The first male that I really loved outside of my family was a pony called Bluey. I would religiously ride Bluey each weekend and have kept my diary that proves my unwavering dedication and loyalty to him, even at 7 years old. I shall quote from 3 separate pages.
Tuesday, February 17th: "School today Bluey loves me and I love him.
Sunday, March 21st: "Biked down to the sweetshop Bluey is the best."
Saturday, June 6th: "Went walking along the muddy path with Dad played animal vegetable or mineral hate using my brain on a Sunday Oh Bluey is for me He is mine mine mine." (By the way, he wasn't mine; he actually belonged to the riding stables up the road.) However, soon Bluey went to horse heaven and my affections turned to 'The Six Million Dollar Man'.
It seemed at the time that Bluey was inspiring me to have a future as a professional show jumper. But no, the real clue was in the diary! That early ability I had to string sentences together about going down the muddy path, using my brain and loving Bluey, all without any punctuation marks! Looking back now at the poetic syntax, it was all so obvious, I was going to be a writer. It reminds me of how Sherlock Holmes indicates that the hidden clues are often obvious once revealed, i.e. "That the dog did nothing in the night-time."
You might be someone who knew what you wanted to do when you were very young, or perhaps like many, you didn't know until after university, or even well in to your 30's, 40's or even your 50's. No way is better, and now with the financial situation as it is, many who have been used to being in a secure job have been made redundant and a future of financial uncertainty can be very frightening. But for others of you, who may have found yourself in a job that may have been very lucrative, but didn't fill you up, then this external loss could potentially become a moment of opportunity to find out what your really want to pursue.
With that in mind, my tips today are for those of you who still don't know what you want to do for a living, for those of you who are considering a change of direction, for those of you who might have recently lost your jobs and of course for anyone who knows someone who might need some guidance.
1. Think about what your 3 major hobbies are. This will give you a pretty good indication of what career will fill you up.
2. Look at what your path of least resistance is. Sometimes we can be so obviously talented at something that is so easy for us, that we over look it and spend a lot of time struggling to do something else, before we finally realize that the most natural way for us is, and always has been, the one that is right for us.
3. Look at what subjects you buy your books on and what section you go to in a bookstore first, that will always give you a good idea.
4. Plan what you want to do, but keep it loose. Keep your eyes and ears out for opportunities that can come from unexpected directions. Which reminds me of a quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune". Opportunities come in a lot of ways that you couldn't previously have imagined and if you remain open to magic happening and then take action, you will catch the wave of opportunity.
5. If you were to take a long journey through the desert, and you were allowed one factual book, what subject would it be on?
That's it for this week. Next week we will look at how to bring fresh energy, success and prosperity in to your office space. In meantime, if you want to get hold of me please feel free to do so at sophie@howhappyis.com.