[...]... Because You Have Feathers … There are probably dozens of well-intended people who have advice for how you should live your life, make your career choices, or make yourself happy Similarly, walk into the self-help section of any bookstore and you ll be overwhelmed with scores of choices about how you can improve your life You know, intuitively, that all these books can’t be right But how can you tell them... Ask yourself: “What are the assumptions that have to prove true in order for me to be able to succeed in this assignment?” List them Are they within your control? Equally important, ask yourself what assumptions have to prove true for you to be happy in the choice you are contemplating Are you basing your position on extrinsic or intrinsic motivators? Why do you think this is going to be something you. .. the same thing at all It is important to address hygiene factors such as a safe and comfortable working environment, relationship with managers and colleagues, enough money to look after your family—if you don’t have these things, you ll experience dissatisfaction with your work But these alone won’t do anything to make you love your job—they will just stop you from hating it The Balance of Motivators... the primary criteria; income was often the most important of these On the surface, they had lots of good reasons to do exactly that Many people view their education as an investment You give up good years of your working life, years you would otherwise be making a salary Compounding that is often the need to take out big loans to finance your time at school, sometimes while supporting young families—as... click As you go through your career, you will begin to find the areas of work you love and in which you will shine; you will, hopefully, find a field where you can maximize the motivators and satisfy the hygiene factors But it’s rarely a case of sitting in an ivory tower and thinking through the problem until the answer pops into your head Strategy almost always emerges from a combination of deliberate... dreams to be peeled away We pick our jobs for the wrong reasons and then we settle for them We begin to accept that it’s not realistic to do something we truly love for a living Too many of us who start down the path of compromise will never make it back Considering the fact that you ll likely spend more of your waking hours at your job than in any other part of your life, it’s a compromise that will. .. close your mind to unexpected opportunities While you are still figuring out your career, you should keep the aperture of your life wide open Depending on your particular circumstances, you should be prepared to experiment with different opportunities, ready to pivot, and continue to adjust your strategy until you find what it is that both satisfies the hygiene factors and gives you all the motivators... that your career will constantly present If you have found an outlet in your career that provides both the requisite hygiene factors and motivators, then a deliberate approach makes sense Your aspirations should be clear, and you know from your present experience that they are worth striving for Rather than worrying about adjusting to unexpected opportunities, your frame of mind should be focused on how. .. research, I will explain what the best circumstances are to be deliberate, to have that plan; and when it’s best to be emergent—to be open to the unexpected The final element is execution The only way a strategy can get implemented is if we dedicate resources to it Good intentions are not enough you re not implementing the strategy that you intend if you don’t spend your time, your money, and your talent... effect, your core decision-making criteria: what’s most important to you in your career? The problem is that what we think matters most in our jobs often does not align with what will really make us happy Even worse, we don’t notice that gap until it’s too late To help you avoid this mistake, I want to discuss the best research we have on what truly motivates people Following this, I will outline how . spend your time, your money, and your talent in a way that is consistent with your intentions. In your life, there are going to be constant demands for your time and attention. How are you going. the fact that you ll likely spend more of your waking hours at your job than in any other part of your life, it’s a compromise that will always eat away at you. But you need not resign yourself to. live your life, make your career choices, or make yourself happy. Similarly, walk into the self-help section of any bookstore and you ll be overwhelmed with scores of choices about how you can improve your