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Stop looking for the right job, look for your superpower

I have switched jobs two times in the past year only to realise that no job will ever make me happy.

Each time I decided to move, it started with the feeling that something was missing from my job. I thought taking the new job would be the necessary stepping stone to fill the skillset I lacked.

And, subconsciously, I thought the feeling that something was missing would go away. But, like everything in life, nothing is ever perfect, and there’ll always be something missing one way or another.

There’s no such thing as the right job because human wants and desires are endless. So instead of looking for the right job, look for your superpower.

Redefine what the right job means

Instead of thinking of a job as a job, think of it as a career. Instead of finding a job that meets our consistently evolving wants and desires, let’s start with the end goal: what’s the ideal career for you?

A job is something you do for money; a career is a long-term endeavour you build towards and work upon every day.

A career is something that you aspire to do, and ultimately, it should be something that you can be the best in the world at. And, to be the best in the world at something, the ‘something’ needs to be aligned with your superpower.

Define your career from your superpower

So to identify your ideal career, you first need to identify your superpower. Someone who’s a natural hustler, has an appetite for people and is an unconventional thinker would make a great early-stage VC. Someone who has vision and business ideas, the ability to inspire and influence people, and methodical ways to execute would make a great entrepreneur.

Also Read: From teaching to a writing startup: Why and how I’ve pivoted my career

Once you know your superpower, build a career around your superpower. Two people can hold the same job, but no two people can hold the same career. For instance, 

  • VC A may be the best VC who’s great at building rapport with founders, making intros to tier-one investors, and has the hustle to get access to deals.

  • VC B may be the best VC who’s great at providing strategic and tactical advice, giving a platform for founders to share stories and connect with potential clients and partners, and has deep domain expertise.

Both of them have the same VC job and the same chance to be the best VCs globally. But, their paths to getting to their career goals will differ as they leverage different superpowers to get there, and that’s what I call ‘career paths’.

Focus on your superpower instead of your job

Once you find the ideal career that aligns with your superpower, the next step is to focus all your effort on honing that superpower.

It doesn’t matter what your name card reads because that’ll change from one year to another. What matters is knowing that you’re building your own individualised career path, and every day you spend honing those superpowers, you are moving closer to your career goals.

A career is personalised to you and brings out the best of your potential. So stop looking for a job, and start with these three simple steps: 

  • Identify your superpower.
  • Define an ideal career that aligns with your superpower.
  • Build on your superpower day in and day out.

As Naval Ravikant famously said, “You can escape competition through authenticity when you realise that no one can compete with you on being you.”

This reminds me of one of my favourite Charlie Munger quotes, “Imitating the majority is the sure-fire path to average results.”

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Image Credit: nenetus

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