5 Signs You're Betraying Your True Calling

So many people I coach in New York City come to me feeling like they fell into their line of work and made it a success, but no longer find it easy to show up with enthusiasm, embrace growth in your role and feel passionate about your job. The money they make is good, but their heart isn't in their work.

Is this success? Materially, perhaps. Externally (based on what others think)? Probably. But what our hearts know is that true fulfillment, and nothing else, is the real measure of success.

When we work with joy, we are at one with the universe. We do so much more than create our greatest work when this happens; it's how we become our happiest, our wisest and our most loving self. When all is said and done, this is all that truly matters — to love your work and be true to your life's unique and individualized assignment.

Over time these people often end up making a stash of cash, too, because abundance flows to connected, happy and energetic people. And we secretly know this — every one of us.

Here are five key signs that you are not doing your real work, your life's work, here on earth:

1. You dream of something else.

Are the books you read, the subjects you love to talk about and the topics you research aligned with your work? These things are all big signs about what interests and motivates you.

2. You have a niggling feeling that you're wasting your time (which means you probably are).

Our soul knows when each new week, month, year rolls around that we are wasting ourselves by not activating the special gifts within us that wants to surface. It's like a quiet, unsettling voice that won't be silenced. It worsens over time.

3. You self-medicate.

When we neglect our inner guiding system, we find alternative sources to make us feel good and allow us to be disconnected from our source. This may be in the form of alcohol, overeating, drug use and overspending. These cheap forms of "borrowed happiness" give us momentary respite from a much larger issue. We masquerade our misery but it never lasts — hence a vicious, repetitive cycle that can be self-destructive

4. You are tired and sluggish.

Low physical energy is a significant symptom that you are uninspired. When we do what we love we access energy resources we did not know we had. This is why many wealthy and successful people are highly prolific even into their very mature years. I was just at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards and Sylvia Earle, 79 (active marine biologist) was the most charismatic and passionate winner of the evening. So if you're feeling tired frequently and waiting for the day to pass — its proof its time for change.

5. You are not among your tribe.

Look at the people around you at work. Are you collaborative and passionate about spending time with these people? Are your interests similar? When we are doing work that we love to, we naturally gravitate toward others who are like us and who are doing the same thing. When you have found your tribe, you know it. The line between work and play is positively, beautifully blurred.

I am here to tell you that you can change your life. The universe supports you when you take the necessary steps to fulfill your dream. I have seen it unfold in many cases when we apply time, dedication and action. This is your one shot on the planet! 

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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Why You Need to be Yourself at Work

When I was a university graduate, I got a coveted position doing Corporate Reorganization at a top tier accounting firm. It felt like a total win: there I was, on my way to success!

Until I started ...

After no more than two weeks, I knew it wasn't for me. I felt physically trapped in my cubicle. I felt intellectually trapped doing meaningless work — sifting through piles of paper, photocopying.

I couldn't stand the people. My assigned mentor loved the corporate life, and asking me questions in a way that made no sense to me. I never knew the answer: we spoke different languages.

Every morning, the future looked bleak. I couldn't see the possibility of doing any work there that I wanted to be doing. So I had to pretend to be someone I wasn't to fit in.

Yet one night, I was chatting with a friend at the pub (did I mention that I spent far too much time in the pub in those days?). I told her casually that I wanted to get hit by a bus on the way to work. No, I didn't want to die, I assured her. But I did want to get really badly injured so I didn't have to go to work anymore.

That's when I realized that something had to change. At the same time, I didn't think I could leave the company. Forty years of a career seemed too daunting to give up on — at least at that point.

So I decided that I had to change what I could while staying in the job. Though six months later, I had a similar conversation with the same friend, who told me I had to quit.

Hopefully you don't feel quite as helpless as I did then. And if you do: I encourage you to find an alternative as soon as you can, rather than wait like I did. But if you want (or need) to stay in a job you aren't happy with, here are a few tips to help improve your days. Take it day by day ...

1. Get out of the office for some time every single day.

Take some personal time in whatever way you can throughout the day. This will help remind you that you are not the same as your job, and that you can get some distance from your unhappiness.

Do whatever is possible: go to the gym for a quick sweat session, meet a friend for lunch, walk around the block, go buy a coffee from a coffee shop a few blocks away (not the ground floor barista).

2. Connect with your people.

Make an effort to see your friends. You may be busy and tired after work, but carve out time to cultivate your support system: in the evening, at lunchtime, for morning walks. This will help you feel connected to the parts of yourself and your life that do make you happy.

Keep an open mind about people who you might be able to connect with in the office as well. Having just one friend will transform things.

3. Do the best job you can.

Most people have to prove themselves at work before they get given the best work, particularly if you're young and just starting out. It's an unfortunate truth.

