One of my admired professionals is Dan Miller, a career thought leader and New York Times best-selling author. He is the author of a wonderful book “48 days to the work and life you love” where he explains how you can understand and apply your unique talents and passions so you can empower your professional career and 7 steps of a successful and meaningful career. He believes that having meaningful, purposeful, and profitable work is really a possibility. He thinks that this challenge is very much an inner game and it is not determined by external factors.
In this way, Dan recommends everyone to focus on the 7 pillars of a successful and meaningful career.
- Wisdom. Everyone has to understand that wisdom is an addition to knowledge and information. Some people have knowledge and degrees but wisdom is the meaningful application of knowledge.
- Understand the changing models of work. The world of work is changing fast, and the COVID-19 crisis has even accelerated this change. The 40 hours workweek, the 8-5 job… are getting old fashioned. Levels of unemployment are rising dramatically and the freelance revolution is growing a lot. Understanding that the labor market is changing and will continue changing is basic to have a successful professional career.
- Make your life international. The world is more opened and connected than ever. In this way having an international experience in studies or in professional life can be very powerful. And when Dan talks about international it is not only about traveling or speaking different languages. He also refers to understanding the different cultures, different customs, and different faiths.
- Understand the power of relationships. Dan explains this idea using the African concept of “Ubuntu”, where “they” become “we”. In this way, most of your life and professional challenges will be group challenges. In today’s world, we need to interact, we need to collaborate with other people in order to be successful. Having powerful relations is no longer an option, it’s a necessity.
- Serve those around you. The professional world (and also personal life) is about serving others. The sooner you understand this principle the better. So, consequently, the more people you serve the more successful career you will have. Start thinking about how can you better serve others and also how can you serve more people.
- Have a pleasing personality. Be generous with your resources, be kind to everyone. Dan recommends to “listen well and honor the uniqueness of each person you meet”. As Mother Theresa said, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
- Know your gifts and talents. I already said it in my post a few months ago “Know yourself better”, you must understand your uniqueness and discover what makes you remarkable. Spend time understanding who you really are and what you can deliver to the world. Because as Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Dan Miller says that following these 7 steps will help you follow your passion, create extraordinary income, and make the world a better place.
And I want to finish with another powerful quote from Dan Miller. I love it and I want to share it with you: “Next time you meet someone, try asking “How are you making the world a better place?” rather than the normal “What do you do?”.
