Why finding meaningful work is more important than money

What motivates you to do the work that you do?  When I was talking to the Human Resources person at one of my former positions, she told me that 90% of the reason people work is because of payroll.  Indeed, I hear people saying that the first thing they are going to do when they win the lottery is quit their jobs. 

But what is more interesting than why people work is why they quit.  This is where the clues appear for what motivates people to choose work that fits.  

What I have seen from observing people who leave their positions is that a high percentage of the decisions were not related at all to the money.   How they were treated, priority changes because of family, a change of organization direction, and personal growth work which results in a new vision of one’s life are all top reasons why people want to make a change in their lives. 

Looking at the reasons people seek new opportunities, you can see that motivation is highly personal, dependent on where you are in your life and what it is that you want.  Motivation is internally driven.

The same is true of meaningfulness.  Meaningfulness is often at the root of motivation.  It is connected to values, the importance of how you want to lead your life.   And though making money is a value, it often is not the top value.

As a part of the career exploration, I produced a values assessment where participants chose and then prioritized their values.  Frequently, money was chosen for the first round but by the third and final round, it no longer was on the list.  Why is that?  

Though money is an important consideration, it is more of a flow-in, flow-out issue.  For example, what you need financially changes over time.  When push comes to shove, you can be quite surprised by what you actually need to survive. 

In circumstances where you are making big decisions, money may not be the biggest factor.

The values that you are left with at the end of any day has to do with how you feel about yourself and the world.  At the end of trying situations, I have heard people proud and resolved that they came out with their integrity intact.  And along the way when they have been the most confused, their values are what guides them to their next action. 

It is those values that are held most dear that become most meaningful.  Though our values can change over time, they are ultimately where “the buck stops.” 

While meaningfulness has everything to do with who you are and what you want, there also is another component.  Mostwork is in relation to other people, societies and the planet.  For some people, this means working directly with homeless people and for others it means leading a corporation.   The common thread is seeing themselves as a part of making a difference.

People who experience the highest amount of job satisfaction feel like they are contributing to an issue bigger than themselves.  They may want to make a difference but their desire is to contribute in meaningful ways. 

Meaningfulness also is a driving factor in hanging in there when times are tough. 

How, then, do you find the work that provides meaning in your life?  Asking yourself the following powerful questions will help illuminate what is meaningful to you:

1. What is meaningful to me?
2. What do I consider to be the most important concerns, the issues that I care about the most?
3. What really matters?
4. If I could solve one world problem, what would it be?
5. What are my top 3 movies of all time?  What theme do they share?

This is one of the components of the Finding Work That Matters Program.  If you want to know more, check it out here. 

Living In Beta

The work that a person will do after graduation is not yet invented when they enter kindergarten.  When I was a young employment counsellor, I tried to wrap my head around how that one premise affects so much of our lives. 

How do you plan an education stream when you don’t really know what you will be doing?  What do you need to know to be employed, enough to sustain yourself?  What does it mean to live in a world that is constantly changing?

How do you plan your life work?

Life is about change from our birth and death to our ever-evolving planet.  You see it every day when you open up your computer. 

Algorithms change on websites and you don’t even know about it.  Every day there are ideas about improving.

Change encircles the world.  And yet.  There is the deep desire to follow traditions and find that cushy place on the couch.  What does this say about being human? 

What is intriguing about people is the relationship to change.  I remember reading an article by Anthony Robbins where he outlined 6 basic human needs.  The first one was certainty which he describes as “assurance you can avoid pain and gain pleasure.”  The next one was uncertainty, “the need for the unknown, change, new stimuli.”

Those both, apparently contradictory needs, play out in day-to-day lives.  It is in that interchange where you consider options, make plans and play out decisions. 

When looking at what work is going to fit for you, it is helpful to look at a new paradigm.  Living in Beta. 

In the past we saw work as a life-long decision, where you needed to choose THE career and then go down that path.  What you have no doubt noticed is that the trajectory is hardly a straight line. 

“Living in Beta” is a term I saw in Roadmap by the Roadtrip Nation people.  “A beta test is an iteration of something that is subject to continued improvement.” 

A beta test is a software term used when testing a product.  The idea is that the product will grow and evolve as they learn more about it in the marketplace. 

