Passionate Leap

 Feeling out of love with your job? Is it time for a change? We'll tell you how you can locate "the intersection of what you like to do and what you're good at."

And then we'll tell you how to package it up and sell it!

At Work is this Friday at 3pm est on GPB!

  

Here's more about Finding Your Passion with this Friday's At Work guest Erin Wolf:

"The first step in "branding your passion" is finding the intersection of what you like to do and what you're good at.  Katharine Graham, the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, The Washington Post, once said, "To love what you do and feel that it matters-how could anything be more fun?" The problem is, a lot of us in the workforce do not love what we do and we often question whether it matters.  I didn't find my passion until I was 50 years old because I always followed the money.

Whether it was upon graduation from college or business school or simply switching jobs, I usually took positions where I would make the most money. My resume looked fantastic but I wasn't happy. I chose work that I was good at but not passionate about. I never stopped to think about what I really wanted to do in life.

So Step 1:

Figure out what you like to do. It sounds easier than it really is-many of us have never thought of work this way. An easier way to get started is to make a list of what you do in your leisure time. Now you're on your way.

Step 2: Combine what you like to do with what you're good at doing. You may like to play tennis but you're probably not going to make money playing on the pro tour if you didn't pick up a racket until you were 25 years old. That doesn't mean you can't have a career that involves tennis. Your strengths may be in sales, management or one of the myriad other functional areas that support the business of the sport. So go ahead-make another list but this time include not only those things that you like to do but also those that you are good at doing. The intersection of the two holds great possibilities.

Step 3 in your branding methodology is to become your own personal PR manager. This is something most men do well: letting others-at work and in their personal lives-know what they have to offer and what they're all about. If you're passionate about what you're selling, it's a lot easier than to sell yourself than if you're not.

And just because you are doing what you like to do does not mean you have to sacrifice financially. If you like what you do, you will probably put more time into it. You will become an expert faster and you will have an easier time branding yourself. So don't wait until you're over 50 to follow your passion. Start right now.