Wick Kaminski's new book, Time to Quit?, explores every factor necessary to consider when it comes to reflecting on work and whether or not your career trajectory is aligning with what you actually want to be doing.
There are many factors to consider when it comes time to making this sort of transitionary decision in life. Conveniently, this book covers them all, with tact and simplicity. In this post, I've decided to highlight only one reflection point that stood out to me, upon my first read-through. However, given that there are so many worthwhile points to consider, I would highly recommend that you grab a copy for yourself, when time permits. It's a quick read and can be applicable to many facets of life. Alright! On to my highlight...
"Odyssey Planning"
“It'll be the most significant step you'll take to realizing that you are the master of your own destiny. Paralleled only by a good reading of The Alchemist maybe.”
There's a concept referred to in the book called "Odyssey Planning," which Kaminski accredits to Stanford Professor Dave Evans, former Apple engineer and co-founder of Electronic Arts. It is an experiment that Professor Evans uses to challenge his students to create not one, not two, but #three entirely unique five-year plans for themselves, in order to get them to understand and truly visualize that there isn't necessarily only one destiny set out for each of us that will offer a sense of complete fulfillment. There may be quite a few, actually.
I've taken a moment to explore, in detail, three possible plans for myself, and it is truly an enlightening practice. As Kaminski states, "It'll be the most significant step you'll take to realizing that you are the master of your own destiny. Paralleled only by a good reading of The Alchemist maybe."
You Are The Master Of Your Own Destiny
In addition to being a tool that will help us to broaden our sights towards the future, this "Odyssey Planning" concept is also an inspiring reminder that "you can create your future." Likewise, you are creating your present. It is all about perception, and again, a #willingness to get out of our heads for a bit and more in tune with our spirit and the grander picture. The bird's eye view, if you will.
“The question 'is this really your passion?' sets an unrealistically high bar that you [may] never reach.”
This concept we are highlighting must have been inspired by the quote Kaminski highlights in his book, spoken by Evans, in which he says, "[t]he question 'is this really your passion?' sets an unrealistically high bar that you [may] never reach." I've edited his original statement that read "will never reach" to "may never reach," because there is always a possibility that you will live a blissful life in pursuit of your true passion.
However, our modern society does, at times, put a lot of pressure into the idea of finding your passion first and revolving every pursuit around that one passion, in order to manifest your dreams. The journey towards discovering that one passion, however, is a #pursuit in itself, isn't it? So, why must we put ourselves through such an indefinite cyclical maze, when we could instead just take a deep breath, accept that there will be twists and turns along the way, and understand that no matter what, as long as we are #finding passion in whatever work we are doing, everything will work itself out in the end.
P.S.
For your purchase of Kaminski's book on Amazon (or any Amazon purchase, for that matter), did you know that if you complete it on "smile.amazon.com," a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to a cause of your choosing? Now, you know!