“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed on how to make your dreams a reality? Below I will go into  several concepts that I think you should explore and develop to make your dreams come true. This post is geared more towards accomplishing external goals.

Many of us first need to accomplish our worldly goals in order to see that true fulfillment lies within. When we get the things we want, we often find that it’s never enough. There is nothing wrong with being successful in the worldly sense. The problem is when we think that worldly accomplishments will give us deep and lasting contentment with life.

Many of us are not ready for the inner journey. If this is you, then use your time on earth wisely to do and accomplish everything you want.  When you finally get what you want and sense that there has to be more to life,  go inward, then you might also realize that you don’t need to choose.

It’s possible to live in both material and spiritual abundance. If you become inwardly rich then any material wealth you do acquire, you will be grateful for and not take for granted. If you start a business, contributing for the greater good will be your driving force and not to exploit others and the environment.

We really need to rethink the role corporations and businesses play in our society. Our current system is collapsing, we all need to come together and figure out how to implement an economy based on contribution. These are extremely challenging times, but if we approach it right, we have an opportunity to change the game and start all over.

Manifesting Your Dreams

1. Creating Your Vision: To make your dreams a reality you need to have a target that is vivid and compels you to take action. Think about your natural abilities, interests, and motivations.

When you think about your ideal life what does it entail?
Here is a short list to contemplate, take out a journal and write these down:

• What material things do you want to experience ?
• What experiences do you want that will fully engage your senses
• What kind of relationships do you want to have?
• What gets you excited about life ?
• How can you contribute for the good of all ?

How can you make your answers into a congruent vision?

Making Your Vision a Reality
1. Decide what you’re committed to achieving
2. Take immediate and massive action
3. Test and refine your strategies
4. Change your approach until you get what you want

2. Meditation: Once you get clear on the vision you have for your life, you need to maintain mental clarity and focus to pursue your vision. Meditation can be a great tool to keep your mind on track and help you with the daily struggles of day to day living.

3. Empowering Beliefs and Affirmations: As you go about accomplishing your goals, you should keep your identity fluid. Keep updating the ideas of who you are. Remember that your past does not equal your future, unless you let it. Begin to develop new empowering beliefs about yourself. You are your own worst enemy in that your mind is the only thing that really limits your progress. You need to develop beliefs that will help you outgrow old ways of thinking and outdated mental habits. When you hit an obstacle that is a sign that you need a new way of thinking. That was as far as your old perspective could take you, you now need to expand to a new vantage point that will offer you more possibilities. Eventually you will need to transcend thinking all together, but this is the domain of the spiritual seekers.

4. Researching The World You Want: Now that you have your vision, have developed empowering beliefs that will help you go grow and overcome hurdles, you need to research the world you want. This is the: who, what, where, when, why, and how. If you want to start a business, this is the time you put your detailed business plan together. Gather as much technical details as you can.

5. Making Friends and Becoming Influential: If you want your business, idea , or message to reach the highest possible levels and not be average, you will need to become a person of influence. No one person can accomplish anything alone. The greater the scope of your influence the more resources you have at your disposal to make it happen. We are all influential on some level, influence is a skill that you can dramatically increase.

6. Spreading and Developing Your Ideas: Once you have established your influence you need to empower your followers and give them the tools to be able to help you. Become the change you believe in.

Here is an example of a  daily To-Do List to spreading your message on the Web:

• Choose your top five online forums that suit your goals the best. Make a few meaningful posts to each site. Make sure that everything you post is of practical value.

• Build a List of Bloggers who best represent your message and contribute to their blog by giving valuable feedback on their blog posts. You can search for potential bloggers on technorati.com, which is essentially a search engine for the top blogs on the web.

• Write One Article for your Blog. If you are not sure how to set up a blog, check out WordPress.org. Word press is the easiest state of the art platform to build and maintain your blog. You can also hire someone to set up, design, and upload your site for a relatively inexpensive price. Check out elance.com to have freelancers bid on your job posting.

• Track RSS feeds from your favorite sites to stay updated with the latest news. RSS feeds can be a great way to brainstorm topics to discuss on your blog and Twitter. To make your job easier of managing your feeds use a free service like Netvibes.com.

• Write an article and submit to sites like www.ezinearticles.com or use an article submission service like articlemarketer.com.  Good articles can be a great way to attract consistent, long-term targeted traffic to your site.

