This document provides a recipe for discovering one's ideal job and taking steps to pursue it. It outlines a 3-step process: 1) design the ideal job, 2) discover what's blocking you from doing it, and 3) remove the resistance. Various exercises are presented to help identify the ideal job in terms of what one would do, where, and with whom. Additional exercises aim to uncover internal blocks like fear of failure, selfishness, or feeling unworthy. Flowcharts summarize the overall process.

1. A recipe for discovering
what you really want to do
and doing it
Vishy Poosala
http://innovation-edge.blogspot.com
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2. Is this for you?
• Are you unclear about what you love to do?
– You can use this to discover your ideal job
• Do you know what you love to do, but feel
stuck in your current job for some reason?
– You can use this to find out what is blocking
you and resolve it
• Are you already in a job that you love?
– You can still use this to see if you can do
better.. And give us feedback to help others!
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3. How to use this manual?
3 Simple Steps
1. Design the ideal job
2. Discover what’s blocking you from doing it
3. Remove the resistance
Bonus: A flowchart of the exercises (Charts A & B)
What you need
1. Blank sheets of paper, a pen, an open mind, and a calm place
2. A buddy to discuss it with
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4. What this is and What this is not
It helps you start doing what you really love to do
– It may not help you decide on a “specific job” like IBM vs. GE
– It will help you decide if you should continue to be an employed programmer or
become an entrepreneur or blogger or all ☺
It’s a working manual for moving towards doing your ideal work in a way that is suitable
for you
– It’s not a “Quit Everything and Just Do It” fix
It’s a presentation of stuff I’ve read and heard from others
– It’s not original work by me
– Much of it from “I could do anything (If I only knew what it was)
(http://amzn.to/iXe70R)”, by Barbara Sher
Use this along with other sources and your best judgment. Wish you good luck!
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5. 1. DISCOVER YOUR IDEAL JOB
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6. What is an ideal job for you?
• It’s what you love to do
– “I forget the clock”
– “Can’t wait to get up and go to
work”
– “It fills me up and uses
everything I’ve got”
• It’s not necessarily what you
are trained to do
– The skills will come if you do
what you love to do
We won’t get stuck on “job vs. work vs. mission”.
If you love what you do, that’s what matters. 6

7. Ex 1: What are you supposed to be
doing?
• Write down everything others
expected you to become, e.g.,
• Dad: CEO of a company
• Mom: Perfect home maker
• Teacher: Einstein
• Spouse: Rich & Retired in Florida ☺
– See how impossible it is to do all of it
• Result
– Realize that you may be in a job chosen
because of others’ expectations!
What you’re really supposed to be doing is whatever makes
your heart sing. Let’s find it. 7

8. If you are a parent..
Tell your children this*
We know you’re unique, we know you want to
find out what you’re supposed to do in this
life.
Go out and get what you need.
We’ll be here to support you.
* Like many things in this manual, this quote is also from Sher’s book listed in the
credits 8

9. Ex 2. Design the job from heaven
• Write down answers to:
1. What would you be doing
all day?
2. Where would you be doing
it?
3. Who would you do it with?
A trick: Remember some high points of the past few years of your
work life and analyze why they felt so good 9

10. Ex 3. Copycat a great job
• Pick from known real jobs
– “Design Engineer at Apple Inc.”
– “Guide at the Louvre museum”
– It may be somewhat wishful
• “Chef on a space mission”
• Think of whose job you would
love to have
– “My friend Joe who is now a
sports coach at a school”
– “Bill Gates”
• Feed this back into the
What/Where/Who format
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11. Ex 3 (optional) A shortcut through hell
• Design the job from hell and
flip the negatives
• Dig into any past bad
experiences
• “Overbearing boss” becomes
“want hands-off boss or none”
• “Sitting all day in a cubicle”
“out-doors or own office”
• “Commuting 2 hrs every day”
“home office”
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12. Ideal job exercise – samples
• What would you be doing all day? What would you be doing all
– Creating new things that help day?
others. Brainstorming.
Reading and painting. Writing
short stories. Blogging.
• Where would you be doing it?
– In an office in a city with easy
access to a park and coffee shop Where would you be doing it?
– Not too hot or crowded city Working at home, or better next
to a beach in a Caribbean island!
Traveling to exotic places around
• Who would you do it with? the world.
– Tiger Teams. Really smart and
energetic people. Positive attitude,
not cynical. They discuss Who would you do it with?
everything openly, argue, and Mostly by myself and family. No
execute. boss!
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13. Ex 3. Tune your dream job
1. Go over your ideal job description
with a friend
2. Friend reads out the job
description
3. You listen and help improve the
story
– “ok, not exactly no boss, I just want a light-
touch boss”
4. Back and forth, until you yell out -
– “Yes! That’s it! And That’s quite realistic and
that’s what I love to do”
Congrats! Now you know what love to do. Let’s figure out
how to start doing it! 13

