Happiness 3 tips for finding a job that you love

Happiness 3 tips for finding a job that you loveHappiness 3 tips for finding a job that you loveSome might call me lucky I absolutely lovemy job.I didnt always. In my previous role as an employee at another company, I felt that I welchesnt able to speak up at work. Now, Im the CEO of a company that helps people communicate more openly and honestly with their coworkers. Its my dream job.People will sometimes ask me Howd you do it, Claire? Howd you find happiness at work?Its a tricky question to answer because happiness is individual for every person - what makes me happy might not make you happy.But for me,happiness at work meansa deeper, longer-lasting sense of purposethat doesnt fade. Its not a paycheck bonus or a fancy office - its meaning in the work Im doing, in the people Im helping, and in the impact Im creating.Here are three realizationsthat helped me findhappiness at work.Be honest about what you wantIn my senior year of college, I decided to start a company with a few frien ds. I welches still in school taking classes to graduate, I was student body president, and I was interning at a VC firm downtown - all while trying to start this company. In other words, I was completely in over my head and over-committed. When I did eventually graduate and joined the company full-time, we werent paying ourselves and routinely worked 100-hour weeks. Needless to say, I burnt out. I stopped sleeping, I wasnt eating, andmy overall health and well-being deteriorated. Eventually, my co-founders asked me to leave the company because it was clear I was confused about what I really wanted. I realized Id gone along with them this entire time not because I wanted to start this company with thembut out of obligation. I felt like I owed it to my friends. It was something I was supposed to do - what a cool opportunity, right?In hindsight, its clear thats not what I really wanted to do - and Im so grateful for that experience. It taught me an important lesson you must seek the truth for what you really want yourself. Trustyour own opinionsOnce youre brave enough to ask yourself what you want, you have to trust yourself in finding the answer.Early in my senior year of college, I had yet to tell my parents that I was going to start a company. Honestly, I was terrified. College is expensive, and the idea of telling my parents that I was going to start a companyand take no salary was nerve-wracking. I remember consciously choosing tonotask for other peoples advice. If I had asked my parents what I should do after college, I know they would have told me to go to graduate school, which is what they did. If I would have asked my mentor what I should do, he would have told me to go get a job at a corporation, which is what he did.Everyone is biased by their own opinion. The only way you cant go wrong is by listening to yourself. If I hadnt trusted myself, I would not have become an entrepreneur today.Work with what you haveBefore I started my current company, I h ad $10,000 in savings but no idea what my business was going to be. To make progress, every day, I asked myself Whats the most I can do with what I have right now? At the time, the answerwas to do as much research as possible to become an expert in the field. So I spent a few months and did that. Then, it was to do a case study on a company using the knowledge and expertise Id developed. So I went and did that. I continued to ask that question, and slowly, month by month, Ibuilt a consulting business and a software product, which was ultimately what I wanted to do. When youre striving for something greater, that gap between where you are and where you want to be can be daunting. Its easy to give up.Focusing on what you can do with what you already have makes things so much more attainable.Soon youll have closed the gap and be where you want to be.At the end of the day, I dont want to be considered lucky that I love my job. I believe everyone can and deserves to be happy at work - an d hopefully, my three realizations are helpful as you find your own way to happiness at work.Claire Lew is theCEO of Know Your Company.