Considering a Career Change? Discover Your Passion First

There's an old saying that if a person works at a job or career that they find unfulfilling, they're simply trading time for money. And since time is our most precious resource, your really have to ask yourself if it's a worthwhile trade.

Have a look at this scenario: a person drags themselves out of out of bed on Monday morning, pumps themselves full of coffee, and then drives to their office or other place of work.

They spend the next eight or nine hours performing work that neither challenges them nor fully utilizes their talents and abilities. They take breaks, chat with co-workers, go to lunch, drink more coffee, and shuffle a few papers or turn a few screws.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, they clock out and drive home, only to repeat the process all over again on Tuesday.

Does this sound familiar?

If it does, what you need is a "passion transfusion." If you're considering a career change, and you want to do more than just trade time for money, you need get in touch with the things you're passionate about. Then see if there's a way you can match your passions with a new job or career.

A brainstorming session is a good place to start. Find a quiet place where you can sit and think for an hour or so, and bring along a legal pad and something to write with. Then spend some time writing down everything you're passionate about. Don't worry if it's something you could make a career out of - you'll take time to decide that later.

Some people tell me that they have a hard time thinking of anything other than their family, or their spouse, or their boy or girlfriend. But everyone has something they feel passionate about, they just have to remember what it is. For some people, it's a hobby or activity that they enjoyed when they were young. Others are passionate about helping people less fortunate then themselves. Some people are passionate about music, or art, or cars, or fishing, or working with kids, or performing in front of others.

Whatever it is, write it down. Write down everything that you enjoy about that activity - how it makes you feel, how it makes you excited, how you lose all track of time when you're doing it. For some people, this is all it takes to re-discover a passion that they'd forgotten they even had.

Now see if there isn't some way you could find a career that utilizes your passions. Is there a business you could start in your area of interest? If you're passionate about working with kids, for example, you could start a day care service or work as a tutor. If you love old houses, you could buy distressed homes and renovate them for resale or for use as rental properties.

Even if you can't find a way to fashion a full-time career out of your passion, maybe you could start a part-time venture and build it in your spare time. Many successful businesses were begun on shoestring budgets in people's garages or basements.

Now your ideal or "dream" career should be about more than just your passions, of course. Many people are passionate about hang gliding, but you might have a hard time making a living at it. And you need to consider your core values, your talents and abilities, your motivations, and your family when choosing a new career path.

But passion is a good place to start. And if you have to start out by pursuing your new career path in the evenings or weekends, so be it. Just make sure you clear it with your family first.

After all, if it's your passion, it won't feel like work, will it? And isn't that the whole idea?