Do you sometimes look at people who love what they do for a living and wish that would be you? 

Getting paid to do something you love? Who wouldn’t want that?

You just have no clue where to start. 

You probably have some ideas about what it is that you’d like to do, but you’ve already discounted them for one reason or another. 

I hear this a lot. 

People come to me and tell me that they’re fed up with what they’re currently doing. They want to do something else, but don’t know what that ‘something else’ is. 

Well, the truth is, they often do. 

The vast majority of people I speak with already have some hunches about what could be next for them. They’re just waiting for that light-bulb moment. 

They’re waiting for that moment when a roaring, unshakable confidence takes over that tells them they’re on the right path. 

The problem? 

That light-bulb moment rarely comes. For anyone. 

The truth? 

The path to finding meaningful, exciting and inspiring work is one full of uncertainty, doubt and confusion. 

So what about those people who are seemingly ‘making it happen’? 

They’re experiencing uncertainty, doubt and confusion too. They just know it’s a part of it, so they’re not waiting for epiphanies to hit them. 

This is what it all boils down to. 

If I could give you only one piece of advice it’s to stop waiting for that light-bulb moment. Stop (over)thinking and start doing. 

This is one of those areas in life where lowering your standards is actually a good thing.  

All you need to start with is an idea, a hunch, a gut feeling or simply something that you’re interested in.

Got that? Yes? 

Then, stop trying to come up with some kind of master plan on how you’re going to turn that idea, hunch, gut feeling or interest into a career. 

Research has shown that one of the biggest mistakes people make when making a career change is trying to plan their way there, and delaying taking the first step until they’ve come up with that master plan. 

A much more effective way to find work you love and make a career change is to get really curious about your ideas, hunches, gut feelings and interests. 

Follow them. Explore them. 

Chat with people who do this for a living or know more about it than you do. Start little experiments in which you ‘try out’ this idea, hunch, gut feeling or interest in real life. 

Let’s say you’re interested in writing. 

• Reach out to someone who’s self-published a book and chat to them to learn more about what this was like

• Set up a meeting with a copy-writer to find out what it’s really like to do that for a living

• Start writing two blog posts a week for a month and share them with your friends & family or on medium.com? 

• Have a conversation with a blogger who’s making money from their blog

Or maybe you’re interested in coaching. 

• Try out what coaching feels like by offering a 30-minute coaching session to friends

• Attend an introduction to coaching workshop to learn more about what it means to be a coach

• Chat to a coach to understand what it’s really like to run your own coaching business

• Volunteer your time to work with the ICF, the International Coaching Federation, and learn more about the industry 

This probably feels uncomfortable as hell, but it’s so important to challenge yourself to do these things. 

These actions will give you a good idea of what these ideas, hunches, gut feelings and interests feel like in real life. 

By going out in the real world and taking meaningful action, you’ll also learn new things, meet new people and expose yourself to opportunities that help you along the way. 

None of that will happen if you keep on waiting for your light-bulb moment or try to come up with a genius master plan. 

So lower your standards and get out there exploring your ideas, hunches, gut feelings and interests. 

Meanwhile, I’ll continue doing the same

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