The authors suggest that applying that metaphor to work and approaching work by focussing on “building better versions of yourself.” 

So rather than focus on a particular job, career or set of skills, you think of yourself as a work in progress.  If at the heart of your career choices is the idea that life is always in flux, then why not make choices based on that idea? 

What does that mean? 

1.         There is only one guide – you! 

Though your work will always be at the intersection of what you contribute and what the world needs, the starting point is your own gifts and talents.  Immerse yourself in knowing what they are, expand your knowledge in those areas and consider how you can take them out into the world.   When you get lost and are questioning what to do, this is where you come back.  Your bright guiding star.

2.         Keep listening to yourself. 

In your daily life, you face dilemmas and problems where there are no easy answers.  When you pay attention to your values, integrity and ethics, you will come up with the solution where at the end of the day, you will be satisfied that you did what you could do.

3.         Pay attention.

When I was in Valencia, Spain last year, I caught the rail downtown and transferred onto the Metro.  How easy it seems to get spun around in a new city.  On the Metro, I looked at the route map above the door and realized I was going in the opposite direction to where I wanted to go.  Life is like that.  The most important part of what happened to me on that day was that I kept my wits about me.  For your life work and where you need next to be, pay attention to the marketplace, pay attention to what you are getting to know about yourself and what you have to offer and pay attention to what inspires you.  Expand into that bigger vision you have of yourself.

4.         Reroute when necessary.

This is the idea behind “Living in Beta.”  Since everything around you is subject to change, grasping the idea that you too are involved in the experiment will keep you rooted in the right place.   The focal point is your strengths.  As William Bridges in Jobshift emphasized, there is plenty of work though there is a decrease in jobs. 

In thinking of education, the question is about how to prepare students for a world of such vast change.  In the resources below, check out the Ted Talk by Molly Schroeder for an innovative idea of how students are engaged in their learning.  See the link to her talk below.

Molly Schroeder also talks about Google and how all of their products are released in beta.  Some succeed and some fail.  Throughout the process, what Google has learnt has changed the world. 

Living in beta is where I learn too.  When I think of raising my children, I was living in beta, a different version for each of them.  What worked for one did not necessarily work for the other.  There were experiments that soared.  There were ideas that fell flat.  The ones that worked the best were built on a foundation of love, values and understanding. 

What is the best way to prepare for Living in Beta?  Your comments are welcome!  Click on the Comment button below. 

Here are resources mentioned in the text above and some great food for thought!

Living in Beta – Molly Schroeder – Ted Talk BurnsvilleED

The 6 Human Needs:  Why We Do What We Do by Anthony Robbins

https://training.tonyrobbins.com/the-6-human-needs-why-we-do-what-we-do/

Inspired by the question:  What should I do with my life?  Roadtrip Nation:  Define your own road in life

http://roadtripnation.com/

Leading a Remarkable Life

What is this experience of living on this Pale Blue Dot?

As you think about careers, your contribution and what you love to do, what is at the nucleus is connecting with what is alive in you.

To me, the feeling of being alive I can see when I look back at my life.  At the births of each of my children, I felt connected to something larger than myself.  The experience also seemed to occupy every cell in my body.  

When I completed a walk-a-thon as a teenager, while my body was tired, it was also tingling with all of the excitement of what I had accomplished.  I also felt alive when my heart was broken.  The feeling of being alive is painful and joyful, ordinary and extraordinary and so much more.  

Can you think of a time when you felt truly alive?  How would you describe the feeling? 

CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, REMARKABLE HOST OF THE WORLD DOMINATION SUMMIT.  PHOTO:  ARMOSA STUDIOS

A few days ago, I returned from Portland where I attended the World Domination Summit.  As you can tell from the name, it is an event that is full of big ideas.  The question behind the summit is, “How do you lead a remarkable life in a conventional world?” 

The speakers, attendees and organizers have a good helping of curiosity, enthusiasm, and wanting to contribute to the world.  And so they are – from creative endeavours to community involvement to personal challenges.  It is all about having that full experience of being alive.

 Lots of ideas.  I know this is what makes me feel alive, turning that object in my hand over and over so I can see it from all sides.  One of the speakers, Lissa Rankin who explores the idea of finding our calling asked, “What is that thing that called you when you were less than 10?” 

