By Barbara Poole
Contributing Writer

According to research from the Gallup Organization, 20% of people are working in jobs that provide them with the opportunity to excel in what they do best.

Since we spend so many of our waking hours working, shouldn’t we try to make that time rewarding and fulfilling?

Unfortunately, many people feel trapped in mediocre careers and place the blame on poor company leadership and a lack of opportunities. In these situations, daily work becomes a grind.

Managing a career is tricky business. No one manages your career but you, and you must rely on yourself as your own guide, even if you are fortunate to have a trusted mentor.

Most professionals have already moved between a few organizations by the time they reach their mid-career point. This may be due to company upheavals, downsizing or mergers and acquisitions.

With each change comes reflection on the next strategy required to sustain a long and successful career.

Career success is not achieved easily. It requires an investment of time, effort, focus, emotional intelligence and personal sacrifices.

Those attaining the highest levels of professional success report being more satisfied with their jobs, their lifestyles, their compensations and the balance in their lives.

The factors that form the core of career success lie in the answers to three questions:

• Who are you? What are your core values?

• What is your core purpose?

• What are you trying to accomplish with your life?

Those people who experience high levels of success in their careers report an alignment of what they do with who they are. They somehow find the magic blend of their life purpose with what they do in their jobs.

The power of these questions lies in the power of purpose.

The search for one’s purpose is important, but it is by no means an easy task. Many of us spend our lifetime searching for true purpose.

We all seek meaning from life. Everyone wants to leave footprints. Yet finding and clearly defining what that is, is elusive.

Many experts think the only way we can identify our purpose is by looking deeply within ourselves.

Regardless of our spiritual or philosophical beliefs, most people agree that when we act in accord with our strengths, talents and desires, there is a sense of heightened energy or flow.

Therefore, when our purpose is aligned with our vocation, we become more motivated in our lives. Work no longer becomes a chore but rather an enjoyment reflected through our expressions and behavior.

The key to working with purpose is to bring together the needs of the world or business with our unique gifts in the form of a vocation, a calling. We apply our talents and passion to the tasks that we perform.

At this juncture, work becomes a way of actively making a contribution to society.

For people to really excel in their work, they need more than just ambition. Satisfying goals, attaining numbers, receiving rewards and compensation, and attaining status are rarely enough.

We must be connected to our core values and intrinsic motivators in order to be truly fulfilled. Determining what those internal drivers are is not an easy task.

Some people seek out the services of a professional coach or a career coach to assist in their quest. There are also many assessment tools that can help clarify and expand on self-knowledge.

At the end of the day, perhaps the most important step is to simply spend some regular time getting quiet by yourself and listening to the voice inside.

Step away from the din of your busy world and the messages from your current situation, and ask yourself what really matters when you peel away all of your current circumstances.

It is there, in that quiet space of solitude, that your true purpose will reveal itself.

Barbara Poole is a leadership and career development coach with Success Builders Inc. E-mail her at CoachBarbara@SuccessBuildersInc.com.

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