Good Questions = Good Answers

I recently posted a free half-reading offer on a social network I belong to, for the first person to respond with a well-crafted question. I offered some guidelines and suggestions for how to craft an excellent question, and waited for the results. You see, I've found that our guides, angels, and higher self WANT to bring us the things we want - provided that they align with our highest good and the plan we aid out for ourselves prior to incarnation, of course - but if we don't know what we want, they don't either. It's critical to get clear on exactly what we're looking for, and to ask questions that reflect this clarity.

The Question

In response to my request, I received this question: "What is the career I should focus on that will bring me success, possibilities for growth, to explore, to engage my talents and to stretch beyond my wildest imagination?"

Seems pretty good on the surface, right? Success, growth, use of talents, check, check, check. Yes, everyone wants those things in a career.

My Response

I get this type of question a lot, and it's usually not from people for whom one or two different careers are a quite obvious choice. Those people don't usually ask questions like this, because they generally already intuitively know what they would be uniquely well-suited to do. Their questions usually have a "how do I get there?" flavor, more than a "what should I do?" approach.

Folks that ask this question generally would be successful in very many careers, and find themselves in a state of "choice paralysis". Because, for most of us in a modern industrial/technological society, there really are a zillion careers out there that most people would be adequately suited to do. Narrowing it down is the problem. During in-person readings, I simply ask more questions. Because this wasn't in person, I wrote back with additional things to think about to narrow the search:

Success - What does "success" mean to you? Is it just lots of money? Fame? Power? What if that comes at the expense of personal relationships, family, privacy, hobbies that are important to you, your health, etc.? What would you like to get, and what are you willing to do in trade? Maybe success is being able to afford a modest lifestyle while having lots of free time to pursue other interests? Get clear on what this is for you.

Growth and Exploration - What are you wanting to grow/explore? Technical knowledge? Emotional range? Interpersonal skills? Athletic ability? Artistic talent? Get clear on what this means for you.

Talents - Each of us has many amazing talents, some of which we'd like to employ in a profession, and some of which we don't. For example, I'm a pretty good cook. But I don't want to do that for a living. Which talents that you have would you like to be sure that a future career engages?

Stretching - Get clear on what you're willing to do for this new career. Are you willing to spend 8-10 years in college and have a mountain of student loan debt when you graduate? Are you willing to work 60 hours a week? Are you willing to spend a lot of time traveling to places you probably don't necessarily want to be? Are you willing to be hot/cold/wet/dirty/sexually harassed, etc? You see where I'm going with this. Get clear on what you are and are not willing to do for this new career.

Why can't I just tell you the answers? Read this. I can probably tell what your skills and talents are, and the types of workplaces that might be a good fit for you. But until you decide how you're willing to suffer, I don't know either, and that's really the key to everything in life, not just your career.

The Lesson

Pain is mother of all worthwhile things. "Life is suffering", some very wise person once said. What are you willing to suffer for? And how much pain are you willing to endure in service of that goal? When you're clear on that, I think you'll find that many things in your life become suddenly obvious.