Perhaps it is time for some soul searching of sorts (in terms of career potential).
Demoing health food forever?
A few weeks ago, Starfish requested a list of my passions to help me figure out what I want to do and where I can go. It was surprisingly harder than I thought – after all, who doesn’t know what they love, right? Yet, it seems that my trouble is what I truly love not always being a viable source of work to pursue. First let me share what I came up with:
~ emerging forms of media (especially social media at the moment)
~ people’s stories (whether hearing them or sharing them)
~ observing people (their behavior, interactions, and body language)
~ novel things, places, and experiences (travel, broad interactions)
~ health issues (diet and exercise/fitness, organic/all-natural foods)
~ environmentalism (conservation, recycling, and sustainability)
My darling Simon. How can you not find him adorable?
~ volunteering with animals (mostly cats)
~ background/support work (researching, planning)
~ the military (particularly the Marine Corps!)
Ok, so where does that put me?
1. I’ve hardly used social media enough to claim expertise as so many do. However, I am very dedicated to my blog and have made it a point to post on a daily basis. Still, at best, this would be a supplementary service for some sort of package integrated marketing consultation service.
2. Though I like to hear people’s stories, I’m certainly not interested in journalism nor do I feel like the right vessel to help share those stories. I’m also not that great a storyteller. I have had dreams about talking to homeless people to find out how they got into their situation and then helping to groom them to reintegrate to society.
3. Noticing the little nuances in how people go about their days doesn’t exactly translate into a career and is more of an enhancement to how I learn to deal with people. Maybe I’ll start a little side blog with snippets of the things I observe.
One of my favorite views - out a plane window.
4. Being introduced to new people, new places, and new things would be a cool temporary thing to do or a nice addition to my job, but isn’t exactly a career in itself if I want to settle down. This is where my dream of competing in The Amazing Race comes into play.
5. I’m not enough of a fitness or health food nut to delve into this so deeply. At best I could be an advocate for eating less meat to save the environment, eating organic and local to save your community, and exercising regularly and eating well to save yourself.
6. I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading in the green field, since it is what I want to build a company from sometime in my life. Starfish made a very wise suggestion in mentioning I can start to attend conferences of the sort, get involved in the field. I’ll certainly be looking into that (hopefully there are free ones). I’ve been meaning to go to the UCLA Institute of the Environment to see if there’s anything I can get involved in.
My precious Jerriey. Great for stress relief.
7. I actually started looking at cat sitting services and boarding houses to see the rates they charge at. I’m not sure how I would handle spending time with all these adorable felines and not getting to keep them. I think I’m more of a cat owner at heart, though I do like to go play with and take care of them at shelters.
8. Researching and other support work is yet another one of those things that I prefer to use to enhance my work rather than to define my work.
Yeah, I wanted to be one of them. The first Marines I ever encountered.
9. Once upon a time I had fantasies about being a Marine. Then lots of things got in the way and I decided that I was not meant for that path. However, my love/obsession/fascination for the military will always be strong, so I’d love to find a way to work with them. At one point I considered trying to do their marketing. That’s still an option…
What really invigorates me? Sitting at my computer reading articles about green technology, environmentally-friendly
One of the half dozen military boot camps I went to. They're strangely invigorating for body and mind. That's me holding the red guide-on!
products, and fresh wholesome natural food. Spending time with and observing animals. Traveling around the world and getting a peek at the lives of others so different from mine. Hearing about the interesting backstories of people’s lives. Spending time alone pondering and introspecting; also, watching people pass me by. Contemplating (and trying to go out and do) fun ways to be fit and well. Hearing about anything related to the military.
What I’m really looking for is freedom. Freedom to sleep in and stay up ridiculously late. Freedom to get work done in different places on different days. Freedom to meet new people and learn new things all the time. Freedom to step away from society. Freedom to be on my own. Freedom to think.
At the same time, I want financial security. Enough to live comfortably, to support a family, and to send the kids off to college without loans looming over them. Basically, what I had the privilege of growing up with. There are few gifts like responsible and successful parents who allow you to start your working life loan-free. I’d like to be able to provide that as well. In terms of long-term career goals, my main focus is sustainability in all aspects – mentally, emotionally, financially, physically.
So… any ideas?
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