Reflections on Career Development and Finding One's Calling

Personal Experience in Early Adulthood

• No positive influence or beneficial advice in early 20s
• Importance of choosing friends wisely
• Initial jobs: Restaurant work, part-time radio gig, data entry at Lap Corp
  • Data entry: 8 hours of flipping through drug tests and entering numbers
• Transition to medical transcription department for 10 years
• Lack of specialized skills and job uncertainty

Turning Points and Encouragement

• Faced job layoffs with no specific skill set to transition into another job
• Encouragement from wife to pursue training in computers and programming
• Initial reluctance due to unambitious work environment
• Started reading, studying, learning to write code

Important Diagram for Career Guidance

• Diagram from Michael Hyatt's blog, not existing anymore but the diagram does
• Useful for those in 20s or unsure of career path

Three Key Components of Career Fulfillment

1. Passion:

   • Everyone has something they’re passionate about (e.g., computers, business, finances, etc.)
   • Passion alone doesn’t pay; needs to align with a profitable career

2. Proficiency:

   • What are you good at?
   • Skills may align with what you’re passionate about, but not always

3. Profitability:

   • Is the career path profitable?

• All three components need to intersect for true career satisfaction.

Steps to Determine Your Career Path

1. Identify Skills: What are you good at? Ask others if unsure.
2. Identify Passions: What excites you? Make a list of enjoyable activities.
3. Check Profitability: Cross off non-profitable interests from your list.

Example Analysis

• Personal example: Passion for computers, proficient at it, and found software development to be profitable.

Considerations for College Degrees

• Choosing a degree based on passion, proficiency, and profitability can save money and align with career goals.
• Examples: Theater, graphic design, fashion design, photography, tourism may have limited market value.

Broader Applications of the Diagram

• Can be used to determine content creation (e.g., YouTube videos)
• Aligns what you want to create, what viewers want, and what others are creating.

Final Thoughts

• Assess where you are in the chart; full steam ahead if aligned.
• Encourage introspection: What’s stopping you?
• Engaging with the audience: Comment and discussion encouragement.