What Makes You Come Alive? - Sean Aiken

Sean Aiken graduated from college and like a lot of kids had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. What he did have was a very creative way to figure it out. He lined up 52 very diverse organizations who were willing to employee him for one week and then give his paycheck to charity. He filmed the project and wrote a terrific little book called The One-Week Job Project. Sean shares his experience here on a Ted Talk.

I work with people all the time to help them identify their strengths and then deliver them in the workplace. I use a variety of inquiries or questions, assessments and other tools to help my clients uncover gifts and talents long overlooked and underused. But the best indicator available is to "try stuff". Sometimes you need to try a lot of stuff before you find your niche.

In my last post I used the analogy of trying on a suit of clothes. When Susy and I went shopping for her wedding dress, we covered dozens of stores and half of California in the process. Then there it was...on a rack at Nordstrom in South Coast Plaza.

Lining up your dream job, the one that fits will take some effort. Sean Aiken embarked on a very novel approach that allowed him to "try on" a lot of jobs in a relatively short amount of time. You can take a similar approach. Conduct informational interviews. Set up job shadows and internships. Volunteer.

Watch Sean's talk and be inspired!

Does Your Perfect Job Exist???

Do you have your perfect job?
Somewhat near?
No where near?

Does the perfect job for you even exist? I think it does, but not off the rack. If you've ever bought a business suit you know what I'm talking about. I'm a 42 tall... but not a perfect 42 tall. When I buy a suit I immediately head for the rack with the 42 talls. And I also know that if I want a perfect fit, I'll be spending some time with the tailor.

It's the same with jobs. In the world of work, this tailoring is called job crafting. If you're interested in crafting your off the rack job and turn it into one that fits more perfectly, I recommend Marcus Buckingham's book, "Go Put Your Strengths To Work". If you'd like support around that along with a few more ideas, I'd love to help.

There is another strategy that works well for many people. It's called a portfolio career. In this Ted Talk, Katie Ledger talks about "working toward work that will work for you". She says, "Your perfect job probably doesn't exist...yet." Then she goes on to give some terrific examples of people who have pieced together a mosaic of fulfilling work. Take a look!

Re-Discover Your Creative Genius

When you are working in a strength, you have almost limitless access to creativity in that area. When you are working in an area of weakness, creativity may plummet.

This is a cool video advertising the book, "Unthink".

Ken Robinson's "How To Escape Education's Death Valley"

Our friend, Sir Ken Robinson has a new Ted Talk!

Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

This is another video short based on Sir Ken Robinson's new book Finding Your Element

Authenticity & Acting Like An Owner

I worked for one manager, Mr. A.W. Lanford during an eight year span of my career. At his retirement dinner he went around the room and said something about each of his District Managers. When he came to me, he said, "Dale pushed back on me harder than any district manager that I ever had". It was true. We had that kind of relationship. And it was with complete respect and even love that I had for him. One of the things he repeatedly taught me was, "If you're trying to keep your job, you're probably not doing your job".

In this video, Professor Kaplan talks about speaking up, acting like an owner and being authentic...

Leveraging Failure As A Strength

Is failure a strength? It is if you leverage it correctly! In this video short, professor Kaplan talks about pulling out our failure stories and mining them for wisdom.

Assessing Your Strengths & Weaknesses

Being Successful vs. Reaching Your Unique Potential

In this clip, Harvard Management Practice Professor, Robert Steven Kaplan talks about a critical distinction. He shares the difference between being successful, as society might view it, versus reaching your unique potential. These thoughts are shared in more detail in his book, What You're Really Meant To Do: A Roadmap For Reaching Your Unique Potential.

Finding Your Passions - Robert Steven Kaplan

Robert Steven Kaplan has come out with a new book, What You're Really Meant To Do: A Roadmap For Reaching Your Unique Potential.

In this video clip, he shares some thoughts from the book!

The Path To Discovering Your Talents and Passions - Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson wrote The Element just a few years ago. It's become one of my favorite strengths books. I'm just finishing Robinson's helpful sequel, Finding Your Element. It's very practical with lots of questions and exercises. Here is a series of videos from "Big Think" sharing ideas from both books.