As an idealistic high school student in Santa Monica, California, I attended a career fair and panicked. I nearly choked up as I walked from booth to booth asking about careers as a dentist, land surveyor, paralegal, and more. Each profession was noble, but I couldn’t see myself in any of them. Did “becoming an adult” mean leaving my ideals behind? I couldn’t believe that I would have to abandon so many aspects of my personality and passions to work a 9-to-5 job in a profession that didn’t interest me in any way.
I tried to console myself: If I am a unique person, there must be a unique job for me to do. If I can identify what I’m passionate about and dare to dream big about the difference I can make in the world, my dream job might just appear.
Twenty years later, there are hundreds of jobs out there that didn’t exist back then. I’m sure there are many people out there who, like me, responded to a career fair in high school and their “dream job” magically appeared.
Here’s my theory.
Our limited beliefs about what we are capable of will ultimately limit the work we can find.
We have two choices: we can either fit into the box of existing options, or we can believe that we have been given an instinct to improve the world for good reasons. Then we can work to clarify what exactly it is we are passionate about and how we can use our talents to achieve it.
He got a job that he cared about, one that barely paid the bills.
I saw this in my brother, who rejected a “high-paying job” because it seemed less than ideal. Instead, he chose a job he cared about that would barely pay the bills. A decade later, he was running an organization that partnered with the White House to work on major national initiatives and change the nation’s perception of important social issues. Steve Jobs dropped out of college to take calligraphy classes that gave him the skills and confidence decades later to pioneer Apple’s sophisticated designs.
By having the courage to believe, we create our own “work possibilities.”
I told the rabbi my theory.
“God is an equal opportunity employer,” he said.
“what do you mean?”
“The world is a mess, and we’re partnering with God to sort it out. Anyone who feels pain about what’s going on in the world and wants to do something, God will step up to the plate.”
“So what does that have to do with being an equal opportunity employer?” I asked.
The rabbi explained, “Equal opportunity means hiring people who are not necessarily the most qualified. God doesn’t particularly care if you’re the ‘most qualified’. He chooses people who care enough and want to do something to make the world a better place. If you show you’re serious, God will let you succeed, even if you lack many of the necessary skills.”
After his release, Gilad Shalit told reporters that he had always believed he would see his family again — a remarkable statement for someone who had spent five years in near isolation, not knowing if that day would be his last. It was the strength of this conviction that enabled him to achieve what seemed like an impossible task: exchanging 1,000 prisoners for one Jew.
Similarly, the first step to finding your dream job is to believe that God has a special plan for you and that He can make anything happen.
5 steps to landing your dream job
God has infinite funds. God makes you breathe, your heart beat, and the sun rise. God is the ultimate venture capitalist.
You could get a job with God’s Fix the World Corporation, but first you need to know what exactly it is that “job” you want to create.
Come up with some potential job ideas that address this objective and would ideally utilize your strengths (or allow you to receive training in skills you don’t yet have).
Next, you need to actually apply. Every resume needs to catch the interest of potential employers. When applying for your dream job, you should give careful thought to the following points:
1) If I had $10 billion to change the world and could only do one project with it, what would it be? (e.g., start a cultural movement to teach kids why “being good is fun”)
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2) Why does this activity appeal to me? (e.g. I wish I had been able to use my imagination from a young age and visualize how wonderful the world would be.)
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3) What natural strengths do I have that would help me pursue this goal (e.g. creativity, perseverance, salesmanship)?
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Four) Often the first step in showing you’re committed to making a change is to do something that doesn’t come naturally to you. What new strengths or skills will you need to make this happen? (e.g., detail-oriented, perseverance, organization)
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Five) Let’s go back to the $10 billion goal. Right now, we don’t have the funds to carry out our plan. One thing Something you can do right now with your existing resources of time and money (e.g., using creative ideas to teach your kids that “being good is fun” for an hour a week).
_________________________
Make it a reality
Once your plan is complete, it’s time to actually submit your application. Say it out loud: “I believe God has a great plan for me.” Are you saying it with enthusiasm? Say it as if you really mean it, even if you’re faking it the first 10 times.
The next and final step is to open the door of blessings by taking this one action step, which represents your confidence that God can do anything (even for little you).
The journey begins with a step.
When the Jewish people were trapped in Egypt and the Red Sea, one man, Nachhon ben Aminadab, stepped into the water and the water parted. To see the sea part in our own lives, we must take the first step to put into action the ideas we believe in. By being clear to ourselves about what we are passionate about and believing that there is something we can do to make the world a better place, we open the door to possibility.
But change can only happen when you are ready to take that first, anxious step, even if it seems insignificant in achieving your dreams, that will help part the ocean.
Start with this step and you’ll see your life come together and you’ll emerge as “the right person for the job” in causes you’re passionate about and in areas where you can truly make a difference.
