Page 131 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 5: IDENTIFY YOUR PASSIONS AND VALUES 119

well as a car. He marvels over its clean lines and luxurious leather
interior. Whether it actually functions reliably as a car isn’t as
important. He is indifferent about money and practicality.
Another client, Rachel, always has the latest clothes and fash-
ions. On the surface one might guess
she values beauty, but her hidden moti-
vators are power and money. She wears Ours is a world where
the lovely clothes to get ahead in her people don’t know
career and project the image of success. what they want and
If you were to follow her actions, you’d are willing to go
learn that all her clothes are bought through hell to get it.
at discount or sample sales. (Bargain
hunters often value money above the —DON MARQUIS
other drivers and will spend time to
find the object they want for the best
possible price.) She is in sales, a career well suited to her values, as
she works diligently to bring in the deal and is motivated to earn
the commission. Most people, as surprising as it may seem, have
the beauty and harmony motivator on the bottom of the list.
Then there is Janet, who is selfless and, naturally enough, is a
social worker. While she makes only a modest amount of money,
she is happy to be helping people who are in need. She knows she
is making a difference, and that is most important to her. She is
devoted to serving and helping others, and although she wishes the
job paid more, money isn’t as important to her.
The yogi who practices meditation and eats a vegetarian diet
is strongly principled. He has a rigid and structured system for
living, with rules that apply to the time he goes to bed at night,
what sort of foods to eat during the day, what service to engage in,
and how long to meditate. The yogi who actually runs the ashram
may be highly principled and, at the same time, have the motiva-
tor of power or influence over others, even though he exercises
this influence in a gentle and soft-spoken manner.
The person who could happily and easily spend a few hours
hanging out at the bookstore and often has loads of books at home
probably values truth and knowledge. You might be curious and