Success Secret: Be Yourself

Curt Rosengren

Want a tip on how to succeed in your career? Figure out who you are – then be that. If you want to tap into your maximum potential, align your career path with what comes naturally.

For so many people, going to work is about getting up in the morning and heading off for another day of being who they’re not. It’s about wearing a mask. Instead of operating in that place of “flow,” they wind up gritting their teeth and grinding through day after day.

When your work is out of alignment with who you are, it’s like having your wheels out of alignment and having to constantly put effort into adjusting the steering just so you can keep moving straight ahead.

On the other hand, when you are doing work that is aligned with who you are, you get energy from it. Not only do you not have to put energy into being who you’re not, the very act of doing that work energizes you. The resulting energy differential is huge. I’ve felt it myself, and I’ve seen the effects time and again as clients move from ill-fitting work to work that is a custom fit.

I sometimes hear people referring to wanting to find passion in your career as somehow frivolous. I think it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s one of the best investments in your success you can make.

It all boils down to this: you can never be anybody else half as well as you can be you. Keep that in mind as you plan the rest of your career, and you will discover a path that makes the most of your potential.

After years as a professional malcontent, Curt Rosengren discovered the power of passion. As a speaker, author, and coach, Rosengren helps people create careers that energize and inspire them. His book 101 Ways to Get Wild About Work and his E-book The Occupational Adventure Guide offer people tools for turning dreams into reality. Rosengren's blog, The M.A.P. Maker , explores how to craft a life of meaning, abundance, and passion.