How to Find a Career You Love

This past weekend, Scott, our CEO, ran into his friend Stephen (not his real name). I got to listen to them reminisce about the fork in the road Stephen was faced with three years ago.

As a young adult, Stephen had always known, deep down, that he’d make a great teacher, but after finishing college, the family business had seemed like a more logical choice at the time. For many years, he plowed ahead and was successful, until various circumstances drove him to make a change.

Stephen and Scott started meeting regularly to discuss Stephen’s dreams and strengths (using Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0) and to brainstorm about his options for making a complete career change. Not surprisingly, it became clear that Stephen should pursue teaching, and within a year, he had gotten his emergency credential and was back in the classroom! Now, Stephen has a regular full-time teaching job and can’t imagine doing anything more fulfilling than working with his students every day.

Does this story reawaken your passions and stir a longing to redefine your career path? The good news is, even if you don’t have an employment expert to work with, you can still learn from others’ experiences and gather the tools you’ll need to make a change for the better.

For instance, click here to read one woman’s career story and the analytic process expert Marcus Buckingham took her through to find the value in her current job and discover what was missing. Her journey may help you redirect your life, too!

Do you wish for more meaningful work or unique perks? Working for a small business may provide more opportunity!

Article originally published on oprah.com by Susan Choi.

By Marcianne Kuethen