3 Steps to Discovering Your Passion And Branding Yourself
by Roxanne Allaire
Lately I find myself telling people I care about to be prepared.
Prepared for what? Oh…just a few critical circumstances.
How about losing your job when you least expect it? You thought it would never happen to you…
How about the special moment in time when you’re courageous enough to walk out on your job because, quite frankly, you can’t take it (or your manager/director/company culture) anymore? It happens.
How about the time you admit to yourself you want to do something different, but you can’t quite put a finger on what it is? It nags at you every day and you learn to live with it. Or do you?
Or, how about living the rest of your entire life doing what you don’t love to do just so you can feel “secure”?
Ugh.
The following 3 steps are for you if you’re:
1) A CEO who doesn’t want to spend the rest of your career working for the company you’re working for right now.
2) An employee who is a leader, and you’re yearning for something more in your career and life.
3) A human being who wants to do more to achieve your full potential before you make your exit in this world.
Step 1: Discover your passion
I know…I make it sound like it’s easy. What I’ve learned is that it’s our selves who make discovering our passion difficult. All we need to do is observe. Consider these 3 questions based on observing your behaviors:
1) In the last 1-2 years, what is it that you’ve been doing such that while you were doing it, the time seemed to fly by?
2) In the last 1-2 years, what was it you were doing such that afterward, you found yourself smiling?
3) In all of your lifetime, what are the top 3 things that, while you were doing it, you absolutely kicked ass? And still do? Of those three, which do you love?
Note: Questions 1 and 2 I give props to Robert K. Cooper, Author of The Other 90%. These two questions literally woke me up in my late 20’s and helped prepare me for the rest of my life. Thank you Mr. Cooper!
These are not easy questions for everyone (I’m still going over these questions with my mother of 56 years!). I suggest thinking about it over the next week or so. Do not force your answers (you’re only reporting to yourself on this one!)
Step 2: Create a powerful web presence based on your passion
This step involves reserving your own domain name (your name) at GoDaddy or some other web hosting platform, then selecting a blog platform such as Quansite, Weebly or blogger and creating articles, podcasts, or video posts about intel and topics involving your passion, followed by driving traffic to your blog via social networking.
For example, I have a friend who’s passionate about relationship building. I have another friend who’s passionate about DIY home projects for women. I know a CPA who wishes he were involved with the Theater! All of these people are less than happy in their “other” careers right now, and would be ill prepared for a job loss or transition to boot.
It is a new day and the Internet is your tool for YOU, Inc. Go there!
Step 3: Enjoy the ride
When you brand yourself on the internet by blogging about your passion and/or passionate cause, people will take notice of you before they even consider asking you for a resume. This is how opportunities – in tune with who you are – find you and ask you for a meeting, offer partnerships, new roles, etc…
When you do steps 1 and 2 you’ll be delighted to find that you’ve never been happier in your entire life, followed by only a brief moment of anger that you didn’t do this years ago.
This step is where you get the satisfaction of being prepared for an unexpected job loss, career transition, or other life-changing event involving your career and job security.
Why? Because your brand has provided you credibility, thought leadership, and confidence.
You’re prepared for anything, AND you’re happy! Fearless leadership at its finest.
2 Responses to “3 Steps to Discovering Your Passion And Branding Yourself”
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Roxanne Allaire is President and a Business Development Coach at Roxx Consulting Service Inc. Through strategic positioning, new media marketing, and sales process design, she helps executives and business owners in the High Technology industry increase their attractiveness and crush their competition in our new economy marketplace. Roxx can be reached directly at Roxx Consulting Service @ 866.455.5552.
Roxanne,
Thanks as always for a most insightful blog entry. I can certainly relate to the subject of discovering one’s passions. For the first 22 years of my career, I was never too happy with ANY job I had. I was always successful within the organizations, always producing the best results for my employers, but never, truly happy.
On October 9, 2009, I finally discovered why. It was on that day that I was let go from the last company for which I had worked. They let me go in the most cold and uncaring way imaginable – The password to my laptop suddenly stopped working and 10 minutes later a phone call came in that my position was being terminated. The anger and humiliation of that moment made me swear I will never again – ever! – work for anyone else. And that decision, to work only for me, was my “A-ha!” moment. That’s what I was missing all these years…Doing something for myself. Leading my own company in my own direction and for my own profit (or loss).
I have never been happier in my professional life since this moment of discovery!
Yet I think there is a lesson here for your other readers, which may also be relevant to the great ideas you posted here. Employees need to know their boss or someone else in the company is probably reading what the employee is writing. A blog about how much you don’t like accounting is probably going to show up on your boss’ desk eventually, especially if you work for an accounting firm. Everyone follows everyone online today and I am pretty sure that some of my past bosses followed my online presence as well.
So my recommendation – follow your passions and tell the world about them, but always with caution and with the utmost respect for your current position and employer. Being out on the street with just your passions isn’t going to pay the mortgage.
Roxanne-
Great post. Like the Ophir, I can relate. I’ve spent the last 17 years doing work that I had any passion for and those years have taken their toll. When I finally realized my passion (helping other people) and found a way to generate income (life caoching)I was completely overjoyed.
I also agree with Ophir that you have to be careful when your online personna while still working. These days companies are quick to get rid of people, especially more tentured employees.
I really like the questions you pose here. I work with people trying to dicover their passions and figuring out how to turn them into profit. I will try to work these questions into the discussions. Thanks