Part Two

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.

Part Three

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.

Action!

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.

Part Two

Why our jobs can make us angry

Your reaction to this event will be governed by your rules, which in turn are controlled by your values.

The person who would challenge the other driver could be controlled by the value of justice and feels that their rules of fairness and justice have been violated. This challenge can also be witnessed in what is commonly known as road rage.

Road rage can be triggered when a person’s values have been violated. Road rage has led to death – this is how strong and significant our values are. We are willing to die for our values. So if we are working in a job which is not in line with our values we will constantly experience feelings from mildly irritated to anger or depression.

Find out what your values mean to you, you can make the most of this explosive information to catapult you into the life you want.

Part Three

Balancing conflicting values

Human nature being what it is, we believe our values are the only true, proper and right values to have. We think that what’s important to us is also important to other people, and if it’s not important to them, then it should be!

Most of the time, our close circle of family and friends share the same values as we do and this continuous support and back-up of what is important can lead us to believe that we are right and others are not.

Unfortunately, outside of this sphere of people we meet on a day to day basis, many different value systems exist.

This can be frustrating, for if values are rules most important to us, how is it possible for other people to value things less or more than we do? If things are important to us, surely they should be important to others?

Values can create great pleasure and great pain, and these kind of dilemmas are frequently the cause of conflict between individuals, groups, and countries.

Getting clear on your values before you change your career will mean that you get a career that really fits in with your values. It will be easier for you to make those ‘life defining’ choices and take the right opportunities and options. When your values are congruent with your career you will live an exciting, balanced life.

Action!

Actions of the Week

Take your pen and paper and answer these statements without hesitation.

1. What is important to you in life? Give one word answers – for example honesty, love, peace, joy. List as many as you can think of.

2.  Now go back to the list and circle 5 words that leap off the pages to you.

These are your strongest values. By highlighting your values and being aware of them you increase their power and you ‘own’ them. Your values have been with you all along – but have you always been with them?

3. For the next five days, ponder over your values. It needs time – it’s that important.

Take one of the 5 primary values you defined each day, and as you go about your day think about it and of how it sits with the way you live and work during the day.

At the end of each day, sit down for a few moments in a quiet place and answer these questions.

• How much did this value feature in your life to-day?
• How congruent is your your value with the way you actually live?
• Are there ways you get it to show up even more in your life than it does?
• Do you leave this value at home when you go to do your job?
• Are there ways you can increase the impact of this value in and on your life?

The challenge is for you to express your values in every area of your life rather than hide them away only to be used at night or on the weekend.

When you live your values you have achieved personal integrity, wholesomeness, and you are true to who you really are.

Well done – it isn’t easy to think about things so deeply! Keep these lists  and your answers in a safe place, because we will need them next week when you’ll be learning how to reveal your dream job.

Part Two

Live your life all day

We spend more than a third of our life at work, so it makes sense to make our working life work towards our purpose and values. It truly can be done! You can combine your whole self into what you do. You don’t have to put away the real you every morning and pick yourself back up again at the end of the day.

How are you expressing your purpose and your values in your life right now? You may have already discovered that the job you are doing is the right job for you. Let me give you an example. Say a driving instructor signed up for this course. She completes Week 1 and, after working seriously on the exercise, comes up with the following purpose:

‘I can help people with my teaching skills achieve independence and because of this I am fulfilled.’

Week 2 reveals her life values which are freedom, love, respect, sense of achievement and peace.

Is she in the right job? She is living her purpose and values because she works the hours she wants to and therefore has freedom. She also gives her pupils freedom of movement, independence and help because she is teaching them skills they can use. She gets her sense of achievement when the pupils learn new skills each lesson and, finally, when they pass their driving tests. She is respected as a competent teacher and driver and she can only get results from pupils by respecting their learning pace and style.

This week helped her to consider her values and life purpose in relation to her current job and she found that – yippee! – she was already doing it. She revealed her perfect job was the job she is doing. This changed her feelings towards her pupils, her job and her family. Now she knows that she is fulfilling her purpose and is congruent with her values, her job is more fulfilling and worthwhile to her.

But perhaps you have discovered that your current job is not fulfilling your purpose and values. It’s time to make the changes to achieve personal integrity, wholesomeness, and live your life as you really are.

Action!