• Create a video that supports your message and submit it to Youtube.com. You can use a tool like Tubemogul.com to simultaneously submit your videos to many video sites.

• Use all the different social media and book marking sites like delicious.com, digg.com , stumbleupon.com, etc.

7. Developing Your Own Unique Style: Ultimately people only talk about things they view as unique and remarkable. Find out what things are unique about you, cultivate them. Your contribution to the greater whole will be your uniqueness.

8. Mastering Your Energy, Awareness, Intent and Mind state: No one ever really gets it right the first time at it. This is why you need to develop your energy, awareness, intent, and mind state. Being clear and aware of these concepts will give you the staying power and perspective to tweak and adjust things until you get your desired result. The more you get in tune with your true nature, the easier things will get because you will be able to grow faster. By increasing your awareness of your inner self the easier it will be to remove obstacles, after all the only thing that limits you, is yourself. The more aware you become the more you will pursue the drives of your higher self  as opposed to purely egoic desires.  Here are a few posts to help you with your awareness and consciousness.

• How To Increase Your Awareness and Expand Your Consciousness
• The Groundhog Day Guide To Life, Love, Happiness, and Living In The Now
• Augmenting Humanity With Consciousness

Continually work and refine the ideas from above, they are all interrelated and build upon each other. Keep a journal to keep an eye on your progress, make monthly evaluations. Focus on activities that will bring in results.

Thank you for reading my article, I hope you find it useful. The concepts in the article are based off the Success Blueprint from my ebook “How To Get Your Shine On”, which goes into detail on how to apply the ideas from above to achieve your desires.

Take care, I wish you the best on your journey.

“The most exciting place to discover talent is in yourself” -Ashleigh Brilliant

Diamond In The Rough

“I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive.” – Albert Einstein

Recently one of my good online friends Mirjam shared a very inspirational video with me. My friend knows I live in South Korea, so she was wondering if I had watched this viral clip from the TV show “Korea’s Got Talent”.

The video is of a young man named, Choi Sung-Bong, who was competing on the show as a singer. He was abandoned in an orphanage when he was only three years old. Sung-bong says he ran away from the orphanage when he was only five after being beaten. He lived on the streets of Korea for ten years, selling chewing gum and energy drinks to support himself and sleeping in public bathrooms.

Sung-bong was not able to attend elementary school or middle school, but managed to take the Korean equivalent of a GED test. He ended up graduating from Daejeon High School for the arts, but could not continue with any professional training because of his financial situation, according to a South Korean newspaper.

When he walked on to the stage no one knew what to expect, as he appeared to be just your “average” looking guy. The judges asked him why he had left the family section on his application blank, he then shared his very sad story with them. He mentioned that he was not a good singer, that he just simply enjoyed singing.

I think many of the people in the audience did not expect anything special. But shortly after opening his mouth, he stunned everyone in the audience with a beautiful rendition of “Nella Fantasia”. Personally I was very touched by his story, talent, and humbleness.

We all know that life can be quite cruel, that there are many people just like Sung Bong who struggle everyday just to survive. But In spite of his terrible circumstances, he did not give up and now he has experienced how life can change in an instant.

I just wanted to share his story with you, to inspire you to go after the things that make you feel good, the things you do just for the sheer joy of it. To remind you that no matter how hard life gets, things can change for the better in an instant, if you just approach life with the right attitude. Also to not take anything for granted, I know I sometimes forget to count my blessings.

Share Your Gifts

I know everyone can’t be a world class performer or athlete, but everyone does indeed have some type of talent or skill to share. If you don’t know what your talent is, you need find out what it is or just simply create it by practicing the things you enjoy. Below I will give you a few pointers on discovering your hidden talents.

Just like Sung Bong, there are many diamonds in the rough, just waiting to be discovered. Sharing your gifts with others is one of the best contributions you can make to society.

You now have all of tools necessary to share your creative talents with the world. Anyone can upload a video on YouTube showcasing their singing, dancing, and acting abilities. If you like to write, why don’t you start a blog? If you like to create music, you can have your own home studio and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. If you like telling stories, now with inexpensive HD camera’s and a green screen, Hollywood is not the only game in town. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

The beauty of the internet is that anyone can express themselves creatively.

Everyone has a talent. Maybe yours is baking the most delicious Cup Cakes… it’s still a talent. And now a day’s most talents can be turned into a business, so that you can make a living doing what you love. You can create a course, write a guide, or sell your creations on sites like etsy.