So do your best work all the time, and ask for more challenges. Managers like people who approach them looking for more work, and the more you ask for the more you will receive. As the work gets more interesting, so, of course, will your days.

4. Look at yourself, and look after yourself.

I tried to drown my sorrows in a wineglass (let me have a bit of break, I was only 22). But we all know that denial doesn't work, and especially not with alcohol.

Hangovers made my days much harder. I couldn't do good work if I was exhausted, and my lack of motivation would send the wrong message about me, both to my colleagues and, more importantly, to myself. What I needed to do was take a long, hard look at myself — so I could learn to look after myself.

So sleep properly, eat well, exercise. All those things give you the greatest possible chance of feeling happy, positive, and energetic enough to do good work so you can ask for something more engaging

5. Be yourself.

I didn't think I'd get any respect if I acted like myself at work. I thought I laughed too much, so I forced myself to keep quiet. I felt totally stifled.

Since those days, I have learned that most people will actually choose to work with someone they like as a person over someone they don't, even if the person they don't like does a better job! If you are yourself, and feel comfortable, you'll be more likable and feel more relaxed. And you'll probably be more likely to get asked to join projects.

I know not everyone can — or wants to — jump ship and head off into the unknown. But there are lots of ways to escape the misery of the cubicle. Be yourself, do your best work every day, take control by making time for yourself every single day. No matter what.

Photo Credit: Stocksy

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10 Behaviors of Genuine People

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Whether you’re building a business, a network, or friendships, you always want to look for people who are genuine. After all, nobody wants to work or hang out with a phony. On the flipside, that goes for you, as well. Bet you never considered that. 

In case you're wondering, genuine means actual, real, sincere, honest. Genuine people are more or less the same on the inside as their behavior is on the outside. Unfortunately, it's a tough quality to discern. The problem is that all human interactions are relative. They’re all a function of how we perceive each other through our own subjective lenses. 

Being genuine is also a rare quality. In a world full of phony fads, media hype, virtual personas, positive thinkers, and personal brands – where everyone wants what they don’t have, nobody’s content to be who they are, and, more importantly, nobody’s willing to admit to any of that – it’s becoming more and more rare all the time.  

To help you identify this rare breed -- in yourself, as well -- this is how genuine people behave. 

They don’t seek attention. They don’t need constant reinforcement of their own ego. Where attention seekers have a hole that constantly needs to be filled, genuine people are already filled with self-confidence and self-awareness.

They’re not concerned with being liked. The need to be liked is born of insecurity and narcissism. It creates a need to manipulate your own and other’s emotions. Confident and authentic people are simply themselves. If you like them, fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

They can tell when others are full of it. Perhaps naïve folks can be easily fooled, but genuine people are not naïve. They’re grounded in reality and that gives them a baseline from which they can tell when things don’t add up. There’s a big difference. 

They are comfortable in their own skin. In his late 70s, actor Leonard Nimoy said he was closer than ever to being as comfortable with himself as Spock appeared to be. Most of us struggle with that. As Henry David Thoreau observed, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

They do what they say and say what they mean. They don’t tend to overreach or exaggerate. They meet their commitments. And they don’t parse their words or sugarcoat the truth. If you need to hear it, they’ll tell you … even if it’s tough for them to say and for you to hear.

They don’t need a lot of stuff. When you’re comfortable with whom you are, you don’t need a lot of external stuff to be happy. You know where to find happiness – inside yourself, your loved ones, and your work. You find happiness in the simple things.

They’re not thin-skinned. They don’t take themselves too seriously so they don’t take offense when none is intended.

They’re not overly modest or boastful. Since they’re confident of their strengths, they don’t need to brag about them. Likewise, they don’t exhibit false modesty. Humility is a positive trait but it’s even better to just be straightforward.

They’re consistent. You might describe genuine people as being weighty, solid, or substantial. Since they know themselves well and are in touch with their genuine emotions, they’re more or less predictable ... in a good way.  

They practice what they preach. They’re not likely to advise people to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. After all, genuine people know they’re no better than anyone else so it’s not in their nature to be self-righteous.  

All those seemingly different behaviors have the same thing at their core: self-awareness that’s consistent with reality. Genuine people see themselves as others would if they were objective observers. There’s not a lot of processing, manipulating, or controlling going on between what’s in their head and what people see and hear.

Once you get to know them, genuine people turn out to be more or less consistent with the way they initially hold themselves out to be. What you see is what you get. It's sad that, in today's world, such a positive quality is at risk of becoming endangered. Not only is it harder to find in others, it's becoming harder to be genuine ourselves. 

Read The Original Article At Entreprueneur