From Success to Significance: Doing Work that Matters

Do you find yourself thinking:

"I want to make a difference in the world."  

"It's time for my work to be about something more than just making money."    

I hear statements like this all the time from my clients, particularly those who are at least ten years into their careers.  Many people hit a point in their lives when they feel a longing to have their life's work stand for something more than corporate profits.  As one of my clients, an advertising executive lamented during our first session, "I simply don't care if I help to sell any more cereal.  Creating ad campaigns just doesn't excite me like it used to."

Doing work that "matters" doesn't mean you need to transform into Mother Teresa. You can make a difference in the world many ways: 

• The interior designer who helps to renovate a children's hospital creates a healing environment for patients and their families.
• The bicycle shop owner who refurbishes old bicycles and donates them to children in the community, provides a service that helps both the environment and the youth in town. 
• The make-up artist who offers free makeovers during a job-hunting workshop for victims of domestic abuse helps to bolster women's self-esteem at a vulnerable point in their lives.

The opportunities for turning what you do -- into "what you give back" are virtually limitless.  If you've been feeling the itch to move your career towards doing work that you consider to be of greater value, but you're not sure exactly what type of work to do, here are some questions to help you hone in on causes, issues and organizations that might be a good fit for you:

1) If you could make a documentary about any subject, what would it be?  

2)  Who are the three people you admire most?  Why?  What about them is so inspirational?

3)  Which charities, organizations or causes do you support with your time or money?

4)  Have you gained specialized knowledge from a personal challenge or struggle that you would like to share with others facing similar challenges?

5)  What do you consider to be the most pressing issues of our time?  How could you leverage your skills and interests to help solve a piece of those problems? 

To learn more about other resources to help you do "good" work, click here.

 

Comments

[Gilda Bonanno]

Nancy,
Thanks for another great post - and for the reminder that we can make a difference in people's lives right now, where we are, by applying our skills and knowledge to help them solve their problems.