How To Discover Your Talent:

1. Try new things your are afraid of doing: First, ask your self why you are afraid and what your missing for not trying it? If you are afraid of trying something new because your scared it wont work, you wont let any of your hidden talents rise to the surface to make themselves known.

I have always been afraid of dancing, but this year I decided to give Salsa a try. What I was afraid of was that I would look stupid and that I wouldn’t be good at it, all conditioning from a few childhood experiences I had.

At the beginning I know that I looked pretty terrible and I found I wasn’t a naturally gifted dancer, but I got passed it. A few months later and I now know many of the basics and even had a little mini performance. While it’s too early to tell if I will be talented at it, I am happy I did it. If I had listened to my fears I would have missed out on a lot of fun and some great friendships.

One of the best ways to explore your hidden talents is by trying completely new “scary” things for yourself. Skydive, sing at a Karaoke bar, volunteer for something you never considered, join a club, study something completely foreign to you. The moment you step out of your comfort zone you will surprise your self with that you can be capable of.

2. What’s easy for you?: Do you have any friends who mention to you that “I wish I could do _____ as good as you do”. Does it come so naturally, that you don’t think it’s a big deal? Take a closer look, great things don’t need to come through struggle, some people are truly blessed with natural gifts, don’t take them for granted.

You may not be that aware of the things you do best but people who know you do. Listen to people when they say, “have you ever thought of doing____?” or “You are really good at___.” We all think that the things we are good at are easy, so we tend to discount their value. Conversely, we value things that we find difficult – which other people find easy.

3. Meditate on it and go with your gut: Learn to go inside yourself, tune into yourself, if you learn to pay attention and know how to look, you already have all the answers to all your questions.

4. Do what you love: Don’t let anyone or anything tell you it’s stupid to pursue the things you love.

5.Try everything!: For most of us, our talents may not be so easy to spot, so we need to try many things until something clicks. In the process we can learn and grow from a diverse set of situations, which in the end may prove to be more valuable than even discovering a hidden talent.

6. Proudest past moments: Think about the best accomplishments, achievements and successes you are most proud of, even all the way back to your childhood. Patterns will emerge as you scan all of them and your hidden talents will come up.

7. Just ask: Send out a question to your friends, family and colleagues asking them what makes you special. See if you can find a common thread that can help you unveil your hidden talent.

Bottom line is, we are all different, we all have all have our own unique perspective on things. Don’t be afraid to stand out and be an individual, share whatever makes you unique, your life as well as the lives of others will be much better off for it.

If you enjoyed this post you may want to check out my ebook, “How To Get Your Shine On: From The Inside Out”, which can assist you in finding and sharing your talent with the world.

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” -Benjamin Franklin

Today I have the great pleasure of interviewing my good buddie Karol Gajda from Ridiculously Extraordinary.

Karol helps people discover what he terms Ridiculous Freedom. He is an entrepreneur and minimalist and I am excited to have him on my site. Now let’s move onto our interview.

1. Karol, could please tell everyone a little bit about yourself and what you do?

Thanks Ivan. I’m 29, have been working for myself since age 19, and I inspire people to do epic shit.

2. Was there a tipping point for you, a moment where you decided to completely change what you where doing and how you where living ? What helped you get through this transitioning phase?

The tipping point was being in University and realizing how hard they were brainwashing me. I knew there was a better way and I did everything it took to find it. What helped me was I didn’t give myself a backup plan. I mostly stopped going to class and could barely program my way out of a box by the time I graduated. (I was a Computer Science major.)

3. For the past 10 years you have had the great opportunity of being your own boss. What are a few of the most valuable things you have learned on your journey of being an entrepreneur ?

The most valuable thing I’ve learned is that you have to trust yourself when others don’t. Nobody will believe in you until you succeed. And even then you’ll meet with a lot of resistance.

4. On your site you say that your mission is to help 100 people achieve extraordinary freedom. What does this exactly mean? Do you know how many people have achieved this ?

It means different things to different people. To me Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom means I get to do what I want and live whatever dreams I happen to have. I don’t know yet how many people have achieved this. I was just having a conversation with my mastermind group about how I need to figure out how to track this somehow.

5. A while back you wrote a free manifesto “The American Dream Is Dead”, could you tell us what it’s all about? Where do you see America  headed in the next decade?

