Let’s be honest. You are not really looking for your dream job. Well, that may be what you say you are looking for or even think you are looking for. But, in reality you think said dream job is an automatic path to your dream life.

Well, I hate to break this to you, but since we are being so truthful here… Nope. Not only do the two not come together in a big value pack of happiness, but you might find that they are often at odds with each other. That, in order to build one you have to sacrifice and compromise the other — at least for a while and possibly forever. This is not to say that one can’t lead to the other or be built at the same time. This is to say that such cases are rare and you should be prepared to make the tough choices when they come.

For example, you may decide to take that very comfortable job driving someone else’s dump truck. You enjoy it quite a bit and it is something you always wanted to do. You are paid well enough to do it too. You get paid vacations and time off, good benefits, nice retirement savings plan, etc. It may be really flexible time wise too. It may allow you to send your kids to a good school and buy the spouse nice things. You can afford a nice house. Basically, it is what you dream of when you dream your dream life. And this is OK. You have chosen to drive someone else’s dump truck because that allows you to live your dream life. Fair trade, right?

That is still someone else’s dump truck.

But, in order to build your dream and buy your own dump truck you will have to give up some of that dream life — at least for a while. You may have to take a steep pay cut, give up the idea of vacation or time off, pay for your own health insurance, maybe even downsize the house.

But, hey, you are at least driving your own dump truck.

My point is that these are all choices. Most of the time they are hard choices. Sometimes one has to choose between their dream job and their dream life. But they are choices all the same.

But, sometimes, with the hard work, the compromise, the sacrifice, and right choices, and a wee bit of luck, one can arrive at both. But that’s all on you too.

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