#93 - Career Freak

I'm becoming a big fan of Penelope Trunk.

First, I love the title of her book, Brazen Careerist. Brazen is defined as "flagrant or insolent audacity . . . bold self-assurance." A synonym for brazen is shameless.

Trunk is encouraging people to flaunt their career ambitions, which some might see as a weakness. Instead of apologizing for it, instead of seeing it as a problem or something to hide, she wants you to be proud of being a careerist.

Second, she has a very unique blog. I've been a subscriber for the last month and read a lot of her past messages. She just posted Why You Already Know What You Should Be Doing Next. It offers an interesting suggestion for discovering your freak factor, focus on what you enjoyed as a child.

"Do you want to know what you should do right now? Do you want to know what your best bet is for your next career? Look at what you were doing as a kid. Nothing changes when you grow up except that you get clouded vision from thinking about what you SHOULD do - to be rich, or successful, or to please your parents or peers. . .

It's nearly impossible to eradicate our life of SHOULDS, because we all want to make the right decisions. But I think I could have figured out right decisions for me a lot faster if I had realized how much we reveal about our true selves when we're young."

It was interesting that two things she learned about her younger self included apparent weaknesses. She had no patience for group learning and was a risk taker. That didn't change as she grew up and it still defines her work. This might be a third reason why I like her. I also have no patience for group learning, unless I'm the presenter.

So, what were your problems as a child? What were people always trying to fix about you? What were your weaknesses?

I wanted to be the center of attention. I couldn't sit still. I wanted to be in charge. All those things are still true of me today and, in my career, I am the center of attention. I don't sit still. I am in charge.

How about you? Do you get the chance to embrace your inner child each day? If not, listen to Penelope and find your ideal future by going back.

* If you want more Penelope, you can check out You Get What You Are on my Four Factors blog.