The full title is The American Dream Is Dead (Long Live The American Dream!) and it’s about how the American Dream many of us were sold is no longer. The home, white picket fence, and 2.5 kids was a dream that was decided for us, then forced down our throats, and it got us into a huge mess.

I don’t speculate where America is headed. I don’t live in the future. I know I’ll always be OK because I no longer blindly buy into what anybody tells me. Everybody is lying to us so we have to put trust in ourselves.

6. With the flexibility of your business, you have had the opportunity to pursue many of your hobbies. Could you share with us what they are and what have you learned by actively participating in them?

My main hobbies are playing guitar and reading. Owning my life means I get to do both of those things a lot. I also have the freedom to do them whenever and wherever I choose. 5 in the morning, 5 in the evening, or whatever the case may be. What I’ve learned is that I really enjoy seeking knowledge and I also really enjoy learning to sing/play silly pop songs.

Earlier this year I flew to India to learn how to turn blocks of wood into a beautifully playable guitar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jijSGNXH1vw

7. What books would you recommend for anyone looking to start a business or find their creative passion?

The first book I recommend is Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr Robert Cialdini. It sounds much more sinister than it is. It’s really about giving people what they want, which in turn means you’ll get what you want. The rest of the books I recommend are listed here: 9 Essential Books For Bloggers and Freedom Fighters

8. Since my site is all about discovering inner and outer freedom, could you please share with us what “freedom” means to you?

My definition is very simple. Freedom to me is the ability to do what I want to do no matter what’s happening around me.

9. With your recent epic “3 day sales”, you have contributed a lot of money to entrepreneur’s through Kiva.org and enough to build a few water wells in Africa. Whats your main motivation for this? Do you have any success stories from the entrepreneurs you have helped?

The motivation is that I know what my enough point is and I have more than enough. Why not help others who don’t have enough yet? I don’t have any success stories. I’ve lent to 89 entrepreneurs through Kiva, but I don’t personally keep in touch with them.

10. Last question, you have already accomplished many amazing projects, what do you have in store for the near future?

I’m going to go to Michigan and spend some time with my family before putting together some epic quests. I haven’t officially announced what those will be so I’ll keep my mouth shut for the time being.

Once again, I just want to thank you for taking the time to be with us Karol.

If you enjoyed this post please help me out by passing it along to your friends. Tweet it, facebook it, stumble it.

Today I have the great privilege of interviewing my online friend Jonathan Mead from Illuminated Mind. Jonathan helps people discover their inner awesomeness to build a living around the things that bring them joy. He helps people break their self imposed limitations, and I am excited to have him on my site. Now let’s move onto our interview.

1. Jonathan, could please tell everyone a little bit about yourself and what you do?

Sure. I’m a writer, coach, and martial artist. I help people live on their own terms and do more of what matters to them. With my coaching I help people define their core message that communicates what they have to offer to their right people in a compelling and magnetic way.

2. Was there a tipping point for you, a moment where you decided to completely change what you where doing and how you where living ? What helped you get through this transitioning phase?

I’m not sure there was one tipping point, but more of a gradual build up before the dam burst. I just decided that I couldn’t live my life doing what other people thought I should be doing. What helped me the most really was my dissatisfaction with the way I was living. I used that to fuel my fire for change.

3. In the last few years you have had the great opportunity of making a living by helping others. What are a few of the most valuable things you have learned on your journey of being an entrepreneur ?

I’ve learned that you get far by serving others. I’ve learned that when you end each day with a feeling that you gave all you had, things tend to work out. I’ve learned that limits are mostly imaginary.

4. One of the things that you always point out is that because of our current technology, we have the opportunity to be paid “to be you”. What does this exactly mean? Do you think this is a sustainable trend considering the great economic uncertainty we are living in? How do you see all this affecting the online world?

I’m not sure how far this trend will go. All trends tend to change and evolve over time, so who knows what the future holds. And we’re also lucky that a lot of people can get paid to be who they are offline as well as on. To be honest, I’m not sure what the world would look like if everyone just did what they wanted to do. I think it would be a much improved world though, and we’d find different ways of doing things.

5. With the flexibility of your business, you have had the opportunity to pursue many of your hobbies. Could you share with us what they are and what have you learned by actively participating in them?

A lot of my hobbies are physical. I love hiking and recently started trail running a lot more. I’m also fascinated by gymnastics and gymnast strength training (I think it’s incredibly for upper body strength). Have you seen the arms on those guys on the rings?!

