Turning What You Love Into What You Do

Lifelong learning is the vehicle for adapting to the constant change that affects all of us each day at work and in daily living. Daily living requires lifelong learning all day, every day. At one time, little changed in the workplace, which meant someone could do mainly physical work and have a life-sustaining career. No more. With the advent of remote work, the home has become the workplace for many. Remote work and remote learning are almost synonymous. Everyone will rely on lifelong learning to keep up with all the changes in a global world. ...

Failure is unpleasant, especially in American society/culture that is heavily focused on success and winning. As such, many people overlook the value of learning from mistakes, including the maturity and discipline they foster. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; they are just the stepping-stones to success.” ~Louis Zamperini, "Unbroken." ...

Everyone benefits when citizens make communities vibrant and healthy places to live. Many people have talents they can share with their communities. They can leverage their talent and experience to go beyond their daily sharing of time and treasure. The more people who share time, treasure and talent, the healthier and more vibrant the community will be. ...

Today we examine the stages of the career continuum, including a lifeline exercise that illustrates the RLT/career continuum interplay. You can conduct a personal lifeline exercise to identify a consistent theme along your path. What theme or pattern can you identify that connects your education, interests and work experience? ...

Usually, the career continuum begins as a teenager, often with hobbies and interests. All these experiences and education define your career continuum because everything is connected. Interconnected experiences enable you to leverage all your talent and experience into a seamless career continuum where everything is connected. ...

In the words of Confucius, “Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.” “What you love” is the easy part because it is your passion. Turning it into “what you do” is more involved. You must do something to convert what you love into a livelihood. Passion is essential but it often needs to be coupled with knowledge and skills that relate to a job or career. ...

While many people think they know (or should know) exactly what they want to do in career/life, very few actually know what they want to do at first; just ask them. And even people who are sure of themselves and convinced they know what they want to do often wind up in a place they never expected. We need to change the conversation from “What are you going to do now?” to “It’s okay not to know… as long as you are willing to find out.”  ...

Meet our newest blogger, Patrick J. O'Connor, who will explore career options for older adults. No matter what you do — or did — we know you'll find his columns provocative and inspiring. Pat says, "Happiness at work is important to a happy life. The path to this happiness is to turn what you love into what you do." ...