Actions of the Week

1. Write a list of jobs, careers, industries, businesses or occupations, any that have ever occurred to you as something you might consider, however unlikely it may seem that you would succeed.

2. Beside each job write some words that you would associate with this job. Just positive words for now.

For example,

Nurse: love, honesty, energy, dedication

Self employed: freedom, peace, independence, leadership

Take time over this and list as many words as seem relevant to you.

3. Find your list of 5 primary values and put them on the table along side the list you just made.

Look down your list of jobs and, next to the ones who have one or more of your values, circle the the values that coincide with yours.

3. Now get out your purpose statement. Select the roles on the list which have the most of your values against them  and see if your purpose statement can be achieved by doing that job.

Now you have a list of suitable jobs you’re ready for next week’s lesson when you’ll find out how to start on your new journey of life.

Part Two

Make each day the best it can be

The great thing is that you can answer these questions and make a real difference to your current lifestyle. You can change an average day into a stunning day. How can you, the driving instructor, make your day better?

One way might be to make a mental note when each client is talking about themselves so that the next time they are in the car you can ask them about the things that are happening in their life. Be specific, so that they realise you listened and cared enough to remember. This will make them feel special and look forward to the driving lesson which, in turn, will reflect back to you.

Perhaps you don’t like working on Saturday but it’s the best day for business and you’re always booked solid. How can you make this better? Perhaps you could choose to finish work one hour earlier and use this hour to do something special, something you really enjoy – a round of golf, a manicure, a massage, anything that will give Saturdays a lift and give you something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Part Three

Wrong job, what next?

What if the job you are doing has got to go? You have your life’s purpose, you know what your values are and you’ve selected some suitable career options. What next? You need to decide which one is best suited to your new life.

You’ve already chosen careers which match your purpose and values, now you only need to decide on the best one for you.

Pick no more than three and compare them to each other by asking yourself,

• Is number one career more appealing, exciting, exhilarating than number two?
• Is the one you chose more appealing, exciting, exhilarating than number three?

Suddenly, you now know which is the right choice for you!

Your top career has been selected, now it’s time to make a start. You already have skills you can use, but you need to know which ones are crucial and if any skills or knowledge must be gained. There will be a set of skills and competencies with your career and you need to identify them to know what steps you need to take next.

Part Four

Using your skills

Let’s say that you want to become a self-employed hairdresser. You already have the following skills; hairdressing, dealing with people, booking in appointments, taking and balancing the money and day to day running of a salon.

What you can’t do, or don’t know at the moment, is how to run a self employed business, how to order hairdressing products, how to do the book-keeping, how to find and negotiate business premises to your advantage. You are however, excited, motivated, passionate and ready to embark on the career journey of your dreams.

It’s your turn to do the work how and when you want to.

It’s time to make a start.

Action!

Actions of the Week

A. You are staying in your current career

1. List all the small areas of your job that ‘bug’ or irritate you or you dislike doing.

2. Put against each one what little small improvement or change you could do to make this more appealing for your or better for your clients.

3. Now put a date against each area by which time you will have done the improvement.

4. Take each item and date and write out the following statement of intent.

‘I will do ———-(area) on or before ___________(date) because I know it will move me toward a career of my dreams.’

B. You are changing careers

1. What skills and knowledge does this career require?

2. What skills and knowledge do I already have? (Don’t be modest!)

3. What do I have to do to make it happen?

4. Put dates against each of the things you have written in 3.

Now you have a list of things to do and dates to do them by, so go for it! Start now, not tomorrow, or next Monday, but NOW!

Next week’s lesson will move you closer to your goals.

Part Two

The power of a mentor

If you want to change your direction and say, set up your own catering business, decide what needs to be done. Who do you need to speak to for information, support and guidance? Perhaps you could consider getting a mentor who is already successful in the catering trade. Ask friends, and friends of friends if they know anyone in the industry.

In theory, you’ll be a competitor. But if you choose someone who lives a reasonable distance from where you’ll be setting up, and your business won’t take away their customers, they may be willing to help you by telling you the best way to do things and what to avoid, saving you time and money. Decide how many actions you will take each day to make your dream life come true.

