This article is the last in a three part series. The first article was an overview of the concept of finding our mission in life. Part two focused on the methods used to recognize our uniqueness and begin defining our mission in life. Part three will focus on the nuts and bolts of how finding our mission relates to Career Planning.

"Work is love made visible"
From The Prophet, by: Kahlil Gibran

And so to work . . . to work with love . . . is the path we know, at some level of our being, we must take. It is on this path that we will find and embrace our mission in life.

In Part One of this series we discussed the concept of "mission". Do we all have missions . . . undiscovered, untapped, waiting to be revealed? And if we do, how do we go about discovering what our mission is?

Before it's possible to focus on finding our mission in life, we need to take care of our survival needs first (food, clothing, shelter, safety needs, and self esteem needs). It's only after we've taken care of these basic needs that we are in a position to, as the noted psychologist Abraham Maslow stated, "self actualize", or fully become who we were intended to be.

A triangle demonstrates the elements needed to uncover our mission. The sides of the triangle are "meaningfulness" and "making a contribution". For us to be on the right path in life we must have the sense that our lives are meaningful and that we're a making contribution. Finally, there's the base of the triangle. The part that ties it all together. Utilizing our unique gifts and abilities is the element that ties it all together.

In part two of this series we talked about the need to first recognize an inner hunger, a feeling of incompleteness, a desire to know more about ourselves, our temperament, our talents and natural skills. Once that need is recognized, we then begin our search. A number of resources are available in the quest to identify our unique skills and abilities. The community colleges are invaluable resources for career testing and career counseling. The book What Color Is Your Parachute? and its companion book How To Create A Picture Of Your Ideal Job Or Next Career by Richard Nelson Bolles is highly recommended. Additionally, there is always room to include sources outside the conventional path . . . astrologers, psychics, tea leaf readers . . . if it works for you, then by all means.

We ended part two in this series with an assumption. We assumed that you'd done your reading, taken tests, talked to a career counselor, dusted off some old dreams, uncovered some new ones and perhaps had glimpses of your mission in life. What now?

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND . . .
Once you've clearly defined and prioritized what you're looking for, it's now time to go out and talk to people who are using the skills that you think you might want to use. Notice that I said "talk". This is not an interview, in the traditional sense, but rather an opportunity for you to take a look, ask some questions, get a "sense of", and see if this is right for you. This form of investigation is known as "informational interviewing." It can be both intimidating and exciting. After all, you're going out in the world to places where you think it might be fascinating to work, and talking to people who might be doing something you'd love to do, that's the exciting side. The intimidating side is, of course, interacting with people. You might be surprised here, people who love what they're doing usually love talking about their passion. So, with a little practice, even the shyest of people should find this activity to be quite rewarding. To further illustrate this concept of informational interviewing, let's say you're currently employed, and the job is so-so. You can make it work, but you know you're capable of much more. And you had dreams as a child. But through the years the dreams were shelved and . . . you got on with your life. But you can't seem to shake that gnawing feeling that says you have more to give. On day, you say to yourself, I want my dreams back. Along with the career testing, the counseling, the self reflection, it now becomes apparent that it's time to talk to those people who are doing the things you've always wanted to do. You start networking, using the phone, or just dropping by those places that have always fascinated you. You find a person who's in that challenging position. You ask for twenty minutes of their time, and ask questions like "How did you get into this business?" "What do you like best?", "What do you like least?" "Do you know anyone else I can talk to that shares your enthusiasm for this kind of work?" A thank you note, and it's on to the next person.

Eventually, you begin focusing. Focusing on job titles. Focusing on possibilities. Self employment? Maybe. Big organizations? Maybe. Helping people? Maybe. Painting, writing, inventing? Maybe, maybe, maybe. It's all up to you. There is only one you on this planet. You are as unique as your fingerprint. And you have a mission in life. It can be said that your first mission is to find what you love doing. Once you identify what you'd love to do, you may begin to notice that words like "meaningfulness", and "making a contribution" will take on new meaning and perhaps fall into place. And of course you'll be putting your unique brand on what you do, using your unique skills and abilities.

It's doing what you love doing that will put you on the path to finding your ultimate mission in life.

There may come a day when you say a resounding "YES", this is my mission. Or . . . your life may be, like it is for many of us, a process of always approaching that mission, of continually moving in that direction, of growing and refining. A process. And during that process you will have the joys and sorrows of self discovery and uncertainty. But you'll also have those days when you can say with certainty "I'm using my gifts, my life is meaningful, and I know that I'm making a contribution".

Meaningful . . . making a contribution . . . using your unique skills and abilities . . . and your work will be . . ."love made visible" You will be on the road to finding your mission in life.

Robert Ross can be reached by e-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com   

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