As you might know, I’m also a martial artist and I’ve learned a lot in my life from it. I love how honest it is, there’s no pretense. If you’re not present and focused, you get direct feedback of that in real time.

6. I know you recommended Arial Gore’s “How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead” for aspiring writers, I read it and it was awesome. What books would you recommend for anyone looking to start a business or find their creative passion?

If you want to build a service based business “Book Yourself Solid”and “Referral Engine” are two great ones. I’ve also recently really enjoyed “Rework”.

7. Since my site is all about discovering inner and outer freedom, could you please share with us what “freedom” means to you?

Freedom to me means the absence of conditioning. Directly experiencing life as it is.

8. Last question, you have already accomplished many amazing projects, what do you have in store for the near future?

The next product I release will be about breaking limits.

Once again, I just want to thank you for taking the time to be with us Jonathan. I know your a busy guy and I really appreciate you sharing your experiences with us.

* Jonathan is the creator of the “Paid To Exist” course, which guides you
step-by-step on the path to making a living from your passion. I have
participated in the course, and It has greatly helped me with my
current projects. Thanks Jonathan.

“Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises” Rita Golden Gelman

Today I am excited to  introduce you to my new friend Christine from almostfearless.com. Why am I excited? As many of you know, I love traveling and being independent, and Christine can help you achieve both.

I recently reviewed her ebook “Going Digital” on how to become a digital nomad. I can honestly say that I love her guide, Christine is honest and straight to the point. The guide is beautifully written and covers the essentials to becoming a digital nomad, allowing you to work from anywhere there is wifi connection.

Ever since Tim Ferris burst onto the scene  with his “4hour work week”, everyone started dreaming of a location independent lifestyle. But the reality is that even though so many people read it, very few made the jump. It can be overwhelming with the amount of information out there on creating this type of lifestyle, that many just become frustrated and give up.

Christine has been living and working abroad since 2008, so she knows what she is talking about. She quit her good job with a fortune 500 company, to pursue a lifelong dream of traveling the globe with her family. She initially did this by selling all her stuff and setting up her freelance writing business online.
Her Book Covers:

• Exactly what it is to be a digital nomad.
• Why you should and could become a digital nomad.
• Exploring the many options that may be available for you to go digital.
• Picking your digital career.
• How you may be able to turn your present job to a digital one.
• The positives and negatives of going digital and how you can overcome them.
• Starting a small business built around your talents or skills.
• Do you really have what it takes to live a location independent lifestyle.
• How to deal with the inevitable time differences.
• Once you reach your goal, how to make sure your in this for the long haul.

So If you are ready for a change and you are willing to work hard, make sure you check out her guide and make the leap into the land of adventure. Plus its only 13 bucks, which is a small investment that could radically change your lifestyle for the better. Click Here To Check It Out Now.

(editors note: these are my affiliate links, if you decide to purchase you are directly supporting my dream of being a full time writer, thanks a bunch in advance)

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

It’s Time For You To Explore The World

I love to travel and so do most people, but the unfortunate reality is that most people don’t get to travel extensively or experience living abroad. Traveling to exotic countries used to be only reserved for the wealthy, but due to recent advances in technology and commerce, that is no longer true.

If you get creative you truly can live anywhere, and there is a huge swarm of people doing just that. I am one of those people.

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

What keeps most people from exploring the world besides money is there own self imposed limitations. Often times money is not the number one reason, even if they think otherwise.

If you get clear on why it is you want to travel, and is something you strongly desire to do, you will find a way to raise the money. The toughest challenge for most is removing their self imposed limitations or fears.

Today I would like to introduce you to my buddie Karol Gajda from ridiculouslyextraordinary.com. Karl has been a digital nomad for years, traveling all over the world and running his business solely from his laptop.

Karl’s recent goal is to help 100 people achieve as he calls it, ridiculous freedom, by helping them start a “freedom business”. I think this is an awesome goal, hence why I am trying to help him out by exposing his work to more people.

Today is the launch of his guide “How To Live Anywhere”, which is how he plans to reach his goal. I have gone over the guide and Karol does a great job of giving you the essentials and leaves out all the fluff. The guide is composed of his personal philosophy, the essentials of living and traveling abroad, and practical online business creation ideas to make your dream a reality.

So if you have always dreamed of traveling or living abroad but felt too overwhelmed with all the information that’s out there, Karol offers a great road map. You can be one of the 100 people, your just going to have to work your butt off, but trust me, its well worth it.

