An instructor teaching a class on storytelling emphasized the point that most people as they reach the end of their lives have a desire to tell their life's story. It makes one wonder how many people are able to look back on the story of their life with a sense that they could not have imagined their careers to have been any better.

Most of us as we approach our careers and wind our way through them give very little thought to how we will feel about them when they are over. We start out trying to figure out the occupations best suited to our interests, abilities and temperaments. Sometimes though, we rely so much on the opinions of others, our own expectations of how we should fit into society, or the need to be financially independent that we make decisions based on how we "ought to be" rather than following the path towards being authentic or true to ourselves.

Richard Bolles and Howard Figler, in their book The Career Counsellor's Handbook, underscore the importance of authenticity in career development when they say "choosing a career is giving yourself permission to be who you are". Since these folks are also responsible for the best selling career book of all time What Color Is Your Parachute its not surprising that they are able to cut to the core of an issue.

In giving ourselves the permission to be who we are, we allow ourselves to investigate the possibility of doing something we love. Futurist, Richard Worzell in his book, The Next Twenty Years Of Your Life suggests the following about managing a career "Do something you love and at which you excel, and then find a way to get people to pay you for it". This sentiment is echoed by Robin Sharma (an expert in leadership and personal growth) when he observed that one of the timeless secrets to a long, happy life is to love your work. The golden thread running through the lives of history's most satisfied people is that they all loved what they did for a living.

He notes that Thomas Edison was responsible for 1,093 patents which included the phonograph, incandescent light bulb, and microphone. Yet, Edison had this to say about his own career near the end of his life "I never did a day's work in my life: It was all fun".

There is a minuscule amount of people who are able to find their passion at a very early age. However, the vast majority of people find their passion as they progress through their career paths. As we change and grow new opportunities present themselves to us. There are times in our careers when we can hear an inner voice telling ourselves to branch out into a new direction. Often we know this voice is right, but listening to it takes courage. We should not discount the amount of courage that it takes to follow our passion. If it were not so difficult there would not be so many people boxed into jobs they wish they could get out of.

One day, when the story of your work life is written, will you be able to say that you had the courage to be yourself and use the unique gifts you have been given. Not only will it make your story more interesting for those listening, it will also be a more exciting story to tell.

Tagged In: Adult Learners , Career , Success Strategies , Transition