By Evan Oppenheimer

If you know your dream job, how do you get it? If you don’t know, how do you figure it out?

The answer to these questions will be vastly different for each person. However, the many paths you may choose to answer these questions are more aligned then you might think. Here are some keys to help you find your passion:

First and foremost, be true to yourself. Be open and honest with yourself and others. This, unfortunately, is not something we are often taught or encouraged to do, but do it we must. If you know yourself and are true to yourself, then you have taken the first step towards the job (and the life!) of your dreams.

Second, be confident about yourself and your choices. Once you know yourself and you make a promise to continually develop and understand the true self that is you, don’t be swayed by conformity or outside pressures that tell you to be anything other than that which you know is true. You are the only person that has to live your life, so be you and be happy.

Third, in the words of Lindsey Pollak, don’t curb your enthusiasm. Your enthusiasm, passion, excitement and true love for a goal should be the driving force that moves you through the world. Others recognize (consciously or unconsciously) the confidence and passion that you exude. There is something warming, encouraging, and powerful about being in the presence of someone who is self-aware, confident, enthusiastic and fueled by passion.

If you feel that you’re not quite there yet, then strive to surround yourself with people who do exude self-awareness, confidence, enthusiasm, and passion. This idea leads us to the fourth key idea: find passionate people—I call them “passioneers”—and surround yourself with them. This process of finding and surrounding yourself with self-aware passioneers can start with reading a book or an article, hearing an interview on TV, or meeting someone at a conference or party. Passioneers—are all over if you know where to look. A passioneer is simply this: someone who follows his or her passion, is guided by the inner self, and encourages others to do the same.

Authors, writers, speakers, doctors, lawyers, business owners…. Whoever it is that inspires you, reach out and ask some questions by sending an email, writing a letter, making a phone call, or visiting in person. Believe it or not, most people will feel honored that you asked

When you have the courage and the confidence to explore and ask for assistance, a world of possibilities and dreams can be fulfilled. The future is not something we enter, but something we help create, so get out there and make your future happen!

Evan Oppenheimer currently works for the JCCA Compass Project, providing transition programming and career advisement for high school and college students. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact Evan Oppenheimer at EvanMOpp@gmail.com.