Accelerate Your Career GPS Into Top Gear

Engaging in careers that allow people to follow their passion while getting paid for doing what they are amazingly good at doing is the way forward; however this appears to be riddled by a bone of contention. The dream career vs. paying mortgage debate has been raging to an all time climax! How are people supposed to create their career hall marks, embrace their passions and dreams when they still need to hold down a job to meet the pressure of everyday life?

At the age of 23 I left home to take up life in the city of gold (Johannesburg) with just one suitcase, 2 years later I decided to leave South Africa to navigate the landscape of the United Kingdom with very little understanding of the English culture. My Career GPS had led me to many different paths, some were adventurous and some were challenging. After several attempts of fine tuning the coordinates on my Career GPS, I now live every single day of my life following my dreams surrounded by the people I love and in an environment that supports me. The self deception of modern age is the popular belief that only after a person has spent the last 35- 40 years of his or her life working really hard, putting in 70 hour work weeks, he or she qualifies to have carte blanche to live out their dreams, explore the Serengeti or take up life as an expat in Thailand. Let it be known, that this sentiment which has been endorsed in the work- life culture for the last 5 decades is fast fading.

According to most recent data from the bureau of labor stats in the US, an employer stays at his or her job for an average of 4.4 years, undergoes about 3-5 different careers in his life time and holds an average of 10 different jobs in his career lifespan. Although some of this career transitioning stems from the uncertainty in the economy, but with the rapture of both the X & millennial generation, a new order is being called in. They reject tradition in the workplace by choosing not to follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents who faithfully stayed at the same company for over 25 years, worked long hours and spent very little quality time with their families; instead they crave a work culture that puts the emphasis on a quality lifestyle. They choose a career platform that allows them to engage in their talents and passions, a world of e-zines and smart phones whilst embracing the Zen culture so that they can perform at their best levels. More and more people are choosing to embrace life by being their best and delivering their most remarkable performance in the now. They are reaching a culmination in their levels of thinking, urging them to live and enjoy life in the present instead of waiting for the next 20 years to do so. I suppose in some way this ties in with what Steve Jobs had said about doing great work to be your best and loving what you do.