Unconventional work paths you wish you knew about when you were young
Every year when we near back-to-school time, I reflect upon my experience as a youth. I was one of the relative few who actually thrived in a conventional school setting. I enjoyed the structured space for learning. However, having said that, when I look back as an adult, I do wish there had been more opportunities to be exposed to more unconventional types of work. It might have saved me a lot of time spent pursuing dead-end paths.
During my time in high school, there were three general paths pushed upon us. The “premier” option was to go to university and obtain a degree to become a business professional, a scientist, or an academic. The other “acceptable” option was to go to a technical school and apprentice in the trades. Lastly, we were told that if we didn’t do either one of those two things, we’d be relegated to working at a fast food chain for the rest of our lives. It turned out that I explored all three of those paths and did not find inspiration in any of them.
Sadly, not once during my younger years did I ever receive any advice about the fact that I could pursue my own path. At the time, I still looked to the outer world for what was possible. It wasn’t until much later in life I learned how to trust my inner guidance and allow it to lead me down the path of inspiration. I wish I had known before then that the opportunities were limitless and that I could create any work for myself I could imagine.
The path of inspiration does not necessarily mean that you walk only one path, it can take many different forms. Following are some examples of others’ journeys, many of whom have inspired my own:
The path of expression
Each person has an important point of view that is meant to be heard, whether it’s figuratively by sharing their thoughts and ideas, or literally through the use of their voice or their body – or both. Some of the more traditional types of careers in this category would be writing or acting, but expression can happen through any medium of choice.
Example types of work:
The path of interest
There are those activities that pique our curiosity without a logical reason and we find ourselves spending every spare moment either engaged in learning about them or actually participating in them. Our keen interest is not arbitrary. If we pursued it with vigour, it can lead us to the kind of work that doesn’t actually feel like work.
Example types of work:
The path of mastery
Some choose to focus exclusively on one of their many talents and after years of training, they have the ability to outperform most others at the task at hand. This type of path requires extreme dedication, which can only be born from a pursuit fuelled by passion.
Example types of work:
The path of meaning
What makes our work meaningful is subjective. Any work could potentially be meaningful so long as it is aligned with our own inner purpose and allows us to make a genuine contribution to humanity by sharing our gifts with the world. Meaningful work is the kind that makes life worth living.
Example types of work:
The path of the trailblazer
There are some who thrive on doing what they’ve been told by others “can’t be done”. Though their paths are potholed with multitudes of failures, with tenacity, they persevere. They see their work as a learning opportunity that results in their own personal growth as well as for those their journey inspires.
Example types of work:
The path of sustainability
Without a habitable planet to live on, there would be no such thing as work as there would be no such thing as people. For many, they feel called to serve and protect the very place we all call home.
Example types of work:
The path of fun
Who says work isn’t supposed to fun? I maintain that work is one of the places where we are supposed to have the most fun. So, what if you followed your own fun and created opportunities for others to have fun, as well? There are many who have done so quite playfully.
Example types of work:
The path of entrepreneurship
To be an entrepreneur used to be synonymous with being a “businessman”. However, we are long past the era of sterile boardrooms and stuffy suits. Entrepreneurship is the territory for any person who decides to take a risk to lead themselves and others by putting their work into the world.
Example types of work:
The path of artistry
Sure, there were the “arts” in school, but we were told they were meant to be little more than a “hobby” and not to be pursued as “real” work. What a shame that so many miss out on their calling as an artist because of this terrible advice. Artists who have invested themselves in honing their craft are some of the most sought after and highest paid professionals in the world.
Example types of work:
The path of specialty
This fascinating path is created from amalgamating multiple pursuits. Take one activity, cross it with another, become highly proficient at both and you have become a specialist. These types of careers are successful because they meet very specific needs for others.
Example types of work:
The path of innovation
Though many careers in this category may fall under the label of “science”, there are still those whose ideas defy conventional thinking. Their ability to see beyond what is and imagine new possibilities provides groundbreaking contributions to their respective fields.
Example types of work:
The path of creativity
Creativity can easily be confused with artistry, however, creativity is the act of taking ideas and making them real through any chosen medium, not only the artistic ones. We can create anything our soul inspires us to create – including the most ordinary, every day items such as paper clips, door knobs, or roofing tiles. When we look around, every single thing we can perceive is a creation.
Example types of work::
As you’ve probably already noticed, there is a lot of crossover between these paths. Most of the makers I’ve highlighted in the links above had to travel many different paths to create their own work. Their “titles” could have been listed under any number of the headings. The reality is that inspired work is a unique-to-you blend of all of the above: expression, interest, mastery, meaning, trailblazing, sustainability, fun, entrepreneurship, artistry, innovation, and creativity. And before you go thinking you do not have the capacity for any and all of these things, I am here to remind you that you do. When you follow the path of your inspiration, you remember who you really are and what you are truly capable of doing. The only thing you need to carry with you to be able to make your journey is the enduring belief that you can do it.
Inspired work is a blend of expression, interest, mastery, meaning, trailblazing, sustainability, fun, entrepreneurship, artistry, innovation, and creativity.
When I help people set themselves of the path of their own inspired work, they often stumble over an unanticipated bump in the road called “grief”. They find themselves having to mourn the time lost to traipsing down dead-end paths. Of course, none of their experience is lost. It was helping them gain clarity, which becomes incorporated into the path they now travel.
If you follow the journeys of those people I have highlighted above, you will note their path did not always end up in the direction from where they began. What’s common to them all is that they trusted their own inspiration, and as a result have discovered, created, and lived the work that they never would have learned at school.
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For further exploration, visit this link to see over 1,000 different unconventional potential types of work labelled as “personas” by the late Joe Nickell, Paranormal Investigator. Some are to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but also, who says you couldn’t make a career of them? Not me.