I loved everything about books and school supplies.  I was awed by our local library and had a goal to read every one of those books.  I began with A.   Lucky for me, I was the eldest of 4 children so I had my ready-made classroom where I could teach what I was learning. 

That curiosity about how things worked was well rooted by the time I was 10.  I wanted to understand the world, what patterns arose and how it all fit together.  I can see now that the careers I chose had those elements.  Astroarchaeologist.  Homeschooler.  Computer Instructor.  Career Passionista.

How old were you when you discovered that core part of you that needed to be expressed?  What mattered to you?

From that place, you can get some good clues about what it means to be alive and in particular what taps into that well of aliveness. 

When I am in yoga class, I get a real sense of being alive in a body way that spills into other aspects of me.  Being so present in a moment, to see the beauty, to tap into the wonder of it all is available to us at any time.  The feeling of being alive is never far away. 

Your feelings of being alive can be felt on a physical level but it is also emotional, mental and spiritual.  Your sense of being alive is usually when you are engaged versus when you are participating passively such as TV or web surfing.   The appeal of extreme sports like bungee jumping and zip lining, is connected to that whole sense of being alive,  having a full body experience.

Music, art, dance and other ways of self expression connects us to feeling alive.  If you were to think of it in one word, perhaps it would be “yes!”   You see it in others, the sparkle in their eye, the brightening of their face, a sense of full engagement. 

Tapping into the feeling of being alive begins when you are young and newly discovering the world to hopefully the day that you die.  As you discover more about the wonders of this world, getting into contact with aliveness grows and grows.  It is a part of your curiosity. 

The journey is both individual and full of companions.  Your aliveness is invigorated when you find your tribe, the group of people that share your passions.  Whether it is being a part of an Olympic team or a book club, the interchange and exchange of ideas brings you alive.  It often spills over into other areas of your life.  Getting hooked on the notion that you want to reach your fullest potential, you are excited when you see that happening in others. 

As you begin to consider your "brilliant career," I encourage you to spend some time getting a sense of that feeling, even if it is hard to describe in words.  Where do you feel it in your body?  What kind of quality does it exude? 

This is your guidepost.  When you are in danger of straying away from yourself, this is what you come back to, to help you get on the path.  On your path.  Your own unique path. 

Below are some links to inspire you as you consider what makes you feel alive:

Falling In Love With Your Own Life

Ted Talk - Louie Schwartzberg – Founder, Blacklight Films

http://www.upworthy.com/clear-your-next-10-minutes-because-this-video-could-change-how-happy-you-are-with-your-entire-week?c=ufb1

40 Ways to Feel More Alive

            Tiny Buddha – Lori Deschene

            http://tinybuddha.com/blog/40-ways-to-feel-more-alive/

When Death Comes

            Reading by Mary Oliver

            http://www.ttbook.org/listen/80896

Pale Blue Dot

            Carl Sagan

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

8 Awesome Tips to Find Work You Love

Are you perplexed about finding work that you love?  Were you once happy in your work but now the sheen has worn off?  Are you wondering if you really can find work that you love?

In this post, I will share some of the tips to get you pointed in the right direction.

Finding work you love is a purposeful act.  It’s a lot like gardening.  A gardener begins by preparing the soil, knowing that the growth and health of the plant is dependent on this crucial step.  The work exploration begins with a preparation too.   It does come down to some basic idea – looking at yourself.  Don’t underestimate the importance of this step. 

In fact, beginning with your own self is the key.  There lies all of the clues to what your perfect work will be.

Here are the 8 tips for finding work you love:

1.   The importance of play

Often when we are considering the career that works for us, a serious hush falls over the room.  We roll up our sleeves to begin the huge task before us.  The pressure is on.  Anticipation is high.  Disappointment looms in the corner.  You have been here before.  You want THE answer.  What has finding work that fits for us have to do with play?  Because work you love will always have an element of fun.   In the exploration we need to tap into that.  The thing about humans is that most of our learning happens when we play.  As a child, we laughed when the toy we dropped into a mud puddle splashed in all directions.  We never thought about the laundry that would need to be done later.  Playfulness engages us.  It raises our attention and keeps us involved. 

