Your Very Own Career Development Plan....

Whether you found your career path, have a career development plan or not, love your career, hate your career, feel like changing careers, and/or have no idea what career you want to pursue, you can begin from right where you stand and decide to have a purposeful, fulfilling, and financially prosperous career.

My definition of a career development plan is clear and concise career goals that further develop your current career, help you transition careers, or help you in choosing a career.

This career article is divided in two sections. First, we’re going to assume you have no idea what career path to take and you’re starting from scratch. Lastly, I’m going to give you insights and practical solutions on how to further develop your career or transition to a different one.

This type of career development plan assumes you have no idea on what career path to pursue. That’s ok! Actually, you may be better off learning what you really want before jumping into a career you’re not sure about. This career article has the intention of clarifying what you really want to have. Having clarity will help you make a more conscious career decision.

The first thing you want to do for your career development plan is leave money out of the equation. Yes, you heard right, do not consider money, benefits, or any corporate promises at this point. I want you to find a fulfilling, purposeful career that resonates with who you are as a person.

Sometimes money gets in the way because our personal and collective beliefs about money could be skewed from its true meaning. For example, a lot of us are running around with a scarcity mentality. Always worrying that there is never enough to go around or opportunities run short. If that is the case, you may decide to take the career or position that has the most “potential money making” and least personal fulfillment.

How many times have you heard parents, teachers, or other authority figures in your life say, “Go where the money is. Pick a career that pays well. Choose a company with the best benefits. Hold out until they offer you more money.” I’m sure their intentions meant well, however, it’s time for a new way of thinking and adopt a successful mindset.

You can earn money in anything you do. I want you to burn that into your belief system. I’ll say it again----you can earn money in anything you do. If you follow history and some of the great leaders and business men throughout time, you will notice that they all followed their bliss and worked at something they loved. Every single one of them had a hard time distinguishing work from play. That’s because they were so in love with the service they were providing it didn’t feel like work. From Andrew Carnegie to Howard Hughes to Donald Trump and on to Bill Gates, they absolutely loved what they were doing in their life.

The best part is---people who do what they love tend to earn more money with less effort than someone who sold themselves out because the money was good. Think about it, if you're doing what you love, is it going to take more or less effort to earn money?

When you’re doing what you love you’re going to be excited and look forward to life everyday; I know I do! As I write this article, I’m doing what I absolutely love to do. I love being an entrepreneur and helping people realize their God given potential so they can pursue and achieve their dreams, have money, and become wealthy. I also love real estate, and even though it’s not my primary source of income, I’m active in building and renovating healthy homes for others.

However, it wasn’t always like this for me. In the beginning I was in a sales job working to “just pay the bills.” I went to College, got a degree, and went to work for the rest of my life. How fun does that sound! (lots of sarcasm here) I always knew there was more to life and that life should be fulfilling as I want it to be. I began seeking an answer. It wasn’t until the book, “The Science of Getting Rich” fell into my hands did I wake up! I learned that you have absolute control over how fulfilling, happy, worthwhile, and rich my life could be.

Then, I discovered five questions that changed my life and helped me choose a purposeful career. These five questions should be contemplated, held with the highest standards, and answered truthfully. If at any time you feel frustrated, step away for a day or two then come back to them.

Ask yourself these questions when creating a career development plan:

• What do you love to do?
• If money, time, and your talents were unlimited, who would you be in life and what would you do?
• What do you value the most?
• What kind of people do you love to be with?
• What things could you do to give yourself more time to be with these people?

You may have more than one answer for each question. That’s o.k., just get down everything that you can think of. Once you answered them all, find the underlying theme. For example, you may notice that all of your answers appear to have the words or theme of hope, inspiration, service, love, commitment, and adventure. If that’s the case, make career choices that are in alignment with your answers. Choose a career path that resonates with the theme of the five questions above.

That theme is what you love. It’s who you are from a being perspective. Choosing a career that resonates with what you love will fulfill you and have you act out of inspiration. With great love comes great service. Always remember---you can make money in anything you do and you’ll make more money doing what you love.

If you’re reading this from the perspective of already being in a career or transiting to another career, the above information will definitely help. Especially the five career development plan questions. Keep reading though, I have some practical insights and solutions tailored to those who want to do better in their current career and/or transit to a different career path.

If your career development plan calls to expand and move up to a better position, I got something for you that is guaranteed to work. What you have to do is start right where you’re at and give 100% to your current work. This is the fastest way to progress or transition yourself to a better position, earning more money, or start a new business.

You can only act in the present moment. The past is over and the future is still uncertain. It doesn’t make sense to live in either one. Sure, setting career goals is wise and I highly recommend it, but setting goals are meant to enhance your present moment. There is no way you can accurately predict the future or physically live in a future event.

Human beings are programmed for growth and expansion. The only way we grow is to have a greater level of conscious awareness and become bigger people. (And I don’t mean bigger in the waist line:) Becoming a bigger person means taking bolder action, creating goals and a vision, taking bigger risk, and can handle greater responsibilities. I think you would agree that it takes a bigger person to earn $100,000 per year than a person earning $10,000.

The way to expand and become bigger is to give 100% right where you stand today in your career, your relationships, your health, your mental capabilities, and spirituality. Have your career development plan, but give 100% in the current position you have. Soon enough you’ll outgrow your position and the Universe has no choice but to bless you with greater responsibility. Greater responsibility comes with greater power; the more power you have the better your results.

Even if you outgrow your position and your employer doesn’t reward you with a better one, do not think for a second that you’re not worthy of all the goodness and riches. May be that is just a sign to start your own business or leave that company because a greater opportunity is coming. Trust me, we live in a perfect Universe. If you become bigger than your present place, the Universe has to reward you with a greater opportunity; it’s in the laws of nature!

Earlier I mentioned that setting career goals is a wise thing to do; and it is. When you are setting and achieving goals, if done correctly, you are acting from a state of belief that you already have this goal. This is why I highly recommend setting a goal. You set the goal and believe you already have it, then the goal must come into physical reality. Read my article about Smart goals and all the supplement articles that go with it.

Here are some pointers to think about when setting career goals:

• How can you provide more value?
• How can you help people get what they want?
• How much money do you want to earn?
• What are you going to give in return for this money?
• What specific plans will you have to obtain this amount of money?

Your career development plan is going to be fun and quite a journey. I mean, life is a journey anyways, so you might as well make it one that you want to experience. Now that you read this career article about starting a career development plan from scratch and a career development plan for a current or transiting career, you should have the wisdom to carry out what needs to be done in your life.

Leave money out of the equation when choosing your career. Do something that you love and inspires you. Remember, you can earn money at anything and you’ll earn more money doing something you love. Finally, start from where you are right now and give 100% to that current position. Keep setting career goals and act from a state of expectation that you’re becoming the best person that you can possibly be. When that happens, there is no other choice but to expand into a better career position.

How to set goals.

The theory behind goal achievement.

How to achieve your goals.

Return From Career Development Plan to Choosing A Career