Finding Your Dreams

I've ready many articles across the web about pursuing your dreams and not letting anyone hold you back, etc etc. Many of those articles are great and are quite inspirational, but they all lack something pretty important, at least to me.

Finding Out What Your Dreams Are


Going out and filling your dreams is half the battle, but for many of the people I know, actually figuring your dreams out is just as hard, if not harder.

It can be a big challenge to pin down one or two things you really want to dedicate yourself to. From my experience there are two sides to this, either you can't find anything you love and want to do with your life or you have a whole lot of interests and can't find just one or two to focus on.

My issue has always been the latter of the two, just about everything that I can learn about sparks my interests. I get really into it for a couple weeks or so, then I find something new to pay attention to. It can be fun doing this, but it's been hard for me to find that one thing that was just right for me.

Most of those I know have always told me to do a computer business, since those have always been on the forefront of my interest. However, did I really want to turn my favorite hobby into a career that I might not enjoy once it becomes a job?

So how did I figure out what I want to dedicate myself to? I've been trying it all, slowly but surely.

I've read about many different professional careers and business, looked into what it takes to do it, the time commitment, cost involved, schooling or certification, job outlook and all the other details.

As I looked through all these careers they all had ups and downs, some sounded fun but required another 8 years of school, which I wasn't crazy about. At once point I considered law enforcement, but I'm still to young to even get into it, so I dropped that idea for the time being.

Throughout all my job searching I've kept mental notes of what I like about certain jobs and dislike about others.

So where am I now?

For the time being I work a day job and spend my nights writing for this blog among other small projects. My long term goal is to turn helping people into a full time job for myself. It feels great, gives me freedom and let's me be creative.

So how does this help to you?

Well, use some of the same methods I did.

Compare all kinds of jobs


Look online at everything you can find, whether or not you think it may interest you immediately, give it a chance and maybe you'll be surprised. Think of professional jobs as well as what you can do for yourself and write down the pros and cons of everything you look at.

Do you know anyone in a profession you might enjoy? Talk to people and try to network, get a better idea of what they really do rather than just what their job description says.

What don't you want to do


Finding what you want to do isn't always easy, but thinking of things you could never do is usually quite a bit easier. Do you have any phobias? Think of anything from fears of heights, spiders, the dark, and rule out jobs that will require you to work in these conditions often.

Do you hate sitting all day, maybe you can't stand the idea of working outside in the elements, can you handle a job that requires a lot of physical strength, how about dealing with chemicals or smells that may aggravate any medical conditions you have or are just unbearable to you?

Do you mind getting dirty or do you want a job that requires a suit and tie, maybe you can't stand corporate culture and want a creative job.

Everyone has different likes and dislikes, listing dislikes first might help you narrow down the careers or jobs you want to do.

Think Ahead


When you find something you think you might like, pretend you start tomorrow and imagine yourself 5 years down the line. Remember, you want to find your dream not a short term goal.

Do you still enjoy doing this for a living? Will it get repetitive in boring? If it's a career working for someone else, is there plenty of opportunity to move up or will you be in the same place for years at a time?

Will you need continued education to do this, is that something you would like?

When I landed my current job, it seemed like the best thing in the world, but as time went on it became boring now I realize it's not such a great job.

Can your dream earn you a living


Most anything in life can earn you a living in some way, but just to be safe, make sure your dream can. If so far your dream is to watch TV for the next 50 years, you might have trouble earning an income on this.

I don't want you to give up your dream if making money doesn't look easy. Give it time and think about it some more, look into how you could possibly make money on it. Maybe you could find a whole new way to make money and live your dreams your whole life and inspire others to do the same!

Summary


Living your dreams is what everyone wants to do, but first you've got to find your dreams! Try to use some of the tips in here to narrow your search down or find the dream that's been eluding you.

Never ever settle for a career or job that just earns you money, live a happy and exciting life not a monotonous one!

Have any other tips? Leave a comment or email me your story, I'd love to hear it!