Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

It does not matter if you are a college student or a seasoned executive, you are responsible for your own career.  If you are depending upon someone else (a boss or a counselor) to map out a path to success for you, you will be greatly disappointed.

Below are three reasons why you should take control of your career immediately.

Nobody cares about your future more than you.  You have invested the time and effort into your career development.  You need to make it pay off.  If you need some perspective on this put a dollar amount on all the time you spent in school and learning new skills at work.  Add to that any money you have spent on training, books or the cost of your education. Now imagine that as an investment.  If you don’t make that investment pay off no body else will.  It is your responsibility.  Did you just throw all of the investment money away?

Life is better when you do what you want to do.  We all have things that we have to do that we don’t like.  Make it your goal in life to do as many things that you enjoy as possible.  This is how you begin to follow your passion and make your dreams become reality.  Start with this exercise: 

• Draw three columns on a sheet of blank paper.  The column on the far left is the “like to do” column. The one in the middle is the “don’t care” column. The one on the far right is the “can’t stand” column.
• Now carry this paper with you for a week at work. Put everything you do into a column.
• If the number of items on the “like to do column” doesn’t equal the total of the other two columns – you need a new job.

It really is as simple as that.  There are some strategies for reducing the “can’t stand” and “don’t care” columns but it is hardly worth employing them if they overwhelm the good points in your current job.

You will live longer.  Even if I can’t point to a scientific fact that happy people live longer than miserable people – having fun at work will make your work time quality time.  If you enjoy what you do, work time is time you will treasure and actually look forward to.  This will “lengthen” the good times and good times go fast you should be able to fit more into your life.

These are three good reasons to decide to take control of your career.  There are others.  If this post helped you get off your rear end and follow your passion then I’ve done my job.  If it hasn’t then you should look in the mirror and decide what it will take to help you make that decision.

Filed under: Motivation
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