How to reverse-engineer the career of your dreams

How to reverse-engineer the career of your dreamsHow to reverse-engineer the career of your dreamsThe great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. - WilliamJamesEvery beginning should start with your end.Lets face it, we, the people of the world, are living in a results-driven culture.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIts about the results Right?We see it in the workplace. Were reminded of it on television. Its plastered all over billboards and social media.Were fed a Be Do Have system of thinking. It all culminates in a bottom-line approach. Show me the money. What have you done for me lately? In reality, this obsession with results matters very little when juxtaposed against our lifes journey. Results dont quite measure up to the minutes and hours lived in the Be and Do states. Results take time. Theyre often goals we work toward.And work, we should, t oward our goals and dreams. Im a chief proponent of this Just know, your energy is far better spent and focused on living each moment of the day with vim, vigor and full immersion in the Be and Do activities. I also encourage you to recognize that you likely already have something great going. You just have to appreciate it for what it is.We can find happiness, fulfillment and a sense of our purpose in the world in all three stages. Where we get lost and suffer is when we fixate too much on the future - what we dont have. When we long for these results, that may bedrngnis be what we truly want at heart, it leads to anxiety and a hollow feeling that leaves us empty and unsatisfied.Building Your FoundationResults are both objective and subjective. Some people live their lives trying to achieve particular results because they think it will make their parents, boyfriend, girlfriend or classmates proud. While those are wonderful complements and side effects, they should not be the reaso nswhyyou do what you do. The results you strive for should be for your own self-satisfaction.Look at this small graph below of Be, Do and Have. I believe for far too long, our culture has obsessed over the results. As aresult, theres little attention paid to the fine details like values, beliefs, attitude and effort. These qualities form the backbone - the foundation - of who we are We cannot possibly achieve big things in life if we bypass these important steps.We need values to help shape our behavior and outlook on life. Our values become a reflection of the way we see ourselves. We behave in accord to the way we think and the values we hold dear. Take Steve Jobs for instance. He wasnt a very religious man. But he was a man of great faith and conviction. He believed fervently in placing trust in himself - in anything - for the future, then working toward it with enthusiasm and dedication.Once you have the Do and Be down, then you reap the results. Right? Or not right? Have yo u been paying attention? Let me flip the script on you.You HaveItCarve your personenname on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. - Shannon L. AlderWhat if you started living each day - leading with the Have? What I mean by this is, lets say youre an up and coming entrepreneur. You want to create a great new app that everyone is going to love. Chances are, youre already writing the code, and perhaps youve already created something to beta test. It could be awesome. But you might not think so. So you doubt. You feel you need external validation in the form of sales and social media buzz.You dont. In reality, your vision of Have may be what you already have going for you. Youre on a journey thats chock full of great rides, turns and changes. Startliving in that moment. Thatisthe HaveBut what if you do some introspective searching and find that you really arent completely happy with your current state? Then start mak ing your future state - your Have - a reality now. You may not have the sold-out arenas or adoring fans. But start acting like you do. Start imagining exactly what the Have looks like. Paint a picture so vivid, it would make Michelangelo blush.Envision exactly what this looks like. Lead with this. Live a life that celebrates your future success. Then, start being and doing what that is. Its a philosophical and cultural paradigm shift that will change the way you live your life each day. It will propel you toward living your dream faster than you ever could have imagined.Its how you create a legacy and make the most of each moment.This article first appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people