Lessons Learned From The Dream Job You Love

Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 16m 4,103 #dreamjob

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

What Your Dream Job Teaches You

From the time we are young and throughout school, we are already bombarded with questions and ideas about what we want to be when we grow up. If we have a job that we just consider a job and not really our dream job, it is just a means to make money or get by for now. It never means that we should stop dreaming about the job we would love to do for the rest of our lives and get paid to do it.

Whether someone wants to get paid for writing, making music, or painting, we all want a way to make money doing it, and it is all very possible. We all dream of being there someday and some of us have landed that dream job, where we show up to work and it does not feel like work to us. We just do it because we enjoy doing it and the company or clients we do it for pay us to do what we would do for free. Of course, we all have to make a living, so doing something for free is no longer an option to many of us.

When you land that dream job, there is no other workplace you would rather be, nor would you prefer to be doing something else. The relationship between you and work is symbiotic and mutual. While it is required of you to be at a certain place at a certain time, you do not feel like it is a chore, or a prison that you must return to each day for the rest of your working life. You do not feel like you are performing a mundane routine that is endless and boring.

Your dream job allows you to be comfortable with who you are, allows you to make a decent amount of money to afford you to live and do a few things with your life. While you may not be making the amount of money that you would love to be making, you really do not mind, because you get to show up to work and do something you love everyday.

These are just several lessons you will learn when working your dream job.

1. Do what you love, love what you do, and you will never work a day in your life.

If you had the choice to do what you love and get paid a little less money or do a job you really did not care to do, but make more money, which would you choose? Initially, you might choose the job that pays more and tolerate the things you have to do, but after years of doing that job and making that money, how much can you tolerate? That is when you may just realize you might be better off, feel less stressed, and enjoy your work rather than just showing up for a paycheck.

If you happen to find that niche that not too many people are in and someone needs your skills and talents and pays you to do them, than you really have found your purpose in life and that is what happiness and success is truly all about. Some people were born to be doctors, lawyers, computer technicians, teachers, web designers, construction workers, janitors, musicians, artists, and while there are plenty of us who could not do those jobs, there are others who enjoy what they do.

Do what you love and love what you do. Reap the benefits of having someone pay you to do it and you will have to feel as if you are working anymore.

2. If you’re good at something, never do it for free.

Your talents and skills are in demand and they also cost you time. Your time is valuable. Make sure you set your value at the right price. Accept a bargain or an offer if you have to settle for less, but figure out how much you are really worth, how in demand you are, and be confident enough to know your price and your value. However: Be fair and don’t be greedy.

Everyone loves your work until they have to pay for it. Family and friends are the worst offenders of taking advantage of your time and your skills and talents. While you may think giving them a big discount because they are close to you is the right thing to do, they are the ones who will be the most picky and utilize you to the fullest.  Make sure you charge them accordingly and keep it a strict business relationship. You may need a contract to do business with them, but it will keep both sides professional.

Your time, your talent, your skills are what makes your professional living. Make sure you don’t get taken advantage of and do what you need to do. Time is your money.

3. You may have your dream job, but no job is perfect.

You have finally landed the most amazing job in the world where you get to do what you love and they pay you to do it. Unfortunately, most dream jobs have other employees working there, who you may not get along with, or a boss you may not like. You may have to tough it out, deal with co-workers, figure out ways to get along with your entire team, but if you feel like you have your dream job, than it might be better to work on your relationships with your co-workers, supervisors, or boss.

Your dream is not something you want to give up so easily or quit immediately. If there is something bothering you, than speak up. Fight to make your job the perfect dream job. You might think there are plenty of dream jobs out there, but if you have found something solid that makes you happy, and there are just a few things that are bothering you, than work on fixing or tweaking those things to help you enjoy your job more. As my fiancée would say, “Use your big boy (or girl) words.”

Communication can go a long way especially if it means keeping or giving up your dream job.

