Page 76 - Marky Stein - Fearless Career Change_ The Fast Track to Success in a New Field (2004)

Fearless Career Change

some sort of feeling of right or wrong. Others may feel that one
choice is simply more clear or rings more true.
This exercise allows you to observe a lot of information at
once. Carefully reflect on it. The numbers themselves do not have
to decide your career for you, but they are a good indicator of how
well you believe a certain occupation will fulfill many of your
needs. The chart is only a tool. You must base your decision on
what seems best to you. After all, it will be you doing the job, not
someone else—not your parents, your spouse, your friend, or me.

Exercise 4. The Long View

Imagine you are near the end of your life, and you are very, very
old. As you look back you can see yourself clearly just as you are
right now, in the midst of radically changing your course in life.
Assume that you have amassed a great deal of wisdom as a result of
having a wide array of life experiences—knowledge about yourself,
other people, and the way the world works.
Assume also that as you look back at yourself from what I call
“the long view,” you feel an overwhelming degree of love and com-
passion for yourself. You may no longer be interested in some of
the outer trappings of life—how shiny your new car was, how big
your house was, or whether you wore the latest fashions.
With this frame of mind, answer the following questions: What
career would I pick if I were looking with wisdom from the long view? What
will make me happy? What can I look back at with a deep sense of pride and
sacredness? What career will give me what I really want, deep down inside?

Enter your discovery here:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

Congratulations! You’ve created your career fingerprint. Whatever
career title you chose will be the one that we will use for the rest of
the book as you work to quickly change careers. Now you’ll see how
all of the objective data and self-knowledge you’ve gathered can be
put into action, and fast!

My No. 1 preferred career is _________________________________.

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