I hear and encounter this question on a daily basis while doing college planning. I find it most amusing that this question is most typically being asked of a teenager. Average adults changes their occupation or career X times over their life span and yet we believe (and expect) a young adult between 14-18 years old to know what it is they are supposed to do for the rest of their life.”
My personal response to this question has always been “I’m not planning to grow up, so thankfully I don’t have to figure that out.” As a serial entrepreneur, it probably doesn’t surprise you when I say my belief that it’s easier in many cases to go against the grain of life or swim against the current. Why do we have to grow up in the first place?
So I believe that parents should be asking themselves this question instead: “How can I help my child identify his passions in life, his talents to serve others all while still being able to financially support himself with integrity?” While there is no magic answer , I have found a handful of resources that are great for doing identifying our natural areas of giftedness, talents and passions.
Being able to start with what you love and do well is a heck of a jumpstart to an incredibly rewarding career that can be fulfilling from both a monetary and non-monetary standpoint.
Once the areas of passion and talents are identified, it becomes significantly easier to land closer to where one really wants to be simply by elimination of what doesn’t fit or work based upon these areas. The better we can define where we want to be and what we most want, the closer we will be to identifying our calling.
Masterminds are another great resource.
Many times just what we need, both as students and adults alike, is to better clarify and create our own unique path to success and happiness based upon our own personal definition. Whatever your definition of success or your child’s definition, I encourage you to seek out and explore career paths that allow your child to use his natural talents, passions and abilities. Experience has taught me great financial rewards typically are closely tied to incredible service and incredible service is most easily found when you love what you do.
If you need help finding a career path you love, then give us a call. We would be thrilled to empower you to do just this through the referral or use of any one of our many resources.
