I know, I know. By now you're begging for mercy. We're almost there. I promise. Just a few more posts to go and you'll have everything all figured out. Alright, I lied. You'll have SOME things figured out anyway.
Find Your Zen Place
If you've been doing as I've suggested, by now you should have reams of paper on your passions and your talents. What to do with it all? It's time to go to your "Zen Place" and write your career manifesto. It will become your blueprint and your path to finding your purpose.
Where, you may ask, is your "Zen Place?" I don't know. It might be at Starbucks in the middle of the afternoon. It could be in your family room or living room late on a Wednesday night when everyone's asleep. Or it may be in the early morning light of your kitchen with a cup of coffee and the cat purring loudly next to you. Wherever it is, it's the place were you are able to think calmly and clearly with no interruptions and as little negativity as possible.
Strangle The Little Men in Your Head
By now you're thinking that I'm insane, but I promise that I'm not. Your next step is to get rid of all of the critical voices in your head that may have taken up residence there. In fact, because you've been doing so much thinking about what you really want, those voices may be louder than ever, hounding you to just stay in your old life because it's so much SAFER there.
For this part to work, though, you have to get these guys to shut up while you're in your Zen Place. It may take a glass of wine or two (that always works for me) or it may mean meditation or music or a blow to the head. I don't care. You need to get them to shut up and let you THINK for an hour. Don't move on until they're willing to cooperate.
It's Manifesto Time
OK, so you're feeling all Zen. And the "voices" are quiet for now. It's time for your manifesto. Here's what I want you to do:
- Pull out your journal and everything else that you've managed to accumulate during the course of the previous exercises and read through everything you've got. Keep an open mind as you go through this first time. Just let it all wash over you.
- After the first time through, go back again for a more careful review. Write down key words, themes, etc. that jump out at you. What are the patterns that you see? How do you see your passions and your talents intersecting? How aligned is your current life with the picture that's emerging? What does that tell you about yourself and where you want to go? Really be honest and pay attention here. It's important.
- Now I want you to write your career manifesto. What's a manifesto? It's a "public declaration of intentions and principles." In other words, it's a series of key statements about what you will be seeking in your career and your life. Each statement is positive and in the present tense. You will say things like "My work is utilizing my key talent in seeing the big picture. It provides me with the opportunity to look for patterns and ideas and to write about what I see."
- I'm not into "shoulds," but I'm going to tell you that for the best effect, you want your manifesto to have enough statements and detail to capture the most important information you've uncovered about yourself. You want it to be an inspiration to you and to give you what you need to discover your purpose and how you can use your talents and passions for the most impact. For some people, that means you'll be writing 20 statements. Other people may be able to get it together in 5. It's up to you, but don't short-change yourself here. It's a manifesto. It's who you are so don't make it less than the full enchilada.
Now Put it Away for a Week and Let it Marinate Some More
That's right. You heard me. Put it away and don't look at it for at least 7 days. At the end of that week, read your manifesto again. Does it make your heart sing? Does it get you excited and thinking about possibilities? If so, then it's perfect and you're ready to move on. If not, then you may need to do some more work on it. Don't rush it. Don't worry about it. These things come in their time. Forcing it isn't going to make it happen any faster, I can assure you from long, hard experience.
A Caveat About the Voices Though
You didn't really think that you could get away without me bringing up those voices again, did you?
One thing I need you to keep in mind when you're reading your manifesto again is this. Sometimes you'll go back and look at what you've written and you won't feel excited anymore. You'll think "Well, I'm not nearly as excited as I was last week. It must be because my manifesto hasn't quite captured it for me." That may be true. Or it may mean that the voices have talked you out of thinking that you can actually achieve your career dreams. They may have begun the steady drumbeat of negativity that talks you right back into that job you know you hate, but at least it's a job. Don't let them do this. They are not your friends.
When you're reviewing your manifesto, I want you to read it with the complete confidence that you will get what you want. Don't worry about how or when. For now, just read it with the optimism of a child and see how it makes you feel. If it makes you feel good, then you're on the right track. If it doesn't, THEN consider doing more work on it.
After the Manifesto
So with your career manifesto in hand, it's time to congratulate yourself. Have a glass of wine or something chocolate or whatever you do to celebrate your victories. You've earned it. You may also want to check out some other manifestos. Only a few are related to career(read Pam's on "Accountability Breeds Passion and Desire" for some inspiration. The rest are just interesting and fun to read.
Next time, it's back to work. In the next post, we'll see how you can discover your purpose.
Michele
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