Keys to Successful Business and Life
Success Key #2: Discover Your Passions and Strengths

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."  (Confucius)

Most multimillionaires don't slave away at a job they hate. They love what they do. They can't wait to get to work in the morning and have a hard time leaving in the evening. According to researcher Thomas Stanley, 

"The most successful business owners we have interviewed have one characteristic in common: They all enjoy what they do."(1)

Warren Buffett, the world's greatest investor and second wealthiest man in America, speaks of tap-dancing into the office each morning. He spends his days pouring over the financial reports of hopeful businesses, making phone calls to managers and running ideas by his partner. Sounds terribly boring to most people, but he loves it! Buffett loves investing.

Bill Gates, the world's most successful entrepreneur, would sneak away at night as a high school student to work with the computers at C-Cubed, a company that hired students to trouble-shoot their programs. Gates loved programming. 

Yet, many people don't love their work. Many find themselves in dead-end jobs that they endure for the paycheck. Forty-nine percent of workers responding to one survey said that they weren't satisfied with their current jobs. (2) The flip side of that stat is that 51% of workers are satisfied with their jobs. It is possible to find a job we love. Obviously, if we can discover a job we can get passionate about, we're more likely to succeed at it. How did the successful find their niche?

Some millionaires found their love early. Successful director Steven Spielberg made movies in Junior High with his neighborhood buddies. Young Thomas Edison could lose himself in experimentation.  

But most great successes didn't find their passion on their first try at a job. Here are some tips at discovering your passions and finding a job where you can use them. 

1. Work a variety of jobs. 

By doing this, we discovered a lot about themselves. Jack Welch, one of the most respected business leaders of the century, started out caddying for golfers. Paul Orafalea, super-successful founder of Kinkos, failed his way through numerous early jobs  before deciding to start his own business. Guitar legend Eddie Van Halen (in picture) played piano before he picked up the guitar. As a high school student, Steve Jobs worked a summer job at Hewlett-Packard with Stephen Wozniak. They later co-founded Apple Computers. 

The point? Start by doing something, whatever it takes to make the money you need. You can't learn much about yourself by goofing off all day.  

2. Look inward. 

As you work and play and go about life, ask yourself "What do I enjoy? What do I hate?" Do you like working with people, or prefer working by yourself? Do you like big, complex projects, or short, simple projects? Do you prefer to work with your hands, or with your mind?

Looking inward takes effort; it's not easy to get to know yourself. 

Peter Drucker, author of 35 books and considered the father of modern management, says that 

"Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer." (3) 

Knowing yourself takes effort, but it's a critical first step. According to job coach Dan Miller, 

"Looking inward is 85 percent of the process of finding proper direction; 15 percent is the application to career choices." (4)

So don't get discouraged if you have to wade through some not-so-great jobs in your early years. Use the experiences to find yourself. Mediocre jobs can be stepping stones to great jobs.   

3. Get input.

Others often see us better than we can see ourselves. Constantly ask others what they can see you doing for a living. Also, consider taking professional assessments. Often, they can surprise you with some jobs you wouldn't have ordinarily thought of.  

Today's Tips:

• Work hard at something this week, both to make ends meet and to get to know yourself.
• As you work and live, ask yourself questions, like "What do I like about this job? What do I hate about it? What do I do well? What do I stink at?"
• Keep picking up skills and education, since you don't know what you may be doing long term. Also, your passions may well change over the years. 

For further study:  

• Read Dan Miller's 48 Days to the Work You Love. Lots of great stuff that you wouldn't ordinarily think about. 
• Ask a school counselor for a self-assessment tool you can take for free. For example, some districts have codes to use www.careercruising.com . 

End Notes

1) Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door.
2) Dan Miller, Forty-Eight Days to the Work You Love, p. 1.
3) Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths, inside sleeve.
4) Dan Miller, opt. cit., p. 4.
5) Eddie Van Halen picture. According to Wikipedia, "This file has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. This applies worldwide."