I didn’t figure I’d ever get a chance to write an article that combined astrology, my favorite quotation about sticking it out, my home town, and how to find your dream job all in one spot, but now’s that time.

Talk about being in the zone!

One of the biggest challenges for all of us who are trying to find our life’s work are the laying-awake-at-night-3:00 a.m. moments when you’re filled with self-doubt and wondering whether you’ve got what it takes to make the changes in your life that will get you to where you need to go.

It’s during these times that I read motivational literature and review my rather vast collection of keep going quotes and stories.

My favorite quote on the “determination is everything” front is from Winston Churchill (I’m an amateur historian of World War II and the homefront in England) and it’s really quite simple.  He said:  If you’re going through hell, keep going.

Makes sense to me.  Who’d want to be in hell any longer than necessary?  Don’t languish and feel sorry for yourself, just keep moving forward. 

So, it was with a bit of surprise that I came across the following in a recent issue of the Santa Fe Reporter, Santa Fe, New Mexico’s alternative weekly paper.  I live and work in Santa Fe, one of my favorite spots on the planet, and what I enjoy the most about the place is the sheer and incredible variety of people that live here.  Not only is Santa Fe filled with an incredibly diverse population of Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo peoples, it’s one of the country’s most artsy-fartsy places so there’s always something interesting to see, do, and taste.

Reading the Reporter each week is one of my favorite see-what’s-going-on-about-town pastimes.  And, it’s through the Reporter that I first came across Rob Brezsney and his really fun-to-read Free Will Astrology column.

I’m not sure I’d admit in public to being an astrology believer, but I read horoscopes any way (don’t most people?) and am probably like the atheist who prays . . . just in case.

I’m a Virgo, so the column that Brezsny wrote today really hit home, and I’ll copy it here:

“If you are going through hell, keep going,” said Winston Churchill.  Let that advice be your inspiration in the coming week, Virgo.  But wait:  Before you jump to conclusions about what I’m saying, know this:  Your tests and trials will be far, far less hellish than the ordeals Churchill faced as he led England through World War II.  It’s true that you may feel a bit tortured in the heat of the moment, though.  So don’t you dare slow down to feel sorry for yourself or scream at the chaos-makers.  Keep plodding forward, secure in my assurance that you’ll cross the border and exit out of the infernal regions well before you’re exhausted.

God, I just love this guy — he’s a sure Top5er, as anyone who can weave in one of my favorite historical figures and his quote into my own horoscope has my attention.

Stay the course, Dream Jobbers, and don’t give up, never give up (okay, another tip-o-the-hat to old Winnie).

And, check out Brezsney whenever you can — the guy’s a hoot.

And, let me know what quotes get you through your own 3:00 a.m. willies.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I’m going to conduct what I believe will be the world’s largest “Success Experiment.”  And, if not the largest, perhaps the most interesting.  And, if not the most interesting, at least we can have some fun and raise a little dough for some organizations that do some interesting work and also help people learn more about themselves — whether it’s finding a dream job or not.

BACKGROUND
Before I provide the details, here’s a little background:

As I’ve been dealing with Dream Jobs for several years, one thing I’ve learned is that many people go about their careers, and the jobs that comprise them, in quite a haphazzard fashion — jumping into one job because it seems right at the time, only to find out later that it doesn’t come anywhere near fulfilling them.

And, because many people equate the “right” job with success, without even quite knowing how they’d define success, I thought it would be interesting to survey as many people as I possibly could to find out what their own definitions of success are.

Because, if I could provide hundreds or thousands of success definitions, it might make it easier for others to come up with their own and to match them with their career aspirations and needs.

So, define success first, and match the dream job to that.

SUCCESS EXPERIMENT!
I want to find 10,000 people to give me their definition of success in the following format:

I believe success is ____________________________________.

That blank space can be a word, the completion of the sentence, or several paragraphs.  Your call.

When you have your definition, please send it to my attention at success@dreamjobsdialog.com.  (Do not post your response here.)

Also, please provide your name, current position, organization, and title and indicate whether or not I may publish it along with the definition.  In addition, please feel free to provide a brief bio of yourself, including your current and former professions along with any websites, blogs, or other activities you’re involved in.

Because no peeking is allowed, and to encourage originality, I won’t publish any of the definitions until I’ve collected all 10,000.

THEN:
I will donote $1,000, in $100 increments each, to 10 of the organizations listed in an earlier post (click here for details), all of which are involved, in one fashion or another, in international volunteer activities.

I will subsequently publish a compilation of everyone’s comments and definitions and make it available to all contributors at no charge, and publish the most interesting contributions here in a future series of posts.

10,000 personal definitions of success.

Kinda cool; a lot of fun.  And, I think we’ll all learn something.

Here’s to your success!

Popularity: 2% [?]

I’ve been researching an interesting site called Squidoo.

