Career Basics Course: Week 1, Day 4
Burnham Park features the naturalistic Promontory Point -- The Point -- designed by Alfred Caldwell

Career Basics Course: Week 1, Day 4

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." –???Khalil Gibran

Describe Your Dream Job

"Now is the time to embrace your daydream. The is the moment when you channel the electric experiment that comes from imagining limitless possibilities and fill in the details and subtleties that transform that thought into a clear picture with you in the center.

Here are three questions that will help you bridge the space between the idea and the reality.

  1. What do you want? Make a list of everything you want in life ...
  2. What path do you want to walk? This question is rarely asked with as much depth as the first, yet it is the key to your happiness ...
  3. How can this path help you get what you want? Our brains are wired to synthesize and make sense of disparate information. By asking how your path can help get what you want, you will begin to see answers that you didn't realize were possible.

People most accidentally trade their quality of life (or ideal path) for what they want because they mistake the most readily accessible way as the only way to get something. ...

However, if you answer the questions above in earnest, the answer to the third question -- how that path can help you get what you want -- may not lead to the fastest journey. It will most likely not be the easiest . Often it will require you to look hard for role models and cobble together stories that make sense of possibility a reality.

But it is possible. Harder, but possible."


Note: This is either ...


For me, at this moment in my life, mid-60s, these are important questions and ones that I find myself returning to on a regularly basis; when I'm at my best, I'm able to weave and return to these questions daily on a daily basis during my morning walks with my daughter's dog, Carlos - a Corgi/Australian Shepherd rescue do. My friend/colleague, Scott Downs that I've mentioned in other posts, has introduced me to Agile Planning and Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 thinking about this. More about this later, but essentially developing a North/South Star or direction, more intermediate steps towards that goal, and then smaller chunks of time, perhaps two-weeks or a month in which you introduce daily steps towards the bigger journey. So that's a process by which I'm trying to think through these questions.

Here are a few short notes, more to follow across this journey over the next 10 Weeks.

  1. What do you want? At this moment in my life, and this will be different for every individual, it's TIME. Time to be present for myself and others in the accompaniment of their journeys and stories, and time for deeper discernment about the path that I want to (or must) walk.
  2. What path do you want to walk? A path toward great integrity, authenticity, and radical justice (note: I'm still trying to figure out what each means to me) -- that very much includes being in service of others and what matters to them. Less about being "in the center" and more about "being around the circle."
  3. How can this path help you get what you want? Frankly, I know that I will be happier, healthier, and a more loving person. Like many of you, I've always told myself that it's a balance between "keeping the lights on, paying your bills, and being responsible to those in your care." All great and wise leaders, including Dev Aujla whose text serves as our map, encourage us to think that this is not a "question of THIS or THAT," but rather -- in the great tradition of Chicago Improv, a "question of THIS AND THAT."

So here's to this honest journey. More to follow.

Good luck to you -- and a Happy Thursday.


Today's Recommended Viewing/Listening:


Looking ahead: Friday, 3 March 2023-- "Schedule A Vacation Buffer"


All the best to everyone; thanks for accompanying us on this journey.

Gerald and?Al Nunez

Gerald Doyle

Human Centered Design and Innovation: "You know, I believe it's sometimes even good to be ridiculous. Yes, much better. People forgive each other more readily and become more humble, ..." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

1 年

Zoe Hatch Greetings; a Happy (very sunny) Day in Chicago; Thursday, May 4th. Today's question resonates well with me. As I think about the arc of the next decade, I'm also thinking about how I might construct a "portfolio of dream or ideal jobs" that might provide both a foundation for and exploration of what might be next. It seems to be that this question will vary for each of us at different moments in our lives. And, as I think about, sometimes I've found myself in some jobs that we're not "ideal or what I might have described as dream-state" but which became more so as I learned from what the "job and the team had to offer" and then leaned into and crafted a better version of the original job. For the most part, neither we nor the jobs that we hold are static; we -- and the jobs we hold - evolve, and then lead us to what's next. Good luck with your reflection on today's theme. Much peace. Gerald

Gerald Doyle

Human Centered Design and Innovation: "You know, I believe it's sometimes even good to be ridiculous. Yes, much better. People forgive each other more readily and become more humble, ..." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

1 年

Matthew M. Woodfolk Thanks for reposting Week1, Day 4 of the Career Basics Course. See you next week.

Gerald Doyle

Human Centered Design and Innovation: "You know, I believe it's sometimes even good to be ridiculous. Yes, much better. People forgive each other more readily and become more humble, ..." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

1 年

Maalik Henderson Matthew M. Woodfolk Wolcott College Preparatory High School Thought to share with the two of you. Talk tomorrow. Week 1, Day 4.

Gerald Doyle

Human Centered Design and Innovation: "You know, I believe it's sometimes even good to be ridiculous. Yes, much better. People forgive each other more readily and become more humble, ..." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

1 年

Christabel Agbo Thanks for visiting today; how's your job search and trajectory unfolding these days.

Al Nunez

University Advancement | Passionate higher education professional who builds relationships with alumni and friends of the university.

1 年

I remember when my kids were young my wife ran a daycare and we asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were the usual doctor, fireman and policeman and one boy said he wanted to be a ice cream truck driver. We all laughed but thinking back on this he had a dream job in mind. Maybe he wanted to be like Ben & Jerry. What do I want? I always wanted to help people reach their goals. There are many ways to do that such as a professor, teacher, coach, counselor or a number of other professions. I have spent most of my career in higher education in college recruitment and have enjoyed seeing students reach their degree. What path do I walk? My career journey has been a twisted path with some steep climbs and sharp turns with various stops (jobs) along the way. Sometimes I felt like someone else was doing the driving but I want to take hold of the wheel and drive myself. How can this path help you get what you want? I have a choice. Stay on the same path or take a detour and pivot in a new direction. I will need to decide for myself and you will too, In your job search journey there are many tools for you to select. Use everything available to you.

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