Redesign Your Career
Module 1: Identify your true purpose

Why work must work for you

Work has to be meaningful to you. In the past, our parents were often satisfied with going to a job they disliked or were bored by, believing that work was a means to an end.

One result of this was that they were a different person inside work to the person they were outside of work. They wrapped their true self up inside and, from the time they started work to the time they came home, presented to the world a different person from the one at home with the family or out with their friends.

That was the way it was, and most people were satisfied with this way of living. But today, we’re not prepared to put up with this lifestyle. We understand the need for self-expression through work, not after work. We have higher expectations for ourselves.

The world is constantly changing and I want you to embrace the thought that we live during incredible times and are lucky enough to be able to take advantage of these awesome changes.

There are no more jobs for life!

The truth is that a person working in the corporate, health, retail, service or manufacturing industries will be made redundant at least three time in their working life. This can sound scary, but actually it’s a great opportunity to stop and review your lifestyle.

Most people, on reflection, look back at being made redundant and see it as the best thing that ever happened to them. It offered the chance to choose a new pathway, time to choose a lifestyle and not to keep on moving up the career ladder just because it seemed to be the right thing to do.

And guess what? You don’t even need to wait to become redundant! You just need to stop and decide that this is not enough for you.

The increases in pay and status no longer compensate for not seeing your lovely home, for not being there when your children take their first step or speak their first words, for not spending time with your partner.

The new shiny car every two years doesn’t compensate for missing your garden, walks in the forest, cycling with your family or just sitting down and spending time with your parents while you can.

A new way of working

There is an alternative option for us today. This great option was not on the table 10 years ago, but technological advances mean we can now run businesses from a cottage in the Outer Hebrides or from a farm in France.

We no longer need to be tied to a boring office, stuck at a tiny desk in an open-plan environment where you are no more than the persons around you. You get to choose what you want from life. Today, we are not overwhelmed by the new challenges, but are willing and able to use them to our advantage.

Downshift a gear

The exciting times we now live in make it easier to choose what and where we work. These days, there is no longer a stigma attached to down shifting – choosing to live a life with less pay and material goods for a life with more love, working on personal relationships before financial gains.

Now you can choose what you really want to do, you are no longer trapped by, ‘it’s what’s expected of me’. You get to select a career you love, and a career you do because you love to do it. Perhaps you want to write a book, opera or musical. Set yourself free, and in doing so, live your passion and let your passion pay the bills.

Be your own boss

Perhaps you have always wanted to run your own business. Well, why not?

If you’ve thought your idea through, researched the subject and established there is a demand for your product or service, there are hundreds of books, government support grants, Prince’s Trust grants and often free training all to help you get started. Banks offer periods of no interest for new business start-up and organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses are all there to support you.

None of this was so easily available to our forefathers and that is what makes it so exciting.

Actions of the Week

These actions will help you produce a Purpose Statement. Take your pen and paper and answer these statements without hesitation or thinking about work.

1. List 10 things you want most from life – List 1

2. List 10 things you want for the world – List 2

3. List 10 things that make you special/unique – List 3

4. List 10 things you are good at, can do now – List 4

5. Go back to each list and circle the phrase which is most important to you, so that you have 4 phrases circled

6. Using the phrases you have circled, complete your Purpose Statement as follows:

I can insert the circled phrase in List 4 with my or using my insert the circled phrase in List 3 achieve insert the circled phrase in List 2 and because of this I am or I will be insert the circled phrase in List 1

7. If your statement seems a little muddled – rewrite your phrases or select different phrases from the lists, until you have a Purpose Statement that really works for you!

8. The action points above are designed to coach you to find a Purpose Statement, if you do not already have one.

You can use the 40 phrases you have selected in your lists to make a statement using any of the phrases, in any combination, to create a completely different styled purpose statement.

The important thing is to design a purpose statement that reflects you and your dreams which you can passionately work towards.

Well done! Keep these lists in a safe place because we will need them again in module three.

Next week we’ll be discovering your true values, and how they can affect your happiness at work.