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Don’t play it safe.

Work tirelessly to figure out your purpose and what you were meant to do on this earth. If you have to test different jobs and experiences to find what you like, by all means do it. Apathy and fear of failure are your enemy, experimentation is your friend.

Finding your purpose takes courage and a willingness to stumble. You will likely open some wrong doors before you open the right door. Don’t expect the path to be linear and predictable — be okay with the journey having its ups and downs.

If and when others try to talk you into taking some coveted path, remember that you are the one who will reflect back on your life one day. In that reflection, you will likely ask yourself some variant of this question: “Did I fear regret more than failure?”

Most of all – don’t settle. Settling is about protecting yourself from risk. Settling means ignoring your inner GPS, stifling your true wishes, and talking yourself out of your dreams. And continuously settling leads to live a life of disappointment.

How will you know when you find your purpose?

You will feel you were born to do it. You will have a voracious appetite for the subject matter. And most of all, you will know that there is a way that you can deliver your information or service in a way that no one else can.

When you create something that is born out of your true purpose, people can sense your honesty and passion. Conversely, when you play a role that you’re not, people see your insincerity a mile away. You can’t concoct passion.

Finding your purpose is the hard part. Making a life out of it is easy.

When you find your passion, it will change you. You’ll work much harder. You’ll be flabbergasted by the sense of fulfillment you have after a day’s work. You’ll find emotional and intellectual resources inside yourself that you never knew you had.

Most of all, you will find that your purpose is like a propeller. It will supercharge your intellect, your capabilities, and your raw talents, and give you deep reserves of power.

As you continually revisit and refine your purpose, remember to pull others up. Boost those who have less confidence, experience, or pedigree than you. Illustrate for them how you see their potential and encourage them to think big about the future -without limits.

Get out there. Be gutsy. Be brave. Go for it!

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An experienced management consultant, Selena Rezvani focuses her consulting services on women in the workplace, providing career development coaching and corporate advisory services through her firm, NextGenWomen LLC. NextGenWomen provides high-potential women with the tools to succeed and move into top leadership positions.

Selena wrote her debut book, The Next Generation of Women Leaders, while earning her MBA degree from Johns Hopkins University, where she graduated first in her class. She also holds MSW and BS degrees from New York University. An active volunteer, Selena serves as a Regional Vice President with the National Association of Women MBAs, where she works to propel more women into leadership roles.

Selena’s professional speaking includes speeches and workshops at universities, conferences and corporations around the country. Audiences include Harvard, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, U. Penn, Comcast, Apple, Northrop Grumman and many others.

For more information, please visit nextgenwomen.com

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Selena! This was just what I needed to hear today for encouragement. The path is definitely NOT linear, and I’m persisting. Cheers to you!

  2. “Don’t play it safe.” Doesn’t that just say it all? When hearing the call to destiny, how often we want to curl back up with a cup of hot chocolate, safe and warm and dry. But that’s not where our purpose tends to live . . .
    Thank you, Selena!

  3. Well said! “Most of all – don’t settle. Settling is about protecting yourself from risk. Settling means ignoring your inner GPS, stifling your true wishes, and talking yourself out of your dreams.” We all can sense what is our true calling, but to find that is indeed can be difficult especially when you are already consumed by the wrong endeavor; but it’s never too late to make the change.

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