4. Look at the overall benefits of the job, not just the paycheck.

You landed the interview for your dream job and you gave them a price and they either accepted it or negotiated with you, and you came to an agreement, but you were not fully satisfied with the agreement was. Most people in their jobs are always hoping and praying for a raise, a bonus, or more money. Not many people are currently working in their job thinking, “I am making just the right amount of money.” Everyone always wants more, including CEOs who are making millions of dollars a year.

Unfortunately, there are just some companies that have valued a certain occupation at a certain rate and that is what they can afford. Look past the paycheck to see the other benefits:

• How far is your job from where you live?
• Does your job follow normal business hours?
• Do you have to work on weekends or holidays?
• Are you paid to take a vacation or given paid time off (PTO)?
• Are you paid for sick days?
• Are you paid for overtime?
• Do you have a company cell phone?
• Does your company offer a 401k or money saving initiative?
• Does your company offer health care benefits for you and your family?
• Does your company provide incentives like bonuses, parties, picnics, etc.?
• Does your company offer a kitchen with free or reduced-priced lunch or drinks?
• Does your company have a bike-to-work incentive program where they cover the costs of repairs to your bike?
• Do you work in a comfortable atmosphere?
• Do you like the people you work with?
• Do you like the people you work for?
• Do you feel like you are making a difference by doing your job?
• Does your company provide you with all the computer software, materials, and supplies you need to do your job?
• Does your company offer coupons and discounts to local outings?
• Does your opinion or suggestions matter to the company?
• Do you receive recognition at your company for doing good deeds?

If you are not be making the exact amount of money you want to be making, you should at least factor in the additional benefits of everything listed above. Some companies may not even offer one of these benefits. Although you may not see these benefits added to your paycheck, the company is still paying for you to have these benefits. Take these types of benefits into careful consideration when you feel that you are unhappy with your paycheck.

If this still has not convinced you, go find another dream job of yours and see what they will do for your paycheck.

5. If you wake up everyday and you don’t mind going to work, you have found meaning in life.

Most people go through their lives never knowing what they want to do with themselves, accepting any job that comes along the way, and working their job until they do not have to work anymore. They show up, put a “company face” on and do their jobs. Deep down, they are miserable and just trying to get through another day, another week, another year, wondering if they can do this for the rest of their life, hoping that it gets better.

If you figured it out when you were young and held on to your optimism and dreams, and finally landed your dream job, you definitely stand out from the majority of people. While I cannot recall the exact research results, it was said that 10% of people love their jobs (engaged), 60% of people just show up and do their jobs (not engaged), and the remaining 30% are really not interested in their jobs, slack off at work, call out often, etc. (disengaged).

Not everyone wants to go to work, and would probably prefer to stay home and lay in bed all day or do other things, but life does not work that way. Life requires humans to work and make their living. You, however, don’t mind going to work to do the job you love.

You look forward to facing new challenges, new tasks, and new clients. You enjoy helping your company achieve its goals because they are helping you to achieve your goals. If you have found your dream job and you don’t mind going to work, your life is already so much better and you find yourself happier and more successful because you love your job.

6. Adopt your co-workers as family.

With every job you have, including your dream job, you will be working with other people, who have their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. If you do not get along with someone or someone rubs you the wrong way, your best chance is to address it immediately, like a mature adult, and let them or a supervisor know how you feel.

If these are the people you are going to be working with for the remainder of your work life or hopefully for many years to come, you better learn how to get along with these people. Befriend them, earn their trust, learn to trust them, and work will become so much better. Not only will you love doing your job and getting paid to do it, but you will be even happier because of the people you work with.

Within the workplace, you will find all walks of life: the partier, the gamer, the loner, the alcoholic, the shopper, etc. Everyone has their own personality. Whether you choose to hang out with your co-workers after work or on weekends or keep it strictly business is up to you.

The best thing for you to do, however, if you are going to be working with these people: Allow them into your life as part of your family. You or your co-workers may not think of each other as family, but you spend more time with them than you do your own family, at least 40 hours a week.

7. Keep your personal life and your professional life separate.

This might seem like it is contradictory to the previous lesson I spoke about, adopting co-workers as family, but it is quite different. As you learn to love your job more and more everyday, and you become more comfortable with your co-workers, you might be inclined to talk about your personal life with your professional team. You can certainly share some details, but you should not share everything with them.