14. Ex 3. Finishing Touches - Example
What would you be doing all day?
Reading and painting. Writing short stories. Blogging.
Ok, I need to earn money too and I like teaching. May be I will also do some
lectures and conduct workshops based on the books I read and blog. Painting was
just a whim, I can drop it for now.
Where would you be doing it?
Working at home, or better next to a beach in a Caribbean island! Traveling to
exotic places around the world.
Well I do want to reduce travel time to airport and want to take kids to some
activities in the city. May be a wooded suburban town that’s around 30mi from the
city. Oh, with a beach or at least a nice pool nearby.
Who would you do it with?
Mostly by myself and family. No boss!
Well, I do want someone to bring in the assignments, publisher deals, handle the
logistics & finances.
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15. 2. FIND & FIX THE RESISTANCE
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16. B1. I want the sure thing.
What if it fails?
B5. What I really want is B2. I don’t want to be selfish &
unworthy short-change my family!
B4. I’m doing so well. How can I B3. I want to do so many
walk from success? things, I can’t pick one
If you can’t pinpoint the blocks, try the next exercise to wake them up 16

17. Ex 4 (optional). Start on it and see what
happens
• Experience what it is like to be committed to
your ideal job
– (Temporarily) make a commitment to the
ideal job
– Do it. Starting this minute. FOR ONLY AN
HOUR. E.g., Make those calls. Install the
software. Call the local training institute.
• You felt pure joy and enthusiasm?
– Congrats! Keep going for as long as you can
• You see doubts in mind?
– “this isn’t for you” “stupid idea” “going to
fail”
– “what about the family” “you’re supposed to
be a lawyer!”
Now you know that something is blocking you. Good. Let’s
fix it next. 17

18. B1. I want the sure thing! What if my
new work fails?
Answer these questions. If you tick any of them, check the next slide for how to get over
this block.
Always taking training courses, but not putting
them to use?
Often daydream about changing life, but not act
on it?
Don’t like being pushed too much ahead of the
deadline?
Complain that there is no time, but spend in front
of TV?
When you play it too safe, you’re taking the biggest risk! 18

19. B1. Sure thing - Remedy
• Worried about quitting the current job?
– Don’t quit it yet! Just quit blaming it.
• Is there a silent NO voice in your head (may be an overcautious parent, a
cynical friend)?
– Just realizing it may get rid of the block
• Start doing what you LOVE to do NOW
– Do it today, now, for 20min. Write. Paint. Whatever.
– Confirmed that you Love it? Do it every day for 20min or longer
• Result
– You may be able to both hold your “safe job” and fulfill your dream job in installments every
day
– Or, you build confidence through action and one day you do it full time!
Start taking small steps, right now. 19

20. B2. Doesn’t that make me a selfish
person?
I love to write. But if I start taking writing
courses, who will cook and do the dishes?
Am I not being selfish to place my dreams
before my family?
Everyone expects me to be around at home!
I can’t let them down!
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21. B2. Selfish person - Remedy
• Replace one thing you do for others (e.g., dishes) for one day of
the week with what you love to do
• Tell them why you are doing it and what this means to you
• Most of them will understand and pick up the work
When you are not happy, no one around you
is happy!
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22. B3. I want too many things all over the
map!
You can’t make up your mind on
which of many things to do?
You get bored with one thing and
move on to others?
Can’t decide on what to do
because if you choose one thing
you’ll miss out on the others?
You may be
• a born scanner (“a jack of all trades, a renaissance man”) or
• a deep diver (“master of one, goes to the depth of every topic”)
that is currently scanning.
Let’s figure out which one you are.. 22

