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Landmark in the News

Creating Your Dream Job (transcript)

KOMO TV (Seattle, USA), February 24, 2010

Whether you’re seeking a new job or career or just want to be passionate about the one you’ve got, Landmark Forum leader David Cunningham shares tips on having work that turns you on.

Transcript:

Interviewer:

 

Are you unemployed because of this economy? Or maybe you’re just tired of your current career. There are ways to create a dream job that you will love. And joining me today is David Cunningham. He’s a performance coach for Landmark Education, an international training and development company. Welcome, David.

David Cunningham:

 

Thank you.

Interviewer:

 

Now, how do people find themselves in career choices that, I suppose, you can describe as they’re in default now, they’re stuck there, how do people find themselves there?

David Cunningham:

 

Well, most people just have the job that was available or they have the job that they followed somebody’s footsteps, but it’s not the job of their dreams. And it’s really important that people know they can really have the job of their dreams.

Interviewer:

 

So, how do you get unstuck from that, because it can be a vicious cycle?

David Cunningham:

 

Well, the first thing you have to do is you have to paint a picture, a really clear picture of the job you want. You sit down with a piece of paper, open a file, and write out, really, what’s the job that you really want, what’s a clear picture of it? And let go of those decisions like, ‘I can’t have it,’ or, ‘It’s out of reach,’ or, ‘It’s impossible.’ It takes about 45 minutes, people could do it today, paint a clear picture.

Interviewer:

 

You tell people to borrow some other brains, what do you mean by that?

David Cunningham:

 

Well, we’re surrounded by people, it’s our greatest resource, so people have different ideas. People know emerging markets we don’t know about. People know contacts we don’t have. I know one young man who is a second-generation plumber and he wanted to be an international consultant. He put it out there, and he now showed me his passport - he’s been traveling around the world doing that.

Interviewer:

 

Oh, my goodness.

David Cunningham:

 

The more you put it out there, the more doors open for you.

Interviewer:

 

When you tell people to practice new ways of being, what do you mean by that?

David Cunningham:

 

People think that there’s ways they can’t be, like they think, ‘Well, I’m just timid,’ or, ‘I’m just shy.’ They don’t know that you can always practice those ways of being. Think of somebody you emulate, maybe even a hero, see how they are. If you practice it five times a day for five days, you can be that way, too.

Interviewer:

 

So, how do we practice it? How do we find that new perspective? What can we do?

David Cunningham:

 

Well, that’s the important part. Just watch somebody else, see the way of being you want to try, and then in the normal course of your way, even with the clerk at a store or with your wife, with anybody, just practice being the way, practice being outgoing, practice being friendly. And again, if you practice it five times a day for five days, you’ll be that way.

Interviewer:

 

And you have to take the initiative just to break out of that rut.

David Cunningham:

 

Just get started. The bottom line is this, the difference between having dreams and realizing them is being willing to think and act in new ways. And at the end of the day, you either have your dream job or you had to go to work, and this is about having your dream job.

Interviewer:

 

What is a breakthrough moment?

David Cunningham:

 

A breakthrough moment is when something happens that goes beyond what would be an improvement, an incremental improvement. It’s when there’s a quantum leap in your performance. What allows for a quantum leap in your performance is a new perspective in finding a new pathway.

Interviewer:

 

So, when you’re – a lot of people are unemployed right now. Given that state, you can find, I mean, it’s a clean slate, you can start fresh and go towards the path that you really want to. But what if you are already employed, you have a job that you don’t really like, what’s the litmus test that tells you you’re in the wrong field, you’re doing the wrong thing?

David Cunningham:

 

Well, if you’re bored, if you’re complaining, and if it doesn’t – [Laughter] - and if it doesn’t’ match that picture, right. And if you’re not enjoying the people you work with, that’s a real key, too.

Interviewer:

 

You’ve talked to so many people - what are the big things that really hold us back from doing that?

David Cunningham:

 

Our own decisions that we made literally from childhood experiences. Like, we think we have limits, like, ‘I can’t do that,’ ‘I’m not good at that,’ or, ‘That’s not possible for me.’ And it’s really important to know that, yeah, there’s life events that had us decide those things, but that’s really not the truth; it really is possible for us to have the job of our dreams.

Interviewer:

 

It’s so good to know that.

David Cunningham:

 

Yeah.

Interviewer:

 

David, thank you so much for being here, and thank you for those very helpful tips.

David Cunningham:

 

Thank you, Mary.

Interviewer:

 

For more information, it is all on our website. Go to komonews.com and click on KOMO 4 TV.