Head on over and check It out Click Here to check out the Guide. (editors note: these are my affiliate links, if you decide to purchase you are directly supporting my dream of being a full time writer, thanks a bunch in advance)

By my dear friend and CEO Coach Debra Benton

How do you ‘go on board’ when you’re already there?

When you get a new boss you are the unknown. Even though your job position hasn’t changed, you have to take the same action as if you are going on board a new position.

When nearly 10% loose their jobs the remaining 90% get shuffled around ending up with different reporting relationships.

Before you meet your new boss take some time and Monday morning quarterback the mistakes you made with your previous boss. Think about and write down what you should have done differently then plan to remedy past errors.

Provide positive support even if you feel you should have gotten the job. You didn’t. How you handle yourself at this standpoint might get you the job next time.

Welcome the person the same way you might a new neighbor. Invite to lunch or offer to bring sandwiches in to have time to talk and get to know each other

Ask and listen to learn how to best work together; don’t guess. Find out his or her first 30-90 day agenda; the most important issues or problems to solve. Here’s an occasion to ask basic, maybe even stupid-sounding questions. When one executive was asked, how do you prefer to communicate: face to face, telephone, email? He said, ‘I like yellow post-it notes left on my desk so when I return to my office I can scan them and see what I need to respond to.”

Make the impression you want your new boss to have of you. Show confidence in who you are and what you bring to the table. From the first time you meet ensure the message you send is the one you intend with your appearance, manner, and comportment. If you have self-doubt, the person will cut you off in a heartbeat. You’ll never really recover if you misstep here.

Tell your new boss about your job duties, responsibilities, your team, and scope of work as it fits in with the rest of the department/company. Seek out how he or she views changes in your role. (Don’t criticize your former boss.)

Delve into Google, Facebook, Linkedin, or other internet sources. People put information on themselves they want you to know. Keep in mind, your new manager is likely reading your profile and updates as well.

Observe and study how he or she interacts and reacts to colleagues, subordinates, and superiors. In a non-judgmental fashion look for consistencies and inconsistencies; check out what works and doesn’t work with the individual.

After you understand what your new boss wants to achieve and avoid, do something successful and worthwhile around it. Sticking to your old bosses agenda is a mistake. There is a new sheriff downtown. Do more than the person expects; demonstrate initiative without requiring further direction. Come in with, “This is what we should do and here’s how I think we should do it.” Don’t pester with, “Now what should I do?”

And, stay in touch with your old boss. If things don’t go well, he or she might be a source of good advice – or a resource for ways to get out.

You might ask, “Isn’t it the boss’s job to get to know me?” Yes, it is. And he or she is getting to know you by how you get to know her.

In a Recession… Should You Hold out or Sell Out if You’re Offered a Job You Don’t Really Want?

By my dear friend Debra Benton

You need a job. You just got offered a job. The problem is, it’s not your dream job. Should you take it, or should you hold out until the perfect opportunity comes along? After all, we’re in a recession and it could be a long time until another offer comes your way.

It is often a mistake to treat any job offer as a simple question of yes or no. Of course, you may have to accept the job if bills are piling up and you have to put food on the table. But if that is not the case, there are other issues to consider.

Here are answers to the questions that will be on your mind when that less-than-perfect offer comes your way:

I was just offered a job, but I’m not sure if it is exactly what I’m looking for. It feels like a detour on the career path I planned before the current recession hit. Should I turn it down, even though there aren’t lots of options today?

If it is financially possible to hold out for the job you want (or a job leading to what you want), do so. If you settle for what you can get, you’ll be unhappy from the start, and likely do poor work. And if the interim job is demanding, you will limit the time and energy you have to search for the better job.

Before you accept or reject a new job, though, you need a grasp of what you really want. If you don’t know what you hanker for, you won’t know if you’ve found it. Put meaningful thought and time in to assess what you seek.

Look beyond the pay and title and consider the learning opportunities, geographic location, cost-of-living, promotion potential, freedom or latitude, exposure to higher-ups, decision-making ability, and anything else that may be important to you.

What if my financial situation is forcing me to accept it?

Be appreciative of the opportunity and accept the offer graciously. Work hard to earn whatever you are making, regardless of how little or less it might be. Remember that you are filling in gaps in your résumé, contributing to society, and supporting your family. Those are all valid, honorable things to do. But privately vow to “pay” yourself in skill building and knowledge. With that outlook, you can add value to yourself every day by earning a dollar, saving a dollar, or learning a new skill.