Commit to your dream lifestyle

The exciting times we now live in have made it easier for you to decide that your life was not fulfilling your dreams. You have recognised that the world is constantly changing and the changes are ever more frequent and more dramatic. You are living and working during the most incredible period of the human race and you are lucky enough to be selecting a perfect career for yourself! Decide now to stick to your plans and commit to your dream lifestyle.

Part Three

Live your life today

We can spend more than a third of our lives at work, so it makes sense to make your working life work towards your life purpose and values. It’s up to you to keep up this exhilarating new start and you can only achieve this by continuously taking action.

Action can take two main forms.

• The physical form of action is activity ­ -  actually doing something.
  You have a list of things to do, so get started!
• Making decisions
  You’ve already made the decision not to be tied down to a life of mediocrity, not to just be content with your lot in life and not to sit in your comfort zone and vegetate. You have spent time getting clarity on what you want from life, so don’t sit on your discoveries! Now is the time to decide to keep to your plans and decide to make it happen for you.

Part Four

Part Five

Action!

Actions of the Week

1. Take out your list of things to do and add three more actions one in each of the following categories:

• A decision that will improve my chances of success.
• An action that will accelerate me into my new life style.
• A gift or treat just for me to celebrate my commitment to myself and my future.

Well done! Now you have a list of things to do and dates to do them by.

Decide to be different to the rest and, decide to keep to your commitments to yourself.

2. Before moving on to the last module of this course DO at least one of the actions in each of the categories above.

Complete them, don’t just start them. Make it your business this week to get big red ticks beside them and mark them DONE.

Part Two

Raise your standards

Work hard at adding value to everything you do. Every day, improve your service to yourself. If you’re employed, find ways to add value for your employer so that if there are ever any redundancies – and remember, it’s likely to happen at least three times in your working life! – your name is the last one on the list to go.

Become an invaluable employee. Take pride at going that further mile, regardless of any recognition you receive for your efforts. Sometimes it takes a while before your rewards realise themselves. Be patient and be persistent in improving your contribution. Raise your standards above those of your colleagues.

Why would you want to be average? Why would you want to be the same as everyone around you? Make it your task to become distinctly different from the crowd. Be better than those around you.

Part Three

Be the best

If you have decided to run your own business, the same applies. You don’t want to be the same as all of your competitors, you want to be the best. To be different, add value and shine above the rest. Make sure there are no rivals, no true competition, because you are the best. You’re ahead of every other business because you choose to be. Be impeccable, superb and different ­ stand out from the rest.

For example, if you decided to set up a cleaning company, make sure that your standards are higher than all other companies. Set yourself apart by being different. You could decide to use only environmentally friendly cleaning materials and use this as the thing that makes your company different.

If you are a driving instructor you could offer driving lessons in the middle of the night so that night workers don’t need to change their sleeping patterns when they can learn to drive. Spend time working out how you can add value, be different and be the best you can be.

Part Four

Work from the heart

Your heart is now in the work that you do, and the you at home is now the same as the you at work. Work is going to work for you. Work is going to be meaningful to you because you have taken the time to design the career most suitable for you and the lifestyle you want to have. You will take continuous action to become and be the best.

You cannot turn back now. You have started an exciting journey in the direction of your heartfelt wishes for a career that will keep you fulfilled and passionate about life. You have worked hard to get this far and you must continue to rise to the challenges ahead because you know you are different and special. You have what it takes to make the changes needed to have a fulfilling and rewarding career.

You know that by deciding to be different and the best there will be challenges, setbacks and, sometimes, disappointments. But you will not be driven off your path. You will take each challenge, setback and disappointment as an opportunity to learn what you could do differently, what you could do better next time.

Most successful business people have had many different careers, businesses or attempts before they reached the top, and the challenges never go away. The key is learning from the valuable feedback each challenge gives you. The triumph is that when you fail, you get right back up, dust yourself down and carry on. You have to take the risks because not taking them means you will go back to the way you were before. And that was not acceptable to you.

Part Five

Action!

Actions of the Week

1. Write a life plan or, if you already have a life plan, keep it going by daily renewing your action list and adding to it.

2. Make a list of the main challenges you think you may have to face and then put next to each challenge two things you could do to overcome the challenge and keep yourself on track.

Well done!

You are passionate and committed to making your life outstanding and you have the right to be that way. You are worth it so go for it! It’s up to you to make this a lasting success and have the career which makes you happy and fulfilled.