How do I pick the right career for my life? Many young people and parents are seeking an answer to this question.
I believe that picking the right career is probably one of the most important decisions that you’ll ever make because when you pick the wrong career, you end up wasting a lot of time, and years sometimes.
If you ever had this experience, you pick a PCB (Biology group) in 12th standard, and then you study that for a few months, after that you realized that I don’t like this subject that much. It’s because my friends told me I should take this, or my mom and dad told me I should take this, but actually –
- I hated this
- I don’t like the subject
- I don’t like the school
- I don’t like what I’m studying
I don’t think I’m going to have a career, on this particular path, and then you switch. And they try something else and switch again, so in between, you’re wasting a lot of valuable time.
So, when it comes to picking a career, you should adopt a 3P Question.
3P Questions are best and work well in making a selection of a career.
3P Questions – How to Decide your Career?
Let me share with you my own experience. Now, I wish I could tell you that, this is, How I got here because this is exactly how I envisioned myself and what I’m going to do.
A few years back I was in a 9 to 5 rat race working for a multinational company.
I have been managing IT Infrastructure for 13 years and would love to manage that.
But, my boss wants me to do something else.
He asked me to move out of my comfort zone and perform in the application area.
Due to my nature of accepting, I accepted a new profile and started working in the application area.
But, soon I realized that it was a trap played by my boss.
My boss started giving me multiple assignments. I completed a few but things were getting worst.
Before completing one assignment I used to get another. It was like mental torture and soon I realized that application is not my cup of tea.
Now, I was in a job role there was no passion. (Application area)
But, I continued – Because I thought things will be alright after a few months.
And I am getting a decent paycheque which I cannot get in my hometown.
And due to family reasons, I cannot leave my hometown.
On that day I realized… What am I doing in my life?
I am living the same life every day.
Going to the office early and coming back home late.
Doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.
I also thought that I have big goals and dreams in my life…
Can I fulfill that dream with my job…
A job where I am not finding fulfillment.
A job where I don’t have a passion for work.
A career that will never give me satisfaction.
And that moment, that realization… was one of the most important moments in my life.
- Realizing – this is NOT what I wanted.
- Realized – there’s got to be something that I need to change!
- Realized – there’s more to life than I am currently doing.
So I quit that job and decided to opt for a new career.
A new career that gives me fulfillment and money also. Guess What!
Now I have got the greatest job in the world.
Having such a great lifestyle, being able to, not just materialistic things, but everything that I have, right.
I get to work when I want, where I want, with whom I want.
I can impact so many people’s lives, as a blogger.
I asked three questions to myself and developed a 3P Strategy that will help anyone and everyone to decide their career path.
#1 Have you tried to find out your Passion?
If you are a young person, and you are not so sure what is the perfect career for you, it means that you have not tried enough things.
Because it’s like sports, how do you know what sports you would excel in if you haven’t played enough?
So let’s say you’ve only played football your whole life.
You’re like, you know what?
Maybe I’m a pretty good football player, but maybe you’re only five foot five.
And you thought you know what? This is what I like to do, maybe this is my career.
Well, maybe you haven’t tried other things.
- Have you tried swimming?
- Have you tried basketball?
- Have you tried soccer?
- Have you tried cricket?
- Have you tried other sports?
When you try enough things, it is an elimination process, very quickly you would know, you know what, that’s not my thing.
For example, I’m not good at cooking. I am not a good cook, that’s not my cup of tea.
So, I would not have a career in that.
In spite, other people might love it, but I can’t even make a good tea. How I can become a good cook.
So that is not my career, eliminate it very, very quickly, okay, and then for athlete or sports, and a lot of these different things, that’s not my thing either, so I’m not going to have a career in those professions, so I eliminate that.
So when I was young, my dad wanted me to be a doctor, when I was very young.
And I thought, yeah doctor is my thing, I’m gonna be a doctor, right, and after I learned a little bit more about it, no, I’m not going to be a doctor, right.
I learned that that’s not my path, it’s the path that my dad wanted for me.
Then, later on, I wanted to be a book author, I still love books and I have a dream to write one.
I have an uncle of mine who is an engineer and making good money and another uncle was a professor in college.
So, I decided to become a professor. I became an engineer and later on became a professor.
After that, I thought this is not my calling and I will not able to make enough money. So, I joined the IT industry.
But, my passion was writing and I love to share knowledge and educate people. Impact their lives.
So, I became Blogger.
I tried multiple different things and career options before that.
I started being a copywriter, and YouTuber and Now I am trying a new career as Digital Marketer.
I have never imagined I would be doing what I’m doing today.
It’s only after so many career options that I found my place.
You see, in life, you need to find your place.
To find a place, where this is where you belong, is what you were meant to do.
#2 Which Career gives you profit?
I believe, and not everyone agrees with me on this, that I believe your career, if your career, you just focus on, I want to do what I love, you will struggle financially.
You have to get the money thing out of the way first, so you can have more choice, so you can take that money and invest in yourself.
You have to make some money first.
And that’s what I did, I wasn’t just, I wasn’t following my passion, I just wanted to make a living. That’s the reason I was doing a Job.
So first, profit.
Your career, if your career can make you profit. A decent amount of profit, you have to start with that.
You see, in the Asian culture, we don’t talk about passion. We believe in working long hours for making more money.
In North America, it’s the opposite. They want to find their calling. It’s ok if they struggle financially.
Nothing right or wrong with both philosophies, but I found that at first, focus on profit.
Find something that can make you money.
So you get money out of the way so you can focus on what’s important, and that’s life, you get your time back.
Then once you’re making good money, if you can also find something that
you’re passionate about, that would be good.
If you can combine profit, with passion.
And if there’s something that you’re passionate about, for example, when I found out that –
- I love sharing my knowledge.
- I love impacting people.
- I love helping people.
- I’m passionate about it.
Writing a book on my own and selling it in the market would be difficult for me. So I started blogging and copywriting at MoneyExcel and later monetize my passion with advertisements and authorship.
And people pay me money for doing that. I thought to myself, this is great, I am getting paid for what I am doing.
This is my hobby, this is my passion, this is what I love to do, it doesn’t get old.
It’s my passion.
So when I can combine passion and profit, guess what, you make more profit, cause you love what you do.
And if you love what you do, of course, you get good at what you do, then at the very end, I found my purpose.
#3 Find Purpose
I found that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
When I know what I do impacts people’s lives. When my father passed away, I thought to myself, what’s my legacy, what do I want to be known for.
- Do I want to be known as an IT professional or Blogger (Author)?
- Do I want people to say that He’s successful financially, he’s a wealthy guy, or do I want people to say, you know what? That he helped me to change my life.
And I say, I want people to say, that man changed my life.
And I found my purpose, and that’s why I do what I do today.
I can combine my purpose, with my passion, and also makes a lot of profit, all into one.
And I’m very, very grateful, that I have found my ideal career.
Now, my career may not be your career, but start with profit, then maybe through that, you’ll find your passion, then when you know to a point, this passion may become your purpose.
That thing you, if you ever get to that, you are a very lucky person.
I am a very, very lucky person.
When I can live every day living my purpose, following my passion, and also making a lot of profit, life doesn’t get better than that.
So that’s my recommendation, that’s what you need to do.
No one can tell you, I cannot tell you, no one can tell you, you’ve got to find your path.
But, that’s my recommendation, that’s how you decide on your career with 3P Questions. – Passion, Profit & Purpose.
