Page 91 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR IDEAL LIFE 79

world and technology are changing, new needs are developing,
and whole new professions that never existed before are emerging.
Not long ago, I was listening to a radio program on which a young
woman was bemoaning the loss of her job and how was she ever
going to find another job in her field . . . blah, blah. When I heard
her say that her job was a Web designer, I had to laugh out loud.
It wasn’t as if she’d descended from a long line of Web designers,
and this was all there was for her to do in the world. Let’s face it:
the Web itself is relatively new in the grand scheme of things, let
alone the Web design profession. So, don’t be concerned as you
write your ideal job description for a job that doesn’t exist. It soon
will!
The one thing that remains certain is change, and rapid change
at that. We are out of the industrial age (the last of the U.S. car
manufacturers is closing down as I write) and into the informa-
tion age. If your ideal career doesn’t exist right now, create it. That
advice isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Many things that I formerly never
thought would be possible are now ancient history. I never imag-
ined, for instance, that the cold war would end and that the Berlin
Wall would come down in my lifetime. The computers that once
took up entire buildings are now so small that you can carry them
in a pocket. You can communicate instantly and for free through
the Internet to people all around the world—and do that by video
now too with YouTube! At the same time, there are simplistic con-
cepts we have been unbelievably slow to connect: for example,
computers existed before someone had the brilliant—and incred-
ibly obvious—idea of putting wheels on suitcases. The gods must
be laughing their heads off at that one! In sum, there has been no
better time to invent a career or a business completely tailored to
your unique talents and abilities.
Again, be as precise as possible. What sort of working environ-
ment would you prefer? Do you like to work in an office setting
with other people? If so, describe the scene in vivid detail: what
would your office look like? Maybe, instead, your ideal is to work
out of doors all day or to travel for your work? Be specific so that
you don’t miss the mark. One friend said that he wanted his work