You are at work to do your job and be professional while doing. What you do at home on your own personal time is your business and no one has to know. Who cares if the cute secretary loves to party on weekends, or your boss is an alcoholic who goes to parties on the weekends, or if the computer technician goes home and plays video games until he passes out at 6 AM in the morning. That is what these people love to do on their free time and when they show up to work, they fall into a different role of doing their jobs, conducting themselves as professionals, and doing their jobs.

8. You are getting paid to do a job, so do it.

There are plenty of jobs or tasks that we would prefer not to be doing, but we are getting paid to do them. It is the reason we were hired. On occasion, a co-worker of mine will complain that a client is too demanding, wants this changed, wants it redone, etc.

They complain about doing their job, yet it accomplishes nothing, but wasted energy and time. If you are paid to do a job, no matter what job you are in, dream job or not, you were hired to do a specific job, and it is expected that you will do the job without complaining about it.

If you do not want to do it, there are plenty of other people who would be glad to do it and for a much cheaper price. If you have landed your dream job or even a “cozy desk job”, that requires you to do some things that make you think about complaining, just don’t. You are most likely in a better position than many other people your age.

Bite the bullet, get the work done, and feel good about doing your job. Change your perspective and your mindset that someone hired you because they had the confidence that you were the person for the job, to do the job, and to get the job done.

Appreciate that your employer hired you and puts their trust in you to work with their customers or clients. You represent the entire company in some way, whether you speak personally to a client or not, you are a part of the whole organization that keeps it running. If you happen to have landed your dream job and have to do some tasks that you didn’t sign up for, just get them done, and enjoy the moments where you get to do what you love.

9. Don’t ruin a good thing.

The Good

Imagine how much happier the world would be if everyone had a job they loved. Imagine being the shopper or consumer and dealing with the employee who loved their job. Imagine being that employee who is dealing with the customer who senses that employee loves their job.

Now imagine how much of a difference that makes on the entire organization, your life, and the customer’s life. You are happy to see to it that the customer is happy and when the customer is happy, the organization is happy with you, and it is a cycle that makes things work out for the better.

The Bad

Imagine dealing with an employee who didn’t like their job, whether you are the boss or the customer. Imagine sensing that the employee is miserable, yet shows up to work and does just enough to get a paycheck. How many times have you walked into a place and you sensed that the employees behind the counter hated their jobs?

They would prefer to be anywhere else but where they are at now. They didn’t bother to smile or even treat you as a human being. They do just enough to be considered “working”. Now imagine how much of a difference that makes on the entire organization, your life, and the customer’s life.

There is a huge difference between both scenarios. If you don’t like your job, no one told you that you have to be stuck at it for the rest of your life. You can go to college and get an education to try and get a better job. You can try learning new skills to improve your value, develop new talents, and sell yourself as a marketable employable individual. If you live in the United States, your chances of getting or creating your dream job are pretty high.

If you, however, expect to land your dream job someday, without putting in any effort, chances are, you will probably be stuck where you are at. Work for what you want in this life. Very rarely do you get a handout. If the opportunity comes, take it. If it happens to pass and you missed it, be upset for a few days, but move on, and find more opportunities. There are plenty that will come your way!

Everyone is capable of landing their dream job. Once you get it, it’s completely up to you to keep it. Respect the organization that hired you and respect your job role. Remember that no matter how skilled and valuable you think you are, you are 100% replaceable and a company will not hesitate to fire you and spend the money on hiring the best candidate for the position they need to desperately fill.

Develop your personality skills to be a friendly and somewhat outgoing person, even if you are an introvert. Be the person that everyone respects. You don’t have to be the person that everyone likes, but try to get along with everyone and work in a place where you don’t have to constantly watch your back, worry about getting fired, or even laid off.

