The Career Guy

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Gil Bailie, quoted in Wild At Heart by John Eldridge

The object of the career exploration process is to find a career which leaves you happy and fulfilled.  Within reason, which road you take to get there is less important.

 From my perspective, the important thing is to find work that you enjoy doing.  Pursuing education for personal benefit is always desirable, but in terms of career preparation, the object of the game is to get the education you need to be able to work productively in your chosen field.  I have a Master’s degree. I pursued the degree because it was necessary for me to become a career counselor.  From my perspective, an Associate degree and a Master’s degree are both 2 year vocational degrees.  If the result of the education you pursue is that you come away happy and fulfilled in your career, you win, regardless of what it took to get you there!

1. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.
2. Life can be enjoyed, even though it seems impossible at times.
3. No matter what happens, ya’ gotta see the humor in it.

You need to follow your heart and not think about what others may say, think, do, or not do.  Go for it with everything you have.

The Popeye Principle

Popeye is an unusual character. To call him unique would be a profound understatement. Popeye is physically misshapen. He’s craggy, and his face is a broad exaggeration of the classic gnarled “old salt”. He only has one eye. His personality is abrasive and quirky, and he has an entirely unique outlook on life. He is a thoroughly odd person.Popeye finds himself in the middle of trying circumstances, and odd situations. He’s regularly confronted with the fact of his uniqueness. There is really no one else who is remotely like him, and to the common eye, he would not fit in anywhere in “normal” life and society. In the face of this, Popeye turns to the camera, addresses the audience and anyone else who might be listening, and says:

“I yam what I yam!”

It’s very possible that Popeye has discovered the key to real happiness. He squarely faces the many things which make him unique, and which many people would see as defects, misfortunes, oddities and rough edges to be “worked on”, and he embraces them.