2.   Put your considerations on hold, for now.

When you begin thinking about the work that you love to do, you have ideas about what won’t work for you.   “I have to have a job where I am home by 2:30 when the kids get out of school.”   From this starting place, an atmosphere of limitations is being set in place, perhaps closing a door to possibilities that you would not have considered.  There will be a place in the process for all of those considerations.  While you are in the midst of doing career exploration, put those considerations on the shelf.

3.   There is more than one fit for you!

In our culture you have been seduced by the idea that just like a perfect mate, there is a perfect job for you.  You just need to find it.  For those of you who left high school puzzled about what you wanted to do, the world seems to be full of people who found their perfect job. The reality is that when you find out what really makes you tick, you will find that the choices will both be larger and smaller than you think.  Larger in the sense that there are many kinds of work that will fit for you.  Not just one.  And smaller because you will narrow the overwhelming possibilities down to the ones that most intrigue you.

4.   No one else can give you the answer.

There is an appeal to finding the computer program that will pick out our perfect career.  Because of the overwhelming number of choices, you might want someone else to give you the answer.  Ultimately though you will never be truly satisfied by someone else’s idea of what you could do.  The best that anything or anyone outside of yourself can do is to believe in you.  You are the expert on yourself.  That doesn’t mean that you should do this journey on your own.  The navigation through the maze is certainly benefited from outside help.   Ideas, inspiration, other considerations, and encouragement are all invaluable ways others can help. 

5.   If the answer was easy, you would have figured it out.

When you are contemplating the world of work, there is a lot to consider:  paying bills, the effect on family and the rest of your life, your skills matching the marketplace needs, your own personal limitations and more.  Perhaps you have spent some time thinking how your career will fit all of that AND be one that you love.  Has that felt overwhelming?  That is a lot to consider and one of the reasons why the answer hasn’t come to you.  As well, probably you haven’t been able to devote a lot of time to doing the exploration.  Finding work you love requires focus and percolating time. 

6.   Life is a mystery.

The delight about life is that there is so much to learn.  This keeps you asking questions and seeking answers.  What you find out along the way is that the answers come from places where you may never have expected.  You are watching a movie and you think of the solution to that problem at work.  Your real challenge is not to know all the answers but be open to where they might appear. 

7.   If the shoe fits….

Once you do generate ideas for a good work fit, there will be a feeling of ease combined with excitement.  The feeling will be like finding the right pair of shoes.  You just know.  Often people come up with ideas that they may have had a long time ago that they discarded because of life circumstances.  Don’t dismiss these thoughts.  Recognize that nuggets of gold are found in the most unassuming rock.  You just may not be able to see because of your own conditioning about what that perfect fit is.  Too frequently people diminish their own brilliance. 

8.   Begin with the end in mind.

Once you do pick a career that you are excited about, you may feel the anticipation to get the plan in motion.  You are ready.  Sometimes this is when people go to the training institution to sign up.  But there is one more imperative step.  And that is finding enough about the career to see if it REALLY is a good fit. The best way to get the information you need to make a decision is talking to someone who works in the field.   Actually a few people would be a good idea to get a balanced view.  What you need is to get a flavour of the job.  What does a person do on a daily basis?  Ask all the other questions that are burning inside of you. 

Want to move towards doing what you love?  Check out my eBook: 10 Things to Do Right Now When You Are Unhappy at Work and receive the bi-weekly Do What Matters Newsletter.  Find it here. 

Life List Challenge

What do you want to do with this glorious life of yours?

Last year after I quit my job, moved to a new city and began the plans for launching my business, I found a coffee shop by the ocean and considered what it is that I wanted to do with my amazing life that was spread out before my eyes.  There were so many possibilities.

Sitting and looking at the vastness before me, I remembered a task that I gave to clients when they were puzzled about what work they wanted to do.  I called it a "Life List."  Things to achieve in my lifetime. 

Work is one part of our lives and who we are is so much bigger, much bigger than we actually even know.  What I figured out is that getting excited about our work means getting excited about our lives.  "What excites you?" I asked. 

As it turns out, probably a lot of things. 

The task I assigned was this.  Write down a list of what you want to accomplish in your life.  Big or small.  Give it a good hearty effort.  Write down 100 items.  "Really?" I heard many times.  The longer the list, the more you find out about yourself and what you love. 

