and from work.[3] That’s over 768 hours trapped in your car every year!
It’s no wonder we feel we don’t have enough time.
It’s because of that last statistic that Zig Ziglar suggests we turn our vehicles into “rolling universities.” Tossing in a CD or tuning into a podcast can help turn your commute into learning time.
But what should we focus on?
