Why I invented my own job and how you can too!

Since my first after school job at a petrol station when I was 14, I have had 38 jobs. 

It may be more, but that's what I can recall. Full time, part time, casual, contract.... Waitressing, bar tending, managing festivals, running live music gigs, promoting hand cream, superannuation, insurance, advertising, selling vitamins, skinning fish in a factory, selling fish in a shop, clowning at kids parties, nannying on remote farms, teaching music, cleaning commercial kitchens, dishing up school lunches, tour guiding, pumping gas, delivering pizzas, administration, editing magazines....

I've had so many jobs its ridiculous and although some of them were fun in the short term, I never ever found something I wanted to keep doing. I never felt the buzz of doing what you're meant to do, or working toward something I was passionate about. Or even just feeling content from day to day that I was earning a living and getting by. Nope. Not me.

I used to worry about the fact that I was never happy. I was told by people important to me that my expectations were too high. That nothing was ever good enough for me. That I should just be happy with what I had. That I would never achieve my dreams because they were crazy and so I should concentrate on the task at hand. 

Over the years, I was told I was crazy for leaving perfectly good jobs with prospects. But prospects of what, I wondered... 30 more years of boredom? 30 more years of making someone else rich while impatiently waiting for my next pay rise? Eventually, I came to the most important realisation of my life. 

My perfect job does not exist! I had to invent it. 

It took me a long time to realise this and if you're still reading, nodding along thinking, I relate to that, here's my hope that you realise this sooner than I did! However, what's most important to remember is it's never too late to change your life. Whether you're just leaving school and trying to figure out what to do with your life or if you've already retired but feel you have more to give, there's plenty of opportunity to create your perfect job. 

When people ask me what I do, the short answer is that I am an illustrator. But the real answer, if you really want to know, is that I draw and write and make things and dreams and ideas happen. Vague? Maybe. But it sounds good to me! That's MY perfect job. Creator/dreamer/maker/publisher/soul-searching-wanderer. Yep. That's me. Or at least, that's the journey I'm on because I believe life is a constant work in progress. 

What's your perfect job? What does your real, secret, bursting-at-the-seams-to-escape-inner-dreamer really want to do with your life? 

If you're anything like me and have HUGE, unrealistic (according to some people), extraordinary ideas about what you want to do with your life, then hello! Virtual hug and high five from me! I want know what you are doing, what you want to do, what your wildest dreams are and how we can help and support each other along the way!

To get you started, because quite frankly, wild crazy dreaming is sometimes hard in this regulated, stressful world we inhabit, here's a few tips from me to you to help you on your way to making those unrealistic dreams a reality. Bear in mind, I am no guru, I'm just a girl with a dream and lots of trial and error experience under her belt. And I hope that some of my experience can help and inspire others on a similar journey.

So how do you get started living your dream and creating your perfect job? 

Here's 5 steps to get you going...

1. Get a small notebook you can take with you everywhere and scribble down ideas, as wild as they may be, whenever you have them. Treat it like a dream journal. Be crazy, extreme, silly, serious. Just get those ideas on paper so you can look back over them. If you're a virtual kind of gal, you can also use Evernote for this. I use Evernote on my iPhone constantly to jot down ideas. It's a winner.

2. Answer these questions: what are you doing when you are your happiest? What are you doing when you feel beautiful? What do you do when you have nothing else that needs to be done ie. when work is over, the house is clean, the family are well fed etc. what would you do today if money was no issue and you had absolutely no responsibilities whatsoever? (Try and think past relaxing on the Greek Isles or sipping cocktails in the Bahamas...)

3. What do people always ask you for? What do people come to you for help with? Or advice on?

4. Look at your answers above. Now think about the skills you possess and try to find any places where your desires and passions and dreams cross over with an actual skill or talent you possess (or you could gain without too much drama).

For example, I love art and making things with my hands. I have skills and training as an editor, writer and project manager for printed materials. So a good crossover for me is writing about art and craft. 

Another example: my sister is a scientist but loves photography and messing around with Photoshop. And she's good at it! After realising she was constantly being asked for advice in this area, she started a website and blog called Photoshop for Scientists where she teaches people in her field of expertise how to use Photoshop properly for scientific purposes. 

To successfully create your dream job you need to find the happy place where what you love to do crosses over with a way to earn money. And by following this direction, you'll start to figure out what your dream job actually is!

5. Now, imagine everything goes brilliantly and you are making a full time living doing what you love. What is it you are doing?

So how did you go? What is your new job title?

I would really love to hear your thoughts on all this in the comments below.... Tell me your dream job!

Jen x