Recently I suggested that perhaps the best way to decide how you want to make a living was to simply ask Who Needs Your Gift Now?
The implication of that question is that your Gift is something you
both love (it's your Passion) and are good at (it's your Genius). For
many that is easy -- some people I know have known what their Gift is
since they were old enough to talk. For others it has been elusive,
either because they feel a mis-fit between their Passion and their
Genius, or because, for whatever reason, they have yet to discover
their Passion or their Genius. This article is for them (or perhaps I
should say, for us).
The
chart above is a more elaborate version of the Venn diagram I have used
in several recent articles. I use this chart when I review the
important-but-non-urgent projects on my Getting Things Done
list, to decide which of these projects to work on each day. I had
originally planned to flag each of these important-but-non-urgent
projects with a number from 1 through 7, depending on which area on the
chart above it fell into -- and then focus on the projects in area 3
first. But I discovered it isn't as easy as that (it's never that easy,
is it?), because of the six questions that I've now added to the chart:
- Does it pay enough?
Some of my pet projects don't pay enough to meet my financial needs, so
although I love doing them, I'm good at them, and they're needed, I
can't do them (at least until my pension kicks in).
- Do you have time for it?
Some of my pet projects are enormous, full-time projects, that would
require me to stop doing a lot of things that I cannot or don't want to
stop doing (yet).
- Is your ability recognized? Some of my pet projects are things that I
know I am good at, but lack the formal credentials to have much
credibility doing (that applies to a lot of environmental work, and
even some professional writing work, that I know I'd do well, but with
a background in financial and professional services it's hard to get a
hearing when so many biology, environmental science and journalism
grads are vying for the same work).
- Is your ability appreciated? Some my pet projects are things that I
know I am good at, but others don't particularly appreciate. This is a
particular challenge in providing innovation consulting services to
clients -- many potential clients really need these services, but want
to hire someone who has been doing very similar work for decades (or,
they believe that, with minimal facilitation, they can 'do innovation'
themselves).
- Is the need recognized? Some of my pet projects are things I
know customers need, but (because I'm too far ahead of the curve) they
don't yet realize they need (and as we all know, the customer is --
almost -- always right).
- Is the solution affordable? Some of my pet projects are things I know customers need, and they
do too, but they can't afford them. Many of these customers are
not-for-profit organizations, and they'd love to have me working with
them, but I'd have to reduce my rate by 80% to fit within their budget.
So
how do I categorize these projects -- career options really -- when
because of these 'hitches' they aren't really area 3 projects? And what
do I do about the projects that are area 1, 2, 4, or 5 projects -- but
might become, or be changed to, area 3 projects with time or dedicated
effort?
Let's take the questions one at a time:
- Does it pay enough?
If your answer to this is 'no', then I would suggest that 'what's
needed' (someone to do this work for little or no remuneration) is not
what you have to offer, and this is in fact an area 2 project. You want
a six figure income for organic gardening? Area 2.
- Do you have time for it? If you don't, what are you spending your time on?
If you, like most of the world, are spending most of your life doing
area 5 work (which probably means you're underemployed) maybe it's time
to ask yourself whether you should stop and do some area 3 work
instead. But ask yourself the six questions first, to make sure your
alternative is really area 3 work. If it is, make time for it!
- Is your ability recognized?
If your answer to this question is no, then either you need to build
the personal credentials so it is (if your job and other time
commitments will allow you to), or change jobs for one that does
recognize your abilities. In the meantime, you're probably actually
doing work you don't love (area 5 work) and which perhaps isn't what
you're good at either (area 7 work).
- Is your ability appreciated? This one's easier -- if there's a disconnect between what you're doing and what you know is needed, you're in area 2.
- Is the need recognized?
Same answer -- if you're ahead of the market, anticipating its needs
before the market is ready for your gift, you're doing area 2 work.
- Is the solution affordable? Same as the 'Does it pay enough?' answer -- area 2.
Let me be personal for a moment and tell you how this applies to the projects in my Getting Things Done list.
- Most
of my writing projects (other than this blog, which is a hobby and
therefore easy to qualify as an area 3 project) are in search of a
paying audience, so they are area 2 projects, which I'm working hard to
move to area 3 by improving my writing, getting an agent, writing
compelling proposals etc.
- Next on my list are a set of
projects relating to teaching natural entrepreneurship, life skills,
and how to make the world a better place; my AHA! project is part of
this set. I am both ahead of the market for these projects and lacking
in credentials to offer them, so they are currently area 1 projects
(but we're all allowed a few self-indulgences).
- Third on my
list are innovation consulting projects, some of which I really enjoy,
and others not so much, and some of which I have excellent credentials
for, while others are a real stretch. So they are variously in areas 2,
3, 5, and 6.
- Fourth on my list are various knowledge
management projects, which are often area 5 projects, but have their
moments of area 3 zen.
- And fifth on my list are the things I
have no skills or experience for, but would love to learn: Setting up
an off-the-grid model Intentional Community, doing research on
interspecies communication ("if I could talk to the animals"),
inventing delicious non-animal substitutes for animal-based foods, etc.
They're area 1 and 4 projects.
I've said before that if you
can't find work in area 3, you haven't looked hard enough. That may be
harsh, but I think it's true: It takes courage and perseverance and a
lot of self-knowledge to find (or create) that 'perfect' job, but it's
out there waiting. But if asking the question Who Needs My Gift Now?
doesn't get you there, is it really possible to 'move' a project from
one of the other areas to area 3?
My answer to this question, which will probably be controversial, is probably no. Things
are the way they are for a reason, and if the potential customers of
your pet project just aren't persuaded, or aren't ready, for what you
have to offer, chances are all the brilliant sales pitches in the world
won't change that. Set your area 2 projects aside and wait for the
market to catch up. If your work has you disengaged, and you've started
to hate getting up in the morning, it's time to give up on this area 5
work and find something you love. And if you love your work and it's
important, but your co-workers and customers have no confidence in you,
chances are training and study and more experience won't change that
(unless you're brand new in the job, in which case stick with it for
awhile) -- shelve the area 4 work and find something that's a better
fit for your capabilities.
It's the same way with relationships.
If the love goes, or your partner ceases to appreciate what you have to
give, or you just can't seem to make it work, to the point you feel
it's more trouble than it's worth, it's really
hard to get it back on track. Often the wisest thing to do is walk away
and build a new relationship with someone else you love, who values
your Gift and who you are just right for. Just like the perfect job,
the perfect partner is almost certainly out there, waiting to be
discovered, and a less-than-perfect relationship, like a
less-than-perfect job, is incredibly difficult to improve by sheer will
power and self-sacrifice.
How do we get in these situations?
Sometimes we just take the easy road, accept the first job offer that
comes along, so we never know what we might be missing, and suddenly
wake up to the realization that life is too short to work at something
you hate, or can't do well, or which just isn't appreciated. And
sometimes what seemed to be
the perfect job turns out to be something less than perfect, or else
something changes to make it less than perfect (the market moves on
while you stay behind, or new skills are needed that you can't seem to
master, or it just become routine and all the joy goes out of it). It's
really hard to turn that around. It's usually better, I would argue, to
start from scratch and search for the project that, right now, falls in area 3. It could take a long time and a lot of work to find, but it will be worth it.
We
each have our Gift (our Passion and our Genius), and our Purpose -- all
that is required is to discover what they are and where they meet.
Now if only I could learn to take my own advice. |
3:37:59 PM 
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MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