Your dream job is more rare than you think. How many jobs have you worked before landing your dream job to actually find your dream job? I’m sure it wasn’t the first job you landed. I’m sure you had to go through a bunch of backstabbing co-workers and arrogant bosses to finally end up in the place you are now. That is a lot of work and it takes a long time to really find the job you are comfortable with doing, a job that don’t actually mind doing for the rest of your life.

10. Help and inspire others to find their dream jobs.

Your dream job may not be someone else’s dream job. The people you work with will not always feel the same way about their jobs that you feel about your job. Everyone is different and has different goals. Respect them and even inspire them to go achieve their dreams and goals. If you have found your dream job, don’t be shy to let the world know about it. Your inspiration gives others hope to know that they can find theirs and actually be happy going to work.

Everyone in the world can find their dream job and no one has to be miserable. For those that think working at a specific place is a miserable job, while there are plenty of people working there who are miserable, there are many others who love their job working there. Everyone has different preferences.

If you hate your job that much, than don’t continue doing something you are going to hate. Life is actually a lot shorter than you think. You may as well enjoy what you are doing and get paid to do it. It makes the time go faster, it makes the stresses of life mostly obsolete, and it helps greatly with the happiness factor.

If you are happy with your job, chances are, that happiness will spread to every other area of your life. If you are miserable in your job, it is likely that you are bringing that misery home to your family and that energy is dispersed throughout the family, making the atmosphere an unhappy one.

You would be doing yourself and everyone a favor if you did not give up on your hopes and dreams of landing your dream job. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. If your dream job requires more education or learned skills, than make the great investment, whether it requires time or money.

If you have landed your dream job, do your best to keep it. Make it work for you and to your advantage. The equation of work is quite simple: Do what you love, love what you do, get paid, be happy. Isn’t that what we are all after?

Continue to strive and set that equation into play. You will certainly feel more happier and much more successful if you are doing what you love. Never think that you have seniority status or are better than anyone else. In the security world, there is a common story that is told.

The story goes like this:

A security officer worked his whole life for an Alcoholic Beverage company, a beer company. He was slated to retire with a full pension. The company would gladly let him take a case of beer home so long as he reported it and told the supervisor of the store that he was taking a case home. The man was just a week away from retiring. He loaded some beer into his trunk, but never told the supervisor. The supervisor came out, saw what he was doing, and reported it. The old man was fired. Being fired ultimately eliminated any chance of him being able to collect his pension. Even after he hired a lawyer, he was at fault because he had stolen a case of beer.

The man had a great thing going for him and he was about to retire with a pension. Yet, he forgot one night to tell the supervisor he was taking a case of beer and lost everything.

• Do not take advantage of your dream job.
• You can lose it at any time.
• You are not unique nor do you have special privileges over anyone else.
• Your dream job is the best thing that happened to you.
• Treat it like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that happened to come your way.
• Hold on to it for as long as you can and treat it as if it is fragile.
• Be a role model worker.
• Dress appropriately.
• Show up to work early.
• Be willing to stay late.
• Mind your own business as much as possible and don’t be that co-worker who everyone doesn’t like or just tolerates.
• Don’t be a brown-noser.
• Check your attitude at the door.
• Leave your problems at home and show up to work with a clean-slate mind.
• If you are not having a good day, use your PTO or a sick day and take the day off.
• Try to call out in advance instead of just a few hours before.
• Go the extra mile.
• Offer new ideas and suggestions for how to make the company more efficient and productive.
• Be respectful to your bosses, supervisors, co-workers, and treat everyone as you expect to be treated.

If you do happen to lose your dream job, understand that it does happen, and continue your search for another dream job. If it was meant to be, it would have been. Live and learn and next time don’t make the same mistakes again. Never give up your search for your dream job because once you have it, working all your life until you retire doesn’t sound so terrible.

Knowing, finding, and landing your dream job will be one of the most amazing things that happens in your life and is worth the effort. Who doesn’t want to show up to work and do something they love and get paid to do it? When work can be fun instead of mundane and boring, it makes life completely worth living. Don’t give up hope and keep searching for your dream job!  If you already have it, be the inspiration that people need to find their dream jobs!

(