Intention, Purpose and Passion
Chapter 6
My Parents run a primary school and I remember walking into their offices as we were growing up and always finding a stack of CV’s on the table from potential students who wanted to become teachers at the school. Each week, dad would have about 60 CVs on average and the numbers just kept increasing as the years went by. I would always look at the CV’s and was always stunned by how many typos almost each CV had. There was an issue right there. Some were in Swahili, some were too long, some lacked cover letters and right there my interest on how people presented themselves on paper was born. I would see a student attach a certificate with excellent grades but the CV was so poorly written they would never stand a chance to get hired. With the huge pile in front of him, Dad would only take a few seconds to scroll through each CV and if it did not jump out at him, that was put face down across the table. So what was needed, to capture his attention? There was definitely a need right there.
In my first year in Australia, I remember thinking about those CVs. I remembered some advice I had received from one of my mentors. I was in Australia with an end goal. I had seen a few gaps in Kenya and I was here to perfect those skills so I have a fall back plan as back then, I believed my career would always be in Accounting. We grew up in a University in Nairobi and lucky for us, my neighbours were mostly lecturers who loved to mentor us. I was very specific when it came to the company I wanted to work in. I went to the career section at International Student Centre at the University and asked them to assist with an internship job in a Career Services firm. At that time, I had no idea how important this role would be for the rest of my life. Here I was thinking it was all about writing CV’s and preparing for job interviews only to learn how wide an industry Career Coaching was.
I would end up working in various industries over the years but each of them ended up with me drawn towards mentoring students on developing life-long coping skills in a constantly changing environment. I had a great role model. I remember him telling me to find something I love and that passion would make me win. 20 Years later, this same chat is now out there on Intention, Purpose and Passion. Knowing one’s intention as to why you do what you do and if your intention is right, you will be successful. It is not easy but one must stay the course. It pretty much focusses on the intercept of four areas in one’s life.
- What am I good at – (Skillset)
- What do I love to do
- What does the world need
- How do I get paid for it
Jay Shetty, a great motivational speaker talks on how finding the intercept across all those four areas, unlocks your passion and you then find your purpose. We must create purposeful fulfilling lives for ourselves and learn how to use that to make an impact and a difference in the lives of others. That is true success. I could go on and on about how I came to where I am but it will take me too far from telling tales on my down under experience. I was great at accounting but I was in dire need of a social career. I needed one that would pay the bills and at the very basic end of it, it needed to improve other’s lives and make a difference or a positive impact. Everyone has their own journey and path and I hope this particular chapter helps someone unlock their potential or even put them on a great path.
As a career coach, I can truly say that switching careers effectively to something that is more suited to your values, needs, skills and interests, is possible even in these very tough economic times. Helping young adults become successful, mentoring them to communicate more effectively has given me a professional identity that I completely love. Join me next time, as I continue with my tales on life in sunny Brisbane, Australia.