The interim job serves a purpose for me right now, but I’m afraid of what other people will say or think when they hear I’ve accepted it.

Avoid pressure to evaluate a job based on what others want you to do. Instead, evaluate it based on what you want. Listen to people who care about you, but decide for yourself – not for them.

If I accept the job and then leave in a few months because something better comes along, how much damage will I do to my career and reputation?

The sooner you tell your boss you’re leaving, the sooner he or she can look for a replacement. A reasonable person and good boss will understand.

But be fair, since no one wants to be surprised when you just don’t show up one day. Have the courtesy and courage to say, “I’m not going to show up.” Thank your interim boss for hiring you for the job, and offer to help through the transition if doable.

The best time to leave any job is after you’ve learned all you can in that position, not just for more money. Leave for goal-achieving, not tension relieving-reasons. Goal-achieving means, “I’ve learned what I need to know and I want to take and test my new skills in a different area.” Tension-relieving is, “I can’t stand my co-worker, I have to get out of here.”

Be sure to stay in touch when you’re in the new job. After all, you and the boss you left might have an opportunity to help each other in the future. Research shows that 25% of people who leave a company rejoin it at some point, if bridges were not burnt. There is no reason to alienate on either side in this situation. The only repercussions should be if you lie, cheat, steal, while on the job or in leaving it. (And of course, you are not about to do those things.)

Until the minute you walk out the door, keep up quality work. Don’t let it diminish in anticipation of your departure. You don’t want people to remember your work going downhill.

And another thing. If the interviewer for that “perfect” job you’ve been waiting for pressures you to leave your interim job too quickly, without respecting the quality of the work you do there, speak up and say that you need to give proper notice, wrap up your projects, and leave on honorable terms. Any ethical hiring manager will respect you for taking that position.

What is the benefit of turning down the “not so perfect job” and pursuing a better opportunity?

If you refuse the less-than-perfect-job offer, you have more time available to look for the better opportunity. You salvage your pride a little, and you’ll be happier when you achieve the goal of finding the right job. But it is only time well spent if you know what you want. If you don’t know where you want to go, you can never reach any goal.

Will taking a job that is not the most “ideal” affect my career in the future?

Benton: If you make the decision out of laziness or lack of confidence, then, yes, it will affect your career because laziness and lack of confidence affect everything now, and in the future.

But taking a lesser job can be justifiable and wise if you understand the reality of the condition and take it upon yourself to:

1) Learn all you can from the job;

2) Stay positive; and

3) Work to get back on track in the future. Don’t look, hope, or wait for someone else to do that for you. With that kind of outlook, taking an interim job becomes a proactive, positive activity instead of a dead end.

What if the job that isn’t so great, pays well?

Accepting a job just for money is like marrying just for money – there is a price you pay for your decision. Money should not be your main motivation, especially early in your career. Skill-building, broadening business acumen, and deepening your knowledge should be. Plus you cannot put a price on waking up every morning and doing what you love to do.

Realistically though, the financial bump can get you solvent, improve your pay history, and boost your ego.

Always keep in mind the choice you made and vow to not get trapped into golden handcuffs where you can’t leave because you are making too much, despite your job dissatisfaction. Write on your calendar a date no more than two and a half years out. If you are still stuck in a high-paying but unsatisfying job, that is your date to move into a satisfying situation.

Have America’s top CEOs been known to accept something that isn’t the perfect job?

Absolutely, most everyone has, at least in their own minds. They’ve been given, and they’ve accepted, less-than-desirable positions. The smart ones squeeze every opportunity to make something out of these positions for the time being, while working to change things.

The truth is that you might be given a “rotten” job as a test to see how you will handle it, what you will do with it or make out of it. Anyone can do well when things are perfect, but the good ones do well when things are far from perfect. Leaders always emerge stronger from difficult positions, so a job that presents real problems could represent an opportunity to excel.

It is a bit like the decisions that actors and actresses must make before they become top stars. My guess is if you researched every role Johnny Depp has ever taken, there are some real doozies in his past that he took to learn, gain confidence, and enhance his skill. And he was probably passed over for some roles he wanted, just as CEOs are. But the reason he can choose the juicy roles he wants now is that he knows what he wants – and that kind of knowledge comes from experience.

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