Landing Your Dream Job, Part 2: What Do You Think About?

In order to be happy in your career, it's imperative to answer this question honestly: "What do I think about?"

I heard a story once of a father who tutored his son in chemistry. The father was a well-known scientist and professor at the local university and thoroughly enjoyed tutoring his son. One day they sat down to go over one of the son's homework problems and the father exclaimed, "This is the exact same problem that you had last week! Hasn't your mind been working on this problem all week!?" "No," said the son, "I haven't thought about it at all since then." The father put down his pencil and sat back in his chair. "Son, if this isn't what you think about all week, then you might be in the wrong major. Go find a subject that gets you so excited, you can't sleep until you conquer it." The son went on to get a business degree and became an influencial business professor.

The father was right. If you're not engaged in a subject that excites you, you've got a long, boring career ahead of you. Not only that, you likely will not be competitive at what you do. Imagine trying to compete in cut-throat classes in medical school against students who have dreamed of being a doctor, have a passion for the medical field, and who lie awake at night trying to find a cure for cancer. It's difficult to pass a class that's graded on the curve filled with students like that. On the other hand, if your thing is math and there's nothing you enjoy more than proofs, then go do it! Go find what you love. If you're doing what you love, you'll excel and become a leader in your field.

Too often we feel limited by what our peers are doing with their lives, or what our family reputation is, or perhaps we feel an obligation to carry on the family business. Life is too long to spend it at an 8-to-5 job that doesn't stimulate you, and too short to waste time thinking that you can change occupations later.

My professor once made a statement to me that left an unforgettable impression: "People always say, 'On your deathbed, you won't be wishing you could have spent another day in the office.' Well," he said, "that's assuming they had a terrible job! I will definitely wish I could have spent one more day in my office." This is a man who is past retirement age and who gets up at 2:00 AM daily to work on research he loves. This is a man who found his passion and is incredible at what he does. Now I'm not suggesting that we should all want to spend our lives in the office - there's much more to life than that. I am suggesting, however, that the time we spend in the office can be enjoyable if we choose the right office.

So, what do you think about? It's worth giving that some thought. Just pay attention to where your mind goes when it has nothing to think about. What do you fantasize about? What would get you up in the morning before your alarm? If you can find it, you'll be unstoppable.