Today I am sharing two final job search myths with you.  Refer to the previous two blog entries (1, 2) for Myths 1 – 3, and for further discussion on this topic.  Again, this perspective comes to us from Po Bronson’s article in Fast Company, titled “What Should I do With My Life Now?”:

Myth #4:  There Is One Perfect Thing Each Of Us Is Meant To Do On This Planet:

“Give me a break.  Where’d that myth come from?  If someone repeats it, throw a glass of water on them.  For each of us, there are dozens, hundreds of careers, any one of which could provide you a sense of meaning and goodness.  You don’t have to find ‘The One,’ you just have to find any one. The biggest mistake is being seduced by the myth that you’re looking for the right answer, as if there is only one answer.  It’s just so damn easy to look upon someone else and jealously think, ‘Wow, he sure got lucky.’  Real people did not have great opportunities fall in their lap.  Mostly, crappy opportunities come along, and in the meantime, you make the best of them.  But that skill and habit, of making the best of your situation, is essential training.  Because one day, a good opportunity will come along.  And if you make the best of it—if you’re good at making the best of things – you will turn it into a great situation.  A “calling” is not something you know, the moment you see it. For real people, in the real world, a sense of “calling” is something you grow into, over the course of your life, by having an impact on your organization and the community around you.  In this way, it provides a sense of belonging and relevance.  Or in the terminology of engineers, one enters a phase of ‘positive feedback experience’ that makes you feel good about being where you are.”

Myth #5:  You Don’t Know What You Want: 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what you want.  Of course you know what you want:  fulfillment, connection, responsibility … and some excitement.  The real problem is figuring out how to find a path that doesn’t suffocate those natural feelings in you.  Which is hard.  Of course it’s hard.  It’s supposed to be hard.  If it weren’t hard, you wouldn’t learn anything along the way.

If you don’t know how to make the best of a bad situation, you will never get there.  If you are not willing to put up with some shit work, you will never recognize that a good opportunity is staring you in the face.  If you are not willing to be humble and repeatedly be a beginner in new areas and learn the details faster than the next guy, you are not capable of transformation.  Only by embracing these realities will you be able to answer the question ‘What should I do with my life now?’ ”

If you have responsibilities coaching people, write these down, and help lead people back to reality.  During these down times, people need reality coaching more than ever…