How to pursue your dream career

When thinking about our future career, we need to follow the road we’ve given ourselves: the education we chose, the plans we’ve made. It seems the right and simplest way. The key is never to be passive: don’t stick to routine, try to create, invent and make a change.

Before you start planning your career, start thinking differently. Try to forget everything you have achieved so far. Try not to think about any norms or limits of society. Try not to consider the control others may have on you. Otherwise, once you reach your destination, going with the flow, you’ll notice something is missing and meet a personal struggle.

Why should you wait for this moment? You may prefer to surf the waves of life with pleasure, catching every opportunity, challenge or adventure life offers.

For the moment just stop, look around and think deeply about the dreams and desires you have. Everything that matters to you right now. Remember every tiny detail. Every idea or dream you’ve had. Everything that makes you fly just thinking about it. Do not think now about what matters in the current moment. The technique we will introduce to you in this article is called career mapping.

Your dream career starts now

Just sit down, close your eyes and dream… What do you see? We will now make further notes which will help you to find your dream career. This time, write down every dream you remember having, everything that makes you excited and everything you hope for the future. We will call this a “Dream Map”.

Let’s focus on Jim again who, just like you, is sat down, trying to remember all his dreams. One of his dreams is becoming an astronaut! Does that sound crazy? However crazy a dream may sound, it is still possible. I have a friend who also dreamed to be an astronaut; he decided not to give up on his dream and opened a very interesting center for children and adults. It’s an astro-center that offers many educational programs, a lot of high tech devices and media to present the universe’s beauty to its visitors.

I truly believe therefore that everything is possible, and that every apparently small and unrealistic dream can be realized in different ways on your career path. When you look at big entrepreneurs and corporation chiefs, remember that they also had dreams! They also reflected on each one of them, generating more ideas and eventually making them happen. Career mapping can help you to bring all your different career ideas onto paper. It’s all up to you, and you can do this. Who knows? You could be flying to the moon or make it as a writer in 10–20 years – this will bring you closer to your dream career. The point is: impossible is possible. One of Jim’s dreams is also to own his own business, in order to have more flexibility in life, to plan his own time.

This is Jim’s “Dream Map”

I dream to be an astronaut
I dream to run my own business
I dream to have pizza for dinner tonight

Now its time for you to start career mapping. Create your own career map by taking some time to reflect on your interests and the kind of work you would like to spend your time with. We wish you good luck with first steps into your career!