I mostly work with other entrepreneurs, but inspiring people to seek enjoyable careers is also important to me.

Let's explore:

1. Learning to love the 9-5 job you already have
2. How to find a job you love

Yes, I love being an entrepreneur, but we need all different jobs to make the world work.

There are a lot of unhappy people working 9-5 jobs (myself included at one point). I think the cause is often a mismatch of company culture with the individual's personality or a position requiring the wrong skill set. Sometimes that trickles down if the manager is not ideal for his or her position.

I've heard WAY too many people say "it's your job, you're not supposed to like it." That is a huge misconception. You won't love what you're doing all the time, no matter what job you have, but you should like your job at least 60-70% of the time. (Completely made up statistic, but you get the point.)

Jess Lively has an inspirational podcast called The Lively Show that has completely consumed me this past week. Her interview with Mr. Lively is an excellent example of how you can love your "9-5" job. They touch on company culture, which is one of the most important aspects of liking your job. Especially these days, you can find a culture that fits with you. Interview the company as much as they're interviewing you so you can get a feel for what it's like to work for that company.

The Lively Show episode with Noah Kagan also touched on similar topics. Noah mentions the "Sunday Test" - how do you feel on Sunday about going to work on Monday? I can totally relate to this. I had a job where I loved the work I was doing, but the culture didn't jive with me. I felt out of place and confused, so a feeling of dread and anxiety would come over me on Sundays. Noah also gives recommendations on how to find a job you love, even in a competitive environment.

3 Ways to Stand Out at a Job Interview:

1. Research the company
2. Have ideas for how you can improve the company
3. Know why the company should hire you

If you're doing work you enjoy, it doesn't matter if it's for someone else or yourself. In another podcast, the guest compares his internet job with a construction worker's job. While he has what some would consider a "dream job," the construction worker would hate sitting inside hunched over a computer all day. Think of how much we could accomplish if we were all well-suited for our jobs.

[Tweet "Think of how much we could accomplish if we were all well-suited for our jobs."]

So while I love to inspire entrepreneurs to go after their dreams, I want to point out that I encourage everyone to find jobs based on what will make you happy. Do something that makes you feel alive. It will work out better for everyone.

Danielle LaPorte talks about basing your actions on your "core desired feelings" in The Desire Map, and this resonates with me, too. Maybe your desired feelings are stability and community or maybe creativity and variety.

One of my core desired feelings is flexibility. I live far away from family, so I want the freedom and ability to travel and work from anywhere.

How do you want your career to make you feel? What's really important to you?

There may not be one path to what you want from a career, and what you thought you wanted may not make you happy. Let's answer a few questions to give you a different perspective:

3 Questions to Find a Job You Love:

1. How will you feel when you have your dream job?
2. What will you be doing day to day?
3. What kind of people do you want to spend every day with?

At the same time, there are ways you can learn to love the job you already have.

5 Ways to Learn to Love Your Job:

1. Ask for specific projects that more closely relate to what you want to do.
2. Request flexibility if that's what you need.
3. Make your desk and working environment more tranquil and more YOU.
4. The longer you're with a company, the more easily it will be to switch departments. Start looking for open positions within the company.
5. Don't get caught up in negative talk about your job. Focus on the positive. (Applies to life in general.)

 

Do you love your day job? Did you leave a job to do something you love? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!