With millions of people in Los Angeles and around the world eagerly anticipating tonight's Lakers game as if it were a long-awaited vacation, it really makes you think -- why can't we conjure up this kind of excitement and enthusiasm in the rest of our lives? How about our jobs for one thing?
If you consider that less than 25% of people love their jobs, it's no wonder that it takes a major sporting event, like Game 1 of the NBA Championship Series to get people really fired up! That's why I'm advocating that people give the best graduation gift possible this season (aside perhaps from Lakers tickets)...a shot at a dream job. How? The new YSN Career Planner. It helps you figure out how to turn what you love the most into what you do for a living, so every day you can get the rush of running down the parquet floor or getting together with your friends to plot your big championship celebration party plans.
Sound impossible? Well it's not. Clearly not everyone can be Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom or Luke Walton for that matter. But you know who you could be: a trainer, publicist, security guard, biographer, executive director of a team-sponsored charity, or countless other "players" in that world.
When you watch the game tonight, think about all those other people responsible for producing and promoting and reporting on the game. They all work in that world you love so much. There's the core team staff: trainers, coaches, managers, handlers, transportation coordinators, and probably a dozen other key positions. There's the Staples Center staff: the ticket takers, ushers, security, parking attendants, vendors, food service workers, janitors, VIP service coordinators, Sky Box attendants and countless others who are critical to hosting 19,000 fans on game night. Then there's the media: photographers, reporters, commentators, editors, producers, stringers, and yes, bloggers. Don't forget the hoards of people who work for, with and provide support and other services to the players, managers, media, and so on. And the people behind the scenes, who are not even in the arena but are indirectly associated with the game and team: the uniform company, regulation basketball and other equipment producers, the t-shirt and chotchki manufacturers, the soda and beer distributors, the hairstylists, the limo drivers. Are you getting the idea?
Finding out how to live in the world that you love -- whether it's the Laker community, Orlando Magic, NBA, sports industry or whatever -- starts with understanding that there are countless opportunities and ways to engage in those worlds. You just need to identify your playground, then figure out how your skills and experience translate into possible roles and positions in them. It's really not that complicated. But we all need a little perspective. So consider the assessment tool I mentioned from YSN.com, "Your Success Network", and more specifically, the new Premium Assessment Report, as your center court floor seats for watching your own career possibilities unfold. And yes, you can get as excited about your career as you are about the NBA Finals. Just look at the faces of all of the people buzzing around the stadium at work tonight and remind yourself that they do that for a living!