Being Brave Feels a Lot Like Being Scared

There are a lot of things to aspire to in this world. The words aspiration and ambition are everywhere.  Somehow, during the early years of our adult lives, we are most vulnerable to the sense that we should all be striving for something bigger, better, faster, brighter . .  more.  But what exactly is that?

Scary can be courageous.  (source)

 It’s no secret that, now more than ever, one of the keys to success is to have hustle. By now we've all discovered that we have to figure out what we want and pursue it aggressively.  But you barely have to type the words “how to choose a career” into a Google search (which turns up about 1.4 trillion results in less than half a second, by the way) to find scores of advisors who say the ticket to professional happiness is simply to discover what you’re passionate about and then do that.  

Yet the relentless pursuit of passion is about as useful as a butter knife in a sword fight if you don’t know what your passion is.  And not surprisingly, there are few employers willing to pay a living wage for someone to devote their professional energies to self-discovery – although if you know of one, please share.

So I think it's time to free ourselves from the concept of passion and embrace another concept: bravery.  

Think About Your Money Like a Millionaire

On MSN Money this morning I came across an interview with Steve Siebold, who has spent nearly 30 years interviewing the world’s wealthiest people, and is the author of “How Rich People Think.”  

What is your freedom?

One of the things Siebold talked about was what his research has identified as a shared characteristic among self-made millionaires: 

“A prevailing trait among the wealthy people . .. is that they have a '“really positive relationship with money. They think about money in terms of freedom, as opposed to the negative relationship a lot of people have with money.'"

Let’s look at that again: wealthy people think about money in terms of freedom.

Invest your money - just not in shoes

On a whim - and a break from looking at holiday cookie recipes - today I searched for the word “Invest” on Pinterest.  One of the pins that popped up was a picture of a pair of Chanel ballet flats with the caption “if you’re looking to invest in a classic.”   

I promise you that I love shoes as much as the next gal, and I can amortize each wear of a $200 pair of jeans in about 8 seconds.  Even so, the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw that pin was: Chanel ballet flats are so NOT an investment.

A sound investment?

More precisely, shoes are not an investment.  Everyone remembers our fictional soul mate Carrie Bradshaw.  She spent nearly $40,000 on shoes, and ended up having to ask Mr. Big for the down payment on her apartment when her building went co-op.  

Carrie may not have ended up using the money Big gave her, but still . . . That! Right there! That’s the thing we're trying to avoid.

A Good Job is Not the Same as a Good Career

Whether or not you're happy with your current gig may have a lot to do with whether you view it as just a job or as a career.  That is because the qualifying components for good careers are wildly different than for good jobs.

I once spent months in a position where I could think of nothing but getting out and where my discomfort with the position actually manifested itself into physical pain.   The cause of my intense dissatisfaction, I now realize, was that I viewed the gig not just as a job, but as part of a career I thought I was building (obviously, not the right career). 

But the identifying characteristics of a good career are wildly different than for a good job.

Professionals who are unchained . . . from the desk

For years, I have had a desk job.  Had I thought about it, I would have realized that I would prefer not to be sitting down 8, 10, or 12 or more hours of the day.   It must have been that I just figured most "good" jobs were desk jobs and that, statistically, I would wind up among the sitting.

I settled into my early professional life as a desk jockey without much resistance. Then, I started noticing all the professionals who work not only with their minds but with their entire bodies. Oh, the luxury to move!

For those of you who are just starting out in your careers, are looking for a change, or who simply daydream about an occupation where your tailbone doesn't ache from the sitting, after the jump is a list of jobs to get you out from behind a desk.