My challenge to you is to do your own Life List.  100 or more items.  Investing time in exploring your dreams is one way to take them seriously. 

Here are some questions to get you rolling:

• What have you always wanted to do but haven't yet?
• Where in the world would you like to go?
• What experiences do you want to have?
• What would you do if you didn't have to worry about money?
• What adventures would you like to experience?
• Who would you like to meet?
• What would you like to learn?
• Is there anything in particular that you would like to have?

Here is the list that I created almost a year ago.  If you are sparked by any of the ideas, you are welcome to add them to your list.

1. Fly in a hot-air balloon.
2. Do a 10 km walk/run.
3. Fall in love - many times - people, places, things.
4. Watch the sun set in the Grand Canyon.
5. Watch all of The Good Wife.
6. See orcas up close.
7. Go to New York City.
8. Learn Spanish.
9. Write a book.
10. Become a Returning to Spirit facilitator.
11. Visit Julia (my cat that didn't move with me).
12. Become a travel writer.
13. Success as a career facilitator.
14. Visit the Maritimes.
15. Take a 365-day challenge.
16. Be silent for a day.
17. Make over $120K in a year.
18. Ride a gondola in Venus.
19. Go to Burning Man.
20. Do my dad's family tree.
21. Have $250,000 in savings.
22. Stay in a 5-star hotel.
23. Travel for 3 consecutive months.
24. Think to myself - I'm living my dream.
25. Winter storm watching in Tofino.
26. Alaska cruise with my mother.
27. Make a difference in someone else's life.
28. Create my own manifesto.
29. Travel around Europe.
30. Be invited to speak at a conference.
31. Achieve 5,000 subscribers.
32. Have my dream home.
33. Speak to over 1,000 people.
34. Explore a castle.
35. Throw a big party.
36. Sleep in a hammock.
37. Interview people about their work.
38. Host a talk show.
39. Find a job where I travel.
40. Visit Australia.
41. Go star gazing in the southern hemisphere.
42. See northern lights with many colours.
43. Create cards with inspirational sayings - leave for strangers to find.
44. Write a list of 101 life lessons.  Share it.
45. Learn a musical instrument.
46. Find a mentor.
47. Be a mentor.
48. Create.  Frequently.
49. Find work I love.
50. Help someone cross an item off their Life List.
51. Hold a monkey.
52. Surprise someone.
53. Create a website.
54. Learning how to make digital posters, writing on photos.
55. Write a love letter.
56. Serve food at a soup kitchen.
57. Get a degree.
58. Learn a new software program.
59. Create latte art.
60. Leave a 100% tip for a server.
61. Be a member of a TV show audience.
62. See a Broadway play.
63. Win something.
64. Ride on a train in Europe.
65. Attend a luau.
66. Go on a spontaneous road trip.
67. Pan for gold.
68. Go to Idaho Peak.
69. Visit Tikal.
70. Do a solo journey.
71. Walk on a glacier.
72. Learn how to create a perfect smoky eye.
73. Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
74. Travel to Bhutan.
75. Take a photo a day for a year.
76. Do 50 random acts of kindness.
77. Spend a day in a spa.
78. Go geo-caching.
79. Eat chocolate in Switzerland.
80. Stand on the equator.
81. Take a cooking class.
82. Get a cartoon sketch of me.
83. Milk a cow.
84. Teach someone how to read.
85. Lay down in 4 states at once - Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah - 4 Corners.
86. Walk on the Great Wall of China.
87. Hang out in Times Square.
88. Touch an iceberg.
89. Create an inspirational poster.
90. Create my own personal recipe book.
91. Operate heavy equipment in Las Vegas.
92. Identify 10 constellations.
93. Get a hug from a chimpanzee.
94. Make a list of 100 foods to eat before I die - and eat them.
95. Experience 50 modes of transportation.
96. Travel Icefield Parkway.
97. Study archaeology.
98. See Judy Chicago's Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum.
99. Contact someone with my name.
100. Fly first class.
101. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge.
102. Dance under the stars.

Write them down and they will happen.  Two of my accomplishments from last year - doing a solo journey and riding a train in Europe.  Here is my view of the Mediterranean Sea from a train going 200 km an hour:

What is on your list?