Squidoo is the brainchild of Seth Godin, of Idea Virus fame, and I think it holds some interesting possibilities for you, whether you’re a Dream Jobber in search of ideas for your career, or whether you’re doing business online and are looking for additional ways to market yourself or business.

Squidoo lets you create something it calls a lens, which is sort of like a baby blog in that you create one-page sites that list resources and your commentary about a passion or field of interest.

Take a few minutes and browse around the site — if nothing else, I think you’ll come away with some interesting things to think about as you continue in your quest to find your dream job.

If you’re already a Squidoo lenscrafter, please let me know by adding your lens address (and, optionally, your name) in the comments section to this post.

I’d also like to learn how you’re using the Squidoo tools.

Happy squidooing!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Well, I came into the Big Mouth syndrome a few weeks back, when I offered to help folks reading this blog find their dream jobs.

Click here for that post.

Bit off more than I could chew, you see.

I got into a tad bit of trouble — as the number of responses overwhelmed me.

But, I’m fortunate to have friends in the right places, and a few responded to my plea which you can see by clicking here.

With that said, I’m very pleased to announce that Dr. Traci Vujicich, author of the Life Coach book in the Dream Jobs To Go Series, has volunteered to help two dream job seekers.

Traci will work with them offline and then report back to us from time to time as things develop. Should be a fun process to watch.

Traci has been a life coach and writer for 15 years. She has conducted more than 7,000 one-on-one coaching sessions, helping clients achieve goals in their personal and professional lives. Dr. Traci is also known as The Writing Doctor, as she dedicates herself to curing the world of boring writing.

If you’d like to volunteer to be a mentor, please see this page for a brief application.

If you’re still looking for your dream job, please send me a detailed email at blog@dreamjobsdialog.com and I’ll try match you up with a mentor.

Thanks, Traci!
 

 

Popularity: 7% [?]

Okay, you’re 18, or 16, or 12!

And, you get to do it all over again . . . the career that is.

Knowing what you know about life, work, and all things weighty, what field of work would you go into and why?

AND . . . just as importantly, why didn’t you do that to begin with?

To avoid peeking, please send me your comments at blog@dreamjobsdialog.com and don’t post them here.  (When you email me, though, please let me know if you’d like me to keep your name confidential.)

In turn, I’ll take the most interesting comments and summarize them in a future post.

This will be fun.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Popularity: 4% [?]

As part of one of my own dream jobs, where I’m the Chief Schemer (see About the Author for details), I’m on the lookout to buy interesting and full-of-traffic ezines, blogs, or websites aimed at teachers (K-12).

If you know of any such creatures, and they really do have a significant level of traffic (if an ezine, must have over 10,000 readers, and if a website or blog, must rank in the Top 100,000 per Alexa), please send me an email at blog@dreamjobsdialog.com.

Thanks for your help.

Popularity: 3% [?]

A technique that works for me when I’m stuck for words (writers call it writer’s block) is to make a list of something that relates to my topic at hand.

For instance, if I’m writing a business proposal that I have to present at an upcoming meeting, and I just can’t get moving, I’ll make a list of the 10 things that might happen after I’ve made the presentation.

Making the list is easy. Think about your topic, then jot down things as they come into your head.  However, and this is the important part, don’t overthink it.  Just write, without editing, your list.

Inevitably, in the list-making process, ideas will come and you’ll find yourself writing about the project at hand.

Works for me . . . every single time.

If you’re stuck about where you’d like to spend the rest of your work life, use the list-making technique.

Don’t worry about jobs requirements, education, contacts, or experience, and write down the names of jobs or professions that you could see yourself doing in another lifetime or if you were 18 years old and starting all over again.

Need help? Look at the help-wanted section of your local paper, peruse the Dream Jobs To Go book selection, look in the Yellow Pages, or wander through the careers section in your library.

Got your list?

Great, email it to me at blog@dreamjobsdialog.com and I’ll tell you what comes next.

Popularity: 3% [?]

We’d like to give away some books in our Dream Jobs To Go series.

If you write for news outlets of any type — whether online or print — or have your own website, blog, or ezine, and think that career and job topics written by been-there-done-that authors would fit in with your work, holler at me (actually, send me an email at blog@dreamjobsdialog.com) and I’ll send you a review copy.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I’m looking for the best job or career blogs and ezines.

If you regularly read one you really enjoy, please send me a link so that I can include it in the resources section I’m building for this site.

While I’ll consider any general interest blog or ezine, I’m especially interested in those that focus on the life of that writer and his specific job.

Thanks much!

Popularity: 8% [?]

If you’d like to serve as an unpaid Dream Jobs Mentor, by offering your services to someone going through a difficult career transition, please see the very brief application by clicking here.

I’ll hook up the Mentor with a Dream Job Searcher, and the Mentor will reply back to me from time to time on the Searcher’s progress, and I’ll report here, keeping the Searcher’s name anonymous, on how things are going.

I still need fellow mentors — this could be really fun, and I think we’ll all learn a lot by sharing what we discover about each other.

Popularity: 5% [?]