23. B3. Are you a diver that’s afraid of
diving?
“I can never stick to anything. I hate to keeping dropping my
projects but I just can’t stay with them.”
“I’ve lost touch with whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing. I’m
just fooling around”
“I’ve never done what I wanted because I was afraid of committing
and then finding out it was the wrong thing”
If you mostly answered Yes, you are a deep diver that is just
scanning at this juncture
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24. B3. A real scanner? - No problem
• Find work that allows you to scan (E.g., blogger, reporter,
teacher) OR,
• Do it sequentially as follows
• Write down the multi-avatar list
– If you were many people, what would each of you do?
– Poet, pilot, journalist, guitarist, etc.
• Quickly answer these questions with one of the above
– Which life can you devote to this year?
– Which life can you do when the 1st one is completed?
– Which activities can you do for 20 min or less each day?
– Which ones can you do on a weekend?
– Which ones can you do once in a while?
• Make a 3-year plan and start on it
Being a scanner is just fine! You just need to plan a bit more than
others so you can do many of these things. 24

25. B3. A hesitating diver? - Remedy
• Get into the habit of commitment
– Spend 30min every day learning something for a month
– Need not be about your ideal job. E.g., juggling, salsa,
painting
• Make it easy to stick to the ideal job commitment
– Write down your commitment in some place visible
– Announce to your friends
– Take one step after another – just because you made
that commitment
Diving, but one step at a time. 25

26. B4. On the wrong track and moving fast
“I’m in a great job, everyone respects and
pays me well. But I feel I’m going the wrong
direction and can’t turn around!”
“I’ve got it made. But I’m not enjoying it.
The work is dreadful and leaves no time for
family”
WINNER: anyone who does what they love.
LOSER: someone losing time doing something they don’t like.
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27. B4. Wrong track - Remedy
• Start saving money
– Why? Fast track & Unhappy Buying stuff to make up for it. An unending trap.
• Learn something new you like
– Nothing to do with job skills (you already have too much of it!)
– E.g., Photography lessons, writing workshop
• Figure out your lost dream
– Read autobiographies
– Write a journal of your past – to remember who you were!
• See if you can stick to the current track but make some course
corrections
• Or, strike out on a new path, and take the best of your current
job with you
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28. B5. What I want is unworthy (in others’
eyes)
“I want to be a singer. But my parents are
doctors. My siblings are professors. Singing
feels so trivial and unworthy!”
“I want to be a school teacher. But I have a
PhD. What will my colleagues think?”
Rejecting the values of the tribe is not easy. But we have to
start listening to ourselves.
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29. B5. Unworthy job? - Remedy
• First, confirm that others indeed think that it is trivial!
• Write down an imaginary debate
– Me vs. The Tribe (family, colleagues, classmates, ..)
– Jill: “I want to be a singer”
– Parents: “Trivial job, when people are starving”
– Jill: “Singing can make people happy and motivate them too”
• Step out and meet people in that field
– Take a singing class, join a Facebook page for aspiring school teachers
• Write down why someone with your background is a perfect fit
for that ideal (“trivial”) job
– “PhD helped me think deep into problems. That means I can also solve some
really sticky problems with teaching inner city kids”
Most people will come around when they see you persist
with your vision. 29

30. 4. OVERVIEW FLOWCHARTS
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31. Chart A: Roadmap
START
No, May be Love what you
do now?
Design Ideal Job Yes
Congrats! Do
Remove the blocks
more of it!
Start doing it for
1 hr No
Yes Figure out what’s
Getting worried?
Feeling resistance?
blocking you
(Chart B)
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32. Chart B. The full list of blocking factors in Sher’s book
B1. I want the sure thing. B2. I don’t want to be selfish &
What if it fails? short-change my family!
B3. I want to do so many B4. I’m doing so well. How can I
things, I can’t pick one walk from success?
I’m afraid to choose. I might get B5. What I really want is
trapped unworthy
Why do it? Nothing will ever Every time I go after what I
match what I had and lost want, I drop the ball
I’m trying to go after it, but my It’s not my fault! The world
heart’s not really in it won’t give me a break
I’ve tried so many things and Been through a big change.
nothing does it for me Don’t know what to do now
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33. Credits
• I could do anything (If I only knew
what it was), by Barbara Sher
– Consider buying the book
(http://amzn.to/iXe70R)
• Mentors and personal experiences
• Online reviewers of an early draft
• Sources of images in this manual
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34. Thank you for reading and good luck!
• Liked it? Have any suggestions?
– Please leave me a note on my blog
http://innovation-edge.blogspot.com
• Share this presentation with others who may find it useful
http://on.fb.me/l6HrdO
http://twitter.com/vishyp
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