A Vice President who has 15 years of corporate experience asked a very blunt and courageous question on Linkedin Answers, a free service offered by Linkedin.com:

What should I be doing in my future?

Here's the answer I wrote:

The "ideal" career is one where you use your talent doing work you are passionate about, while being well paid and feeling that your work is aligned with your values.

"Ideal" here means "ID (identity) + Deal."

Identity comes from knowing what you are passionate about, what your unique talent is, and what your values are. These three elements must be packaged into a solution that responds to a need in the world. Only then can you create a win-win deal, so that as you perform a service, you can get paid fairly in return.

It's great that you're asking such an honest question. Many people prefer not to ask such a question, and bury themselves in their work without knowing exactly where they're going.

I'm actually teaching a workshop called "My Ideal Career". Let me know if you'd like a summary report of that workshop.

Good luck!

So far, I've provided over 1,000 answers to people on Yahoo! Answers and 250 answers to users of Linkedin Answers. Most of my career answers -- like the one above -- seem to hit a chord with people.

In particular, people really like the framework that I give them so they can design an "ideal" career. This Ideal Career Framework (ICF), which describes the four fundamental elements of a great career (passion, talent, need and meaning), is simply the crystallization of nearly a decade of research and synthesis. During that time I kept busy by reading hundreds of books on psychology, philosophy, spirituality, management, business, capitalism, economics, futurism and technology. Translation: I didn't have much of a social life! :-)

However, it was worth it because the resulting framework can really help people to visualize what their ideal career would look like, and then to design an action plan in order to develop this fabulous career.

This sounds great, yet there's a catch: the ICF is not about finding a job or polishing one's resume or getting into fields where the salary is high. One's ideal career is not about money, status, prestige, or any external sources of motivation.

Your ideal career is really about who you truly are -- inside. Once you find out who you truly are, life becomes an adventure. Work becomes a joy and a blessing every day. You will sing when you take your shower in the morning, you will sing while commuting or driving to work, and you will sing at the office.

In fact, although your coworkers are glad that you are happy, they will ask you to stop singing because it disturbs their concentration. You will look at them with overflowing love and heartfelt compassion, and tell them: "I love my work and I love you guys! I'm here for you if you need me for anything!"

In the end, life is short. It should be sweet. It should be a dream come true. However, your dream won't come true by itself. It requires work. It requires belief. It requires focus.

To make it easier for you to find your ideal career, I've decided to release for free a special report on the Ideal Career Framework. Just ask for it by writing to me at peter@careerknowledge.net. This report will open your eyes to the very real possibility that you can have an amazing career. Once you've gained this important awareness, your life will never be the same.

To your success!

Peter

Exclusive Offer!

Sign up to receive our free Monthly Newsletter which summarizes the
best articles written on the Career Knowledge portal! Plus, the
newsletter contains extra materials and bonuses not published on the
portal, such as insider tips, online resources and much, much more!

Wait, there's more! Register for the newsletter and receive a FREE copy of the special report "Ideal Career Framework: How to Design Your Ideal Career and Pursue